We are keeping the donation page open for about a month so everyone who feel they wish to contribute can.
Again, thank you and rest assured the money will go to an amazing cause!
.
Sponsor By Text
Wednesday, 9 September 2015
How are we doing.....?
We are keeping the donation page open for about a month so everyone who feel they wish to contribute can.
Again, thank you and rest assured the money will go to an amazing cause!
An Ode.....
My wife's Great Uncle Eric who lives in Alicante, has been following our progress with interest.
He has written an ode to the team.
They did it then!
He has written an ode to the team.
They did it then!
I wonder if they all turned up for work on Monday.
I guess so but not with the idea of work in mind.
The euphoria will take a lot longer to clear than a mountain mist.
Or perhaps it never will.
That's a plus.
Monday, 7 September 2015
The Three Peaks from a unique Perspective! - Part 4
We reached Pen-Y-Fan (I'm not sure what time it was, but it was
definitely dark and definitely cold, but at least it wasn't wet, though I
think it might have been around 10:45 PM) and we got our final kit
together and proceeded to climb the Pen-Y-Fan we have all come to know
and love over the last few months as part of our training sessions,
though it was a very different experience in the near pitch black with
head torches on.
We climbed to the top of Pen-Y-Fan and arrived about 12:20 AM and assembled to take photographs (not that they would come out very well, given how dark it was) and it was near impossible to get any photos of what views there were as we could not see much and the camera would not pick up much, though of the 7 photos I took, I caught a head torch, the Pen-Y-Fan Summit stone (Yay I made it the last few furlongs and got to touch a summit stone, woo hoo), photo's of some of the team members (tired as I was I bet) and a very dark photo showing the distant glimmering lights of Brecon town.
We climbed to the top of Pen-Y-Fan and arrived about 12:20 AM and assembled to take photographs (not that they would come out very well, given how dark it was) and it was near impossible to get any photos of what views there were as we could not see much and the camera would not pick up much, though of the 7 photos I took, I caught a head torch, the Pen-Y-Fan Summit stone (Yay I made it the last few furlongs and got to touch a summit stone, woo hoo), photo's of some of the team members (tired as I was I bet) and a very dark photo showing the distant glimmering lights of Brecon town.
In good but exhausted
spirits, we descended the mountain again, to finish the challenge and
made it down about 2:00 AM, where we stowed all our gear into the
minibus and made our way home.
A good time was had by all, as whilst it was individually a personal challenge for all concerned, it was also a team event and everyone in my opinion did a fantastic job and team spirit and individual strength and courage was present across all 3 peaks.
I have tried to document this as my personal journey, as other team members may want to share their story(stories) and all I will say is thank you to the 9 other team members (I also count as my work colleagues and friends) and thank each and every one (and Ann Davies for driving us around the 3 peaks and North and South Wales mountains, given the nearest I have ever been to North Wales is Chester/Cheshire and Aberystwyth).
I was able to rely on them all for moral support and without them (and Ibuprofen tablets and gel for some parts later on), it would have been a more difficult challenge to face (and not half as enjoyable).
So, to finish, I have two things to say, keep calm and thanks for reading and "Gulley", which I'm sure Emma will not want to hear again (I kept calling it to aid those behind me coming down Pen-Y-Fan, even when I was the last person at the back!!!).
Thats all folks.......
PS thanks a million for all the donations, they will be put to good use by Tenovus Cancer Care I'm sure and there's still going to be time to sponsor us as we will keep the justgiving site and the blog open for a few more weeks yet.
https://www.justgiving.com/laa-threepeaks
Thank you to Stuart for telling his story!
A good time was had by all, as whilst it was individually a personal challenge for all concerned, it was also a team event and everyone in my opinion did a fantastic job and team spirit and individual strength and courage was present across all 3 peaks.
I have tried to document this as my personal journey, as other team members may want to share their story(stories) and all I will say is thank you to the 9 other team members (I also count as my work colleagues and friends) and thank each and every one (and Ann Davies for driving us around the 3 peaks and North and South Wales mountains, given the nearest I have ever been to North Wales is Chester/Cheshire and Aberystwyth).
I was able to rely on them all for moral support and without them (and Ibuprofen tablets and gel for some parts later on), it would have been a more difficult challenge to face (and not half as enjoyable).
