It's 5 days until we start the challenge! Three of our team decided to get one last walk in before the big day, pictures to follow soon.
If you have not donated yet, please do we really appreciate it. https://www.justgiving.com/laa-threepeaks
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Sponsor By Text
Monday, 31 August 2015
The countdown starts........
It's 5 days until we start the challenge! Three of our team decided to get one last walk in before the big day, pictures to follow soon.
If you have not donated yet, please do we really appreciate it. https://www.justgiving.com/laa-threepeaks
Tuesday, 25 August 2015
Two weeks to go...Please sponsor us!!!
Hello,
please sponsor us by clicking on this Just Giving link:
https://www.justgiving.com/laa-threepeaks
Thank you for your support!
The Three Peaks Team!
Monday, 24 August 2015
Wet, Windy and wicked!!!
As if coping with mountain mists and limited visibility wasn't enough
to cope with 2 weeks ago on the Brecon Horseshoe, we went up on
Pen-Y-Fan and went to Corn Ddu and Cribyn and the weather was almost as misty, but with a heavy dose of rain, rain and more rain.
Undeterred, we plodded on around the route and were introduced to some
new terrain as we had to climb up (and down) fairly steep rocky steps,
which would be tricky in the dry weather, but were slightly more
treacherous in the wet weather.
This is all good training for the final event in under 2 weeks as we won't know what to expect and have to prepare for anything and everything, given we could be travelling on or between mountains around Wales with wet clothes/rucksacks etc and little sleep/rest.
I managed to keep my digital camera from getting too wet and it survived the trip with no water damage, but my own mobile phone (I-Phone 5S) is a different story as though it stayed in a waterproof area inside my clothing, it seems to have stopped working and won't switch on, despite it being fully charged. It had a small droplet or 2 of water on the screen, so I can only assume it has water/damp issues.
My phone is currently submerged in a bowl of unboiled rice in the hope that it will dry out (if wet) and work again, though I will have to wait and see, but it may mean a trip to the Apple shop.
Now the money shot..... Please make a donation to our cause as we are still raising money for Tenovus Cancer Care charity and the total is now over £1,200.00 and hopefully will keep increasing, up to and past the event itself.
~Stuart.
This is all good training for the final event in under 2 weeks as we won't know what to expect and have to prepare for anything and everything, given we could be travelling on or between mountains around Wales with wet clothes/rucksacks etc and little sleep/rest.
I managed to keep my digital camera from getting too wet and it survived the trip with no water damage, but my own mobile phone (I-Phone 5S) is a different story as though it stayed in a waterproof area inside my clothing, it seems to have stopped working and won't switch on, despite it being fully charged. It had a small droplet or 2 of water on the screen, so I can only assume it has water/damp issues.
My phone is currently submerged in a bowl of unboiled rice in the hope that it will dry out (if wet) and work again, though I will have to wait and see, but it may mean a trip to the Apple shop.
Now the money shot..... Please make a donation to our cause as we are still raising money for Tenovus Cancer Care charity and the total is now over £1,200.00 and hopefully will keep increasing, up to and past the event itself.
~Stuart.
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| The start, all kitted out in wets |
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| River is very swollen! |
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| Very wet path with running water! |
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| Heading for Pen Y Fan peak. |
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| The Wet team! |
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| Onward in torrential rain to Corn Du. |
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| Weather was a bit rainy! |
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| Cribyn peak. |
What does this mean......?
Total ascent
– 819m
Length of
walk – 7 miles
Duration – 4
hours 20 mins
All will be revealed soon.......!
Thursday, 20 August 2015
Tenovus Tea Party
LAA Cardiff hosted a Tea Party in aid of Tenovus and it went down a treat!
On Monday 17th August everybody in the office donated either cakes or items to help raise money for our chosen charity Tenovus. Emma Rouse one of our Contract managers (and Three Peaks Walker), appealed to the kindness of the local businesses in Cardiff and boy, did they deliver!!
With a vast amount of prizes for a raffle and more cake than even I can eat, the Tea party was held in the reception area of our building. After a successful day, we raised.......£466!! This together with our sponsorship for the challenge has smashed our target!!! Thanks to everyone who contributed and purchased tickets, cake and coffee!!
On Monday 17th August everybody in the office donated either cakes or items to help raise money for our chosen charity Tenovus. Emma Rouse one of our Contract managers (and Three Peaks Walker), appealed to the kindness of the local businesses in Cardiff and boy, did they deliver!!
With a vast amount of prizes for a raffle and more cake than even I can eat, the Tea party was held in the reception area of our building. After a successful day, we raised.......£466!! This together with our sponsorship for the challenge has smashed our target!!! Thanks to everyone who contributed and purchased tickets, cake and coffee!!
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| Emma and National Contract Manager, Paul Davies |
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| Emma and the teddy.......who is named Huw! |
Monday, 17 August 2015
Taming the Dragon!
Sunday was a special day for a few reasons:
1. We were all together as a team for the first time.
2. We were doing a testing 9 mile hike to gauge our fitness
3. We had really nice weather.
Here is a bit of official blurb on the Dragons Back Hike:
This is one of the classic hillwalks of the Black Mountains, with a stepped ascent up a fine and surprisingly narrow spur with superb views, ending up on Waun Fach, the highest point in the Black Mountains. There is an optional visit to Castell Dinas (a Medieval castle built on an earlier Iron Age Hill fort) at the start walk, and an optional visit to The Castle Inn to rehydrate at the end!
