Coincidence?

When we were planning the hike we commented that it was 'about 20 years' since some of us climbed Ben Nevis the first time. Upon finding a pile of old bank statements in the garage I thought I'd see if I could pin down the date more accurately and was amazed to find that I took cash from the machine in Fort William exactly twenty years ago to the day of this years trip. Kinda weird!

Photo Gallery

Many of you have been asking to see our photos from the trip. If you want to take a look at a selection we have put them in an online gallery here

Ben Nevis Trail

The final track shows what was actually our first (and most challenging at around 1300 feet) climb at Ben Nevis. You can get the Google Earth file here.

Scafell Pike Trail

I thought I'd lost this in my GPS but was pleased to find the track for our climb of Scafell Pike in Cumbria. You can download the Google Earth KMZ file from here.

A big hit for Tom!

Was this the highest altitude golf drive ever in the UK? When last seen it was heading from Ben Nevis back over the border towards the 9th green at Hartley Wintney!

Mount Snowdon Hike - GPS Track on Google Earth

I love Google Earth, I find the ability to zoom around the places I have been truly fascinating. Over the weekend I managed to capture some track information using my ageing Garmin eTrex GPS unit and have converted them into a Google Earth KML file. If you download the file from here and load it into Google Earth you should see our route from Snowdon. Hopefully I should also be able to create one for the Ben Nevis climb too. I hope you like it!

Home with my feet up

Just a quick post before a well earned comfy bed!

It has been a fantastic event this weekend with a tremendous effort from all involved. I think many of us underestimated the scale of the task at hand when we took on this idea - from the sheer number of miles on the road through to the nature of the climbs. (I, for one, am sure they added a few metres to Ben Nevis since the last time we were there!)

My overriding memory of the weekend will be of the huge spirit of the participants. You can rest assured that every penny that has been donated or pledged was truly earned!

Thanks for your continuing support of a very worthy cause.

Regards,

Terry

PS Keep an eye on the blog as we will be adding more photos to complete the record of the event over the coming weeks

Three peaks completed!

We are all down safely having climbed all three peaks. Snowdon was a challenge as the wind was gusting well over 70mph which is even strong enough to blow andy c over! Well done to everyone.

----

Team on the top of Mount Snowdon

Taken by Andy Burfied, here are the rest of us at the summit of Mount Snowdon today. Although we were very lucky (again) with the lack of rain it was extremely windy. At times on the summit it was not possible to stand in the wind. We reached the trig-point by climbing up the stairs on all fours! Still, there was a bit of a buzz at reaching our third peak and the thought of getting blown off a mountain did add a certain amount of adrenaline!

Half way up Snowdon

The two 'Andys' on the way to the summit of Snowdon. We named it Mount Doom as we felt a little "Hobbit' like at times as we climbed the rough stone path to the top, often holding on against the strong winds.

On the way to Wales

We have set off early this morning in hope that we can get up and down snowdon and on our way home , not sure anyone has told my legs of this plan though

----

The eternal struggle

Thomas took and named this picture (subtitled 'Where's Wally) apparently he is going to take part 2 as steve tries to bend over and pull his trousers up tomorrow!

----

Peak 2 complete

We arestarting to show some wear and tear

----

Sunday

----

Summit of scafell pike

60mph wind at the top!

----

Back in england

Just back across the border with our duty free tartan

----

All down safe and sound

3:45 we down and on our way to Windermere

----

Message

----

Terry on Ben Nevis

Some folks have asked for proof that I was on the summit of Ben Nevis as I wasn't in the photo that we blogged live from the summit. If your legs felt like mine you would not doubt!

At the summit of ben nevis

1 down 2 to go

----

250m to go

The final assault begins

----

Half way?

2 hours into the climb - running low on mars bars

----

On the way up

At 10:10

----

OK so it is 10pm and we've had some haggis and a medicinal beer or two and we're ready for Ben Nevis in the morning - more to follow tomorrow!

The Natives

There are some strange folks in these parts!

----

Glencoe

Things are starting to get a little steeper. Looks like it could be a bit bleak on the mountain tomorrow.

----

Welcome to Scotland!

2:40 We are North of the border at last. Still 176 miles to the hotel.