So, to finish, I have two things to say, keep calm and thanks for reading and "Gulley", which I'm sure Emma will not want to hear again (I kept calling it to aid those behind me coming down Pen-Y-Fan, even when I was the last person at the back!!!).
Thats all folks.......
PS thanks a million for all the donations, they will be put to good use by Tenovus Cancer Care I'm sure and there's still going to be time to sponsor us as we will keep the justgiving site and the blog open for a few more weeks yet.
https://www.justgiving.com/laa-threepeaks
 |
| Stuart Evans. |
The Three Peaks from a unique Perspective! - Part 3
The weather for Cadair Idris was beautifully sunny and got us in the
mood for our second climb and we started our climb at about 12:45 PM
and we headed towards the foot of the mountan and began climbing the
rocky and grassy slope as it passed across stiles and gates and got
steeper and steeper as the climb continued.
The views were stunning and the climb was continual, so stamina was needed to go up and up and up and there was another narrow path with a steep drop to the right and because my moment on Snowdon was still playing on my mind, I wasn't sure I could go any further, but after taking a second to allow the other team members to go a little ahead, a couple appeared from my left and I realised there was a rocky path slightly left of the narrow path and whilst they advised me not do take it because it was a difficult climb, I told them I wasn't comfortable with the narrow path, but the rocky path seemed like a better option, they said go for it, so I did and it removed the decision from my hands having to decide whether to take the narrow path or not
The views were stunning and the climb was continual, so stamina was needed to go up and up and up and there was another narrow path with a steep drop to the right and because my moment on Snowdon was still playing on my mind, I wasn't sure I could go any further, but after taking a second to allow the other team members to go a little ahead, a couple appeared from my left and I realised there was a rocky path slightly left of the narrow path and whilst they advised me not do take it because it was a difficult climb, I told them I wasn't comfortable with the narrow path, but the rocky path seemed like a better option, they said go for it, so I did and it removed the decision from my hands having to decide whether to take the narrow path or not
I caught up with the others past the narrow path and we continued up
the mountain, taking in the stunning scenery and basking in the sunlight
and after some time of climbing upwards, we made it to a flat part of
the mountain where you could see right over the valley (if you were
inclined to do, which I wasn't), but I did go fairly close and look over
as much as I dared and it was very beautiful.
We continued on for a bit then until we reached the foot of the summit of Cadair Idris at around 3:00 PM and as my earlier moment on Snowdon was haunting me a little, I was in two minds whether to climb to the top of the summit or not, but I decided it looked to difficult for me to climb (I felt I needed to be alone to climb it so not too many people around, but obviously I needed someone experienced there in case I needed advice/help), and the last thing I wanted was to be stuck on the summit and unable to get down, so again, I was happy to make it to the foot of the summit of Cadair Idris (I even edged myself ever closer as far as I dared before we all left and began our descent down the mountain.
We continued on for a bit then until we reached the foot of the summit of Cadair Idris at around 3:00 PM and as my earlier moment on Snowdon was haunting me a little, I was in two minds whether to climb to the top of the summit or not, but I decided it looked to difficult for me to climb (I felt I needed to be alone to climb it so not too many people around, but obviously I needed someone experienced there in case I needed advice/help), and the last thing I wanted was to be stuck on the summit and unable to get down, so again, I was happy to make it to the foot of the summit of Cadair Idris (I even edged myself ever closer as far as I dared before we all left and began our descent down the mountain.
The Three Peaks from a unique Perspective! - Part 2
Continuing on with the Snowdon pics from our LAA 3 peaks challenge,
we continued on up the remainder of Snowdon (stopping briefly to put a
penny in the penny wishing tree) and then made our way to the summit (I
had a wobble midway along a very narrow path along the side of a long
drop, but once the moment had passed, I pulled myself together and
continued my ascent to the top of the mountain by the mountain train
platform and the cafe at the top and we all arrived at the top of
Snowdon just after 8:00 AM.
At this point, the weather was dismal and the mist was still hampering any views from the top and the wind had picked up considerably.