I'll put a link at the bottom to fully explain the route we took however I wanted to just concentrate on the basics. It was by far one of the most spectacular things I have done for years! I loved every minute of it and loved the company of my team mates. I know the team agree with me that the walk was just out of this world and it's worth doing just to see the beauty of the Black Mountains.
We all pushed ourselves in one way or another and really bonded as a team. From a personal point of view, I needed to keep my fear of heights in check and walking along the narrow peak certainly did that!
We set off in good spirits and maintained them throughout which was a testament to us as a team.
We went 'off piste' by clamouring down the side of a mountain and then halfway back up the other side! This was equally fun and hair raising. We all had chance to evaluate our supplies and the one thing learnt was to carry more water and to hydrate as much as possible. I'll let the pictures below do the talking......however on a final note, we are all feeling confident so next week we'll be re-attempting the Brecon Horseshoe again.
https://breconbeacons.wordpress.com/2012/02/29/a-very-welsh-walk-for-st-davids-day-the-dragons-back/
1. We were all together as a team for the first time.
2. We were doing a testing 9 mile hike to gauge our fitness
3. We had really nice weather.
Here is a bit of official blurb on the Dragons Back Hike:
This is one of the classic hillwalks of the Black Mountains, with a stepped ascent up a fine and surprisingly narrow spur with superb views, ending up on Waun Fach, the highest point in the Black Mountains. There is an optional visit to Castell Dinas (a Medieval castle built on an earlier Iron Age Hill fort) at the start walk, and an optional visit to The Castle Inn to rehydrate at the end!
I'll put a link at the bottom to fully explain the route we took however I wanted to just concentrate on the basics. It was by far one of the most spectacular things I have done for years! I loved every minute of it and loved the company of my team mates. I know the team agree with me that the walk was just out of this world and it's worth doing just to see the beauty of the Black Mountains.
We all pushed ourselves in one way or another and really bonded as a team. From a personal point of view, I needed to keep my fear of heights in check and walking along the narrow peak certainly did that!
We set off in good spirits and maintained them throughout which was a testament to us as a team.
We went 'off piste' by clamouring down the side of a mountain and then halfway back up the other side! This was equally fun and hair raising. We all had chance to evaluate our supplies and the one thing learnt was to carry more water and to hydrate as much as possible. I'll let the pictures below do the talking......however on a final note, we are all feeling confident so next week we'll be re-attempting the Brecon Horseshoe again.
https://breconbeacons.wordpress.com/2012/02/29/a-very-welsh-walk-for-st-davids-day-the-dragons-back/
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| Walking Along the back! |
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| So low!! |
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| Down the side of the mountain! |
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| Along a path |
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| Up the other side of the mountain. |
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| Just to put it into perspective |
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| Meeting the locals! |
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| That was soooooooo steep! |
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| Don't fall over! |
Sunday, 16 August 2015
New Team Member.
Our newest team member is settling in nicely! Who is this mysterious furry friend and why is he/her in the LAA Offices?
Find out very soon...........
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| Not a good start, looking at magazines while working! |
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| He's becoming one of the lads (or girls?) |
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| Stuart Evans just told him/her a joke! |
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| Doing Induction training already? Blimey!! |
Wednesday, 12 August 2015
Monday, 10 August 2015
'Mist' the Path!
We went for another hike yesterday but all didn't go to plan! My coleague Stuart Evans tells the story....
'Our first attempt at the Brecon Horseshoe in training for the LAA 3 Peaks challenge in September.
The weather started fresh and got decidedly mistier as the morning went on and by the time we got some way along the route on the mountain (with a little detour along the side of the mountain), visibility became extremely close and low and we ended up sensibly falling on our swords and beating a retreat back down the mountain (where the mist lifted a little and visibility was somewhat improved (though it was still looking very misty on the mountain).
Group safety was our number one priority and time and weather kept us
from our goal.
I am proud of us all and the weather has gained us valuable experience for the weeks ahead as it shows its not always going to be bright and sunny up there....'
It's true that the conditions were extremely dangerous which led us to veer off the path onto a sheep trail. We made the sensible decision to turn back and take stock of the few hours we had spent hiking in such bad weather. Lots of positives came from the experience in readiness for next week's trek where the WHOLE team should be in attendance. A selection of pictures below:
'Our first attempt at the Brecon Horseshoe in training for the LAA 3 Peaks challenge in September.
The weather started fresh and got decidedly mistier as the morning went on and by the time we got some way along the route on the mountain (with a little detour along the side of the mountain), visibility became extremely close and low and we ended up sensibly falling on our swords and beating a retreat back down the mountain (where the mist lifted a little and visibility was somewhat improved (though it was still looking very misty on the mountain).
Group safety was our number one priority and time and weather kept us
from our goal. I am proud of us all and the weather has gained us valuable experience for the weeks ahead as it shows its not always going to be bright and sunny up there....'
It's true that the conditions were extremely dangerous which led us to veer off the path onto a sheep trail. We made the sensible decision to turn back and take stock of the few hours we had spent hiking in such bad weather. Lots of positives came from the experience in readiness for next week's trek where the WHOLE team should be in attendance. A selection of pictures below:
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