I had a ridiculous idea recently for the Tranquility: The Ascent Kickstarter campaign. Why not see if I could raise some money for charity doing an ambitious three peaks challenge?

What is the Three Peaks Challenge?

The Three Peaks Challenge in the UK is a well known expedition to scale each of the highest mountains in England, Scotland and Wales: Scafell Pike (978m), Ben Nevis (1345m) and Snowdon (1085m). The toughest format of the challenge is to attempt to climb all 3 of the peaks within 24 hours. The total walking distance is 23 miles with a total ascent of 3,064 metres and 462 miles of driving!  You can find out more on the official Three Peaks Challenge website.

What's this got to do with the Kickstarter campaign?

Inspired by the climbing of the mountain in Tranquility: The Ascent, I thought it would be a fun challenge for me to commit to climbing the highest peaks in England, Wales and Scotland in a bid to raise some much-needed funds for Chrysalis Youth Empowerment Network. 

I am not committing to attempting this challenge in 24 hours. That will require a lot of extra training and some major logistical challenges and shouldn't be undertaken lightly. I hope to complete the challenge over 3 days.

The training

I enjoy walking in the countryside, indeed some of my happiest memories are from letterboxing on Dartmoor with my family, but I'm not a fitness fanatic. As such, I'm going to need to undertake some serious training to complete this challenge. First step is increasing my general fitness which I've already started by taking longer walks ~ 6 miles long. Next step, in tandem with the first step, will be training my legs to handle steep slopes. The climbs up those three peaks are not easy so I need to condition my body to get used to that particular challenge. The White Horse at nearby Cherhill will be a very useful training tool for me; it's not a long walk but it is steep. I envisage many trips up and down that hill in the next few months. 

Why raise money for Chrysalis Youth Empowerment Network?

I was until recently a trustee for CYEN, an amazing small charity supporting the work of Chrysalis Uganda who train changemakers/social entrepreneurs in Uganda, youngsters with the ambition to change the world for the better. Board games play an important part of their time at Chrysalis; they also run an annual Village Board Game Convention (in non-covid times). They've recently opened a new secondary school in Northern Uganda.

"The Chrysalis Secondary School in Omoro, Northern Uganda takes the best of the Ugandan national curriculum and supplements it with training in social entrepreneurship, current affairs and global challenges such as climate change and international relations. Through a unique focus on boardgaming, athletics and music we provide children in the region with a modern, rounded education, teaching them that anyone can become a change maker if they are given the opportunity."

As a small charity doing immensely valuable work, I'd love your help in raising some much-needed money during these challenging times. As the Kickstarter campaign develops, I'll update this page to reflect what I'm going to have to climb. Thanks for your consideration.

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