The very last "summit" of Snowdon was a fairly small area atop a rocky area just big enough for our group to climb up onto (or so I'm told and see from the pics) with one of the staircases on either side to reach it. Unfortunately, given that I'd had a wobble moments earlier and was still feeling the after effects of it, the wind was howling on the very summit of Snowdon above the staircases , and as both staircases appeared to have a sheer drop off one side of the stairs, I decided after some thought that I couldn't bring myself to climb the final 15 or so, rocky steps to the summit, though I am happy in knowledge that I fought against my nervousness of heights and made it so close the the summit that the area I was stood below the few steps could be classed as the peak of Snowdon, so I am in no way dismayed (the nervousness of severe heights against long drops feeling stayed with me in some small part for most of Snowdon and Cadair Idris and a tiny bit on Pen-Y-Fan, but did not hold me back from completing the challenge).
As the cafe was closed for 15 minutes (15 minutes on a sunny day in Cardiff is no time at all to wait, but in terms of us completing the challenge of climbing the 3 peaks in the fastest time possible and ensuring we made it both up and back down Cadair Idris before dark, 15 minutes was too long to wait, so we decided to descend back down the Snowdon and crack on with the challenge).
As we moved away from the cafe, the weather cleared and the mists broke and the landscape very quickly changed from thick fog to beautiful views of the surrounding mountains of Snowdonia and as we started our descent, we passed some mountain bikers , some of which were riding up the mountain in the other direction to which we came and some of which were running up the mountain with holding mountain bikes above their heads.
We travelled down the narrow path I did not like. I let everyone go first and I took a deep breath and went for it and it was slightly better the second time, though I wasn't enjoying it and I completed that section and we went down the mountain with gorgeous views all around us and our soaking wet clothes and kit drying in the bright sunshine.
Much rock scrambling and rambling later, we made it to the bottom of Snowdon and walked for ages along the banks of the reservoir we had admired from above in its gloomy and then beautifully sunny states.
We made it back to the minibus just after 10:00 AM, taking quick toilet stops in the cafe and changing what clothes and kit we felt necessary to change and boarded the minibus (with Ann Davies ready to take us to the next car park for our next part of the challenge to begin on Cadair Idris.
Please see the next photo's for Cadair Idris and Pen-Y-Fan mountains. Cadair Idris photos were a bit less than Snowdon as I was concentrating on the climb more and some of the Cadair Idris photos were taken by other members of the team as I was finding it difficult to walk and take photos at the same time and Pen-Y-Fan photos were very few as tiredness set in by then and it was too dark to take any photos of the views, of which there were little in the dark.
At this point, the weather was dismal and the mist was still hampering any views from the top and the wind had picked up considerably.
The very last "summit" of Snowdon was a fairly small area atop a rocky area just big enough for our group to climb up onto (or so I'm told and see from the pics) with one of the staircases on either side to reach it. Unfortunately, given that I'd had a wobble moments earlier and was still feeling the after effects of it, the wind was howling on the very summit of Snowdon above the staircases , and as both staircases appeared to have a sheer drop off one side of the stairs, I decided after some thought that I couldn't bring myself to climb the final 15 or so, rocky steps to the summit, though I am happy in knowledge that I fought against my nervousness of heights and made it so close the the summit that the area I was stood below the few steps could be classed as the peak of Snowdon, so I am in no way dismayed (the nervousness of severe heights against long drops feeling stayed with me in some small part for most of Snowdon and Cadair Idris and a tiny bit on Pen-Y-Fan, but did not hold me back from completing the challenge).
As the cafe was closed for 15 minutes (15 minutes on a sunny day in Cardiff is no time at all to wait, but in terms of us completing the challenge of climbing the 3 peaks in the fastest time possible and ensuring we made it both up and back down Cadair Idris before dark, 15 minutes was too long to wait, so we decided to descend back down the Snowdon and crack on with the challenge).
As we moved away from the cafe, the weather cleared and the mists broke and the landscape very quickly changed from thick fog to beautiful views of the surrounding mountains of Snowdonia and as we started our descent, we passed some mountain bikers , some of which were riding up the mountain in the other direction to which we came and some of which were running up the mountain with holding mountain bikes above their heads.
We travelled down the narrow path I did not like. I let everyone go first and I took a deep breath and went for it and it was slightly better the second time, though I wasn't enjoying it and I completed that section and we went down the mountain with gorgeous views all around us and our soaking wet clothes and kit drying in the bright sunshine.
Much rock scrambling and rambling later, we made it to the bottom of Snowdon and walked for ages along the banks of the reservoir we had admired from above in its gloomy and then beautifully sunny states.
