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On Monday 22nd June, I’ll be heading up to Fort William for a night’s camping, then ascending Ben Nevis to begin my solo attempt at the National 3 Peaks Challenge. I’ll be driving myself to Wasdale Head for Scafell Pike, and then on to Llanberis for Yr Wyddfa (aka Snowdon).

It feels appropriate to go solo. It feels more in tune with the challenges faced by our ever busier mountain rescue teams.

Despite the tolls of constant demand, fatigue, and tiredness, and the sometimes disturbing things they see when what started off as a jolly day out on the mountains went wrong, they keep going. They keep turning out to help others who have got into a pickle on the mountains.

I will not be another rescue statistic for them. I am experienced on the hills (qualified HML), experienced on the mountains, and familiar with Yr Wyddfa in particular. I know how to read a map, know how to use a compass, know the challenges of the temperature difference between valley and peak, I know what kit to take, and I know what the weather can do.

I also know that ever more of us are heading out into the mountains with a little too much confidence that our day is going to be great, because what we saw on social media was great, and are happy to entrust our navigation to an app on a phone.

Mountain Rescue are the people picking up the pieces when reality bites, and in the mountains, when things go wrong, reality bites like a crocodile!

Despite all my experience in the British uplands, I have never attempted the National 3 Peaks Challenge, so this will be a first for me, and I am under no illusion that the lack of sleep is going to make it hard.

I am planning to be on Scafell Pike in the dark of night, so as not to be sat behind the wheel when circadian rhythms are tempting me to sleep. Being on the hill at night is also a little more in tune with the realities rescue volunteers frequently face.

I hope that by taking on this challenge, I can raise some funds to help enable the brilliant Mountain Rescue teams to keep on doing what they’re doing.

At the same time, I hope I can help raise a little bit of awareness, that learning all the skills necessary to keep ourselves safe on the hills and mountains, being able to make good decisions and look after ourselves, will take some pressure off these overburdened volunteers.

If all goes well, I’ll be back out and taking on the Yorkshire 3 Peaks by Friday!

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