----

On our way

10:57 friday, we are on the grey and rainy M6 - just 361 miles to the hotel:'(

----

Will the weather be kind to us?

As of Thursday evening he forecast is good for Fort William on Saturday and Windermere for Sunday. Monday on Snowdon looks like it could be rather wet. Lets hope they are wrong!

Hook Fun Run

One of our team members took part in the 3 mile Hook "Fun Run' last Sunday. I have just noticed an interesting comment from one of our kind contributors that would lead me to think there may be a bit of a story that needs to be shared. Come on, spill the beans!

Weather for Ben Nevis

If the BBC 5-day forecast holds out then we could have perfect weather for our trip up Ben Nevis this Saturday

Thank you to my generous colleagues!

I handed and old-fashioned sponsorship form to my colleagues during a meeting at Sun Microsystems today. When the form was handed back to me I was astounded to see that well over £500 had been promised. Many thanks to all of you for your kindness, we are all very grateful for your contributions.

The Chuckle Brothers

When Ant & Dec were still in short trousers, Desmond and Steve were in, er, short trousers! Picture was taken in 1988 on the path up Ben Nevis. I note that contrary to earlier claims, Desmond appears to have made Steve carry the rucksack containing the Hofmiester :-D

Keep the money coming, I have more photos!

Major milestone - half way to our goal!

We have now reached over £1500 in pledges and donations. This is fantastic, many thanks to all of you!

Running Total

As at lunchtime on 13th we are up to £1335. A big thank you from everyone who has donated. By the way, in case anyone is wondering, that was Des's real hair in the picture from the 1980s. Steve

Test mobile post

Test photo sent from Terrys mobile phone. Will there be a mobile signal on the summit?

----

It was twenty years ago today (give or take a week)...

... when we last climbed Ben Nevis.

This photo was taken in May 1988 when six of us climbed the mountain before (OK, which of you guys knows the exact date?) . Of the six in this picture, four of us are taking part this time. The full roll-call is (front row first, left to right) Andy Crossman, Steve Winder, John Robinson, Dave Perry, Terry Jones, Desmond Doyle.

It's taken 20 years for this photo to make it onto the internet. Hopefully we'll blog photos from each peak from a mobile phone this time around so watch this space!

PS I am no the only team-member with write access to this blog, come on guys, don't be shy!

Long range weather forecast

We will be hoping that the weather treats us kindly over the three days of our event. Here is what the BBC long range weather forecast is saying for the relevant days:

'Low pressure becomes anchored over Ireland, spinning bands of showers or longer spells of rain across all parts of the UK from the southwest. As a result, rainfall should be near or above average for most areas, although East Anglia and the southeast may see the driest weather. Light southwesterly winds should keep temperatures above average and it will feel very warm whenever the rain clears and the sun breaks through.'

Check out the long range weather here

The Peaks

Want to know more about the three peaks we are climbing?

Follow the links to wikipedia....

Day 1: Ben Nevis
Day 2: Scafell Pike
Day 3: Snowdon

The Route

It's around 1200 miles of driving to get from the South of England to the three peaks and home , if you click here then Google Maps should give you a rough idea...

Fund raising update

We set ourselves a fund raising goal of £3000 for the event this year. As most of us haven't entered a sponsored event since our schooldays we don't know how realistic the goal is but we'll give it a good go!. As of Sunday 11th the running total is £695 so were are off to a good start. Many thanks to those of you who have already donated. For those who haven't, what are you waiting for?

The 2008 Matthew Smith Memorial Hike in aid of Cancer Research UK

Click to donate now!

This blog tells the story of the 2008 (and maybe 2009, 2010...) Matthew Smith Memorial Hike in aid of Cancer Research UK.

Last year on July 27th, Matthew Smith (pictured in happier times) was cruelly taken from us at the age of 41. One of life's genuinely nice guys and much loved by his family and friends, Matthew left a wife, Lisa, and two children, Jake and Sophie.

Six of us decided in Matthew's memory that we should try, in a small way, to help the people that are trying so hard to find a cure for cancer by tackling the three peaks of Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon in three days in late May. Apart from Thomas, we are not all in our physical prime (!) but we hope that our determination will see us through.

Steve, Thomas, Andy, Desmond, Andy and Terry