We made it back to the minibus just after 10:00 AM, taking quick toilet stops in the cafe and changing what clothes and kit we felt necessary to change and boarded the minibus (with Ann Davies ready to take us to the next car park for our next part of the challenge to begin on Cadair Idris.
Please see the next photo's for Cadair Idris and Pen-Y-Fan mountains. Cadair Idris photos were a bit less than Snowdon as I was concentrating on the climb more and some of the Cadair Idris photos were taken by other members of the team as I was finding it difficult to walk and take photos at the same time and Pen-Y-Fan photos were very few as tiredness set in by then and it was too dark to take any photos of the views, of which there were little in the dark.
The Three Peaks from a unique Perspective! - Part 1
I would like to let my colleague Stuart tell you all about his experience on the Three Peaks.
It has been an immense physical and personal challenge for him but he gave it 110% and completed it with us. Here's his story:
These are the first pics as we travelled up most of Snowdon. We started at 5:13 AM outside the minibus in the Pen-Y-Pas car park and these photos finish quite a way up the mountain at about 7:20 AM.
The weather started off very wet, dismal and dark and slowly the rain stopped, the light began to improve and then as we got higher into Snowdon, the mists descended and it became difficult to see anything beyond a few hundred meters, so views were virtually non existent at times...
It has been an immense physical and personal challenge for him but he gave it 110% and completed it with us. Here's his story:
These are the first pics as we travelled up most of Snowdon. We started at 5:13 AM outside the minibus in the Pen-Y-Pas car park and these photos finish quite a way up the mountain at about 7:20 AM.
The weather started off very wet, dismal and dark and slowly the rain stopped, the light began to improve and then as we got higher into Snowdon, the mists descended and it became difficult to see anything beyond a few hundred meters, so views were virtually non existent at times...
Sunday, 6 September 2015
We Did It!!!!!
Firstly, apologies for not live blogging. The mobile signal was horrendous so I was unable to update. The good news is that we completed the challenge an amazing 19 hours!!!!
We strarted at 05:15am from Snowdon Car Park. I'll write more indepth when I have more pictures and some more detail.
Here is a teaser photo......
We strarted at 05:15am from Snowdon Car Park. I'll write more indepth when I have more pictures and some more detail.
Here is a teaser photo......
 |
| One of the lakes of Snowdon. |
Friday, 4 September 2015
Evening Team Bonding
Well, we finished today with a meal to wind down in readiness for tomorrow. Early night as we're up for a 5am start! !
Wednesday, 2 September 2015
Countdown Continues!!
Today, we had the final meeting to ensure we covered everything from the time we all meet up to finishing the challenge. Here is a behind the scenes snap!
The names of our meeting rooms look familiar!
Tuesday, 1 September 2015
Three hike the table.
On Sunday, three of the guys, Anthony,JT and Stuart decided to get one last trek in. Stuart takes the story:
I am back from a very long day in the Brecon Beacons on the last big training session before the main event on Friday-Sunday this week coming.
It was a punishing 8 hour or so walk, climb, descent, scramble etc. in a variety of terrain and weather conditions, and as there were just 3 of us, it made for a gruelling but worthwhile trek.
My Sarcoidosis over the last few training sessions has played havoc with my breathing on climbs and descents and my knees have really been put through the wringer as well given the pains I get from the Sarcoidosis, but no pain, no gain I guess.
Looking forward to the big event on Friday when we will go for it hell for leather and individually and together we will conquer the mountains.
As you can see Stuart is determined to do this challenge even though he has Sarcoidosis! Legend!!
Below, some of Stuart's photos....
I am back from a very long day in the Brecon Beacons on the last big training session before the main event on Friday-Sunday this week coming.
It was a punishing 8 hour or so walk, climb, descent, scramble etc. in a variety of terrain and weather conditions, and as there were just 3 of us, it made for a gruelling but worthwhile trek.
My Sarcoidosis over the last few training sessions has played havoc with my breathing on climbs and descents and my knees have really been put through the wringer as well given the pains I get from the Sarcoidosis, but no pain, no gain I guess.
Looking forward to the big event on Friday when we will go for it hell for leather and individually and together we will conquer the mountains.
As you can see Stuart is determined to do this challenge even though he has Sarcoidosis! Legend!!
Below, some of Stuart's photos....
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