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The Final Update! (WITH PICTURES)
Well the boys completed the challenge in the end in 23hrs 53mins 1sec, which left less than 7 minutes to spare! This was from the base of Ben Nevis back to the base of Snowdon, via all 3 peaks (not the shorter timing that some use from first summit to last summit) It was touch and go in the end as they had to seek refuge on Snowdon for 30 mins due to 60-70mph winds and driving rain. As a result of this the guys had all but given up in completing within 24 hours; however by finding that last little bit of energy and running down Snowdon they just managed it.
We have raised £905 so far for the Shooting Star Children’s Hospice, but have a promise of a little more to come through over the next couple of weeks. We would like to thank our family, friends, colleagues, customers, forum members and suppliers for their kind generosity.
We all thoroughly enjoyed the experience; however sleep deprivation is certainly creeping up on us now. None of us realised how physically demanding the event would be for both the climbers and the support crew; you just had to grab 40 winks when you could between setting up, packing away, changing and eating!
We left London at 2pm on Saturday and stayed on a very quiet camp site just off the M6 near Carlisle, then headed to the Highlands on the Sunday morning.
On Sunday we arrived at Ben Nevis at 3pm and the guys got ready for the climb. They set off from base-camp at just after 4pm and reached the summit in 2.5hrs. We were then quickly on our way via Glasgow back to Scafel Pike in Cumbria, which was a lovely drive from Fort William via Loch Lomond.
We arrived at Scafell Pike at 1:30am in pitch darkness and driving rain. All the guys had were waterproofs, head torches, a map and a compass as they set off into the wilderness in horrendous conditions at 2am. They encountered all sorts of hazards including water crossings in torrential rain and wind. They arrived back at around 6am, and it was a quick cup of Yorkshire Tea and back on the road.
We had to get to Snowdon by noon to stand a chance of the guys completing the task properly in 24 hours and getting back down from the summit of Snowdon by 1610hrs. The drive was breathtaking over the Hard Knott Pass; however we started to hit rush-hour traffic on the motorways. That said we actually got to Snowdon by 11:15 so the guys had a bit of breathing space before having to set off (or so we thought). Little did we know that there was a severe storm on its way, which resulted in Barry and Matthew taking refuge on Snowdon for 30 mins as walking in those conditions was near impossible without being blown from the mountain! Back at base-camp Nick and I were getting concerned as the weather was pretty bad at the foot of the mountain where we were waiting, and we had no idea that the guys were battling with 60-70mph winds. Our radio’s worked almost to the peak of each mountain, however mobile reception was non-existent (except for at the base of Nevis). As the clock ticked away and the fact that we had not had radio contact for a couple of hours, we assumed that they had not made it, and were therefore not going to make it within 24hrs. Our attention quickly turned towards their safety as the conditions were absolutely horrendous.
Anyway, as mentioned above, with only moments to spare they rounded the corner and came into view. They arrived back at the car park with 6mins 59secs to spare!!! Another cup of tea along the route could have been the straw that broke the camels back as less than 7 minutes is by no means a comfortable margin!
Thanks again to everyone for their support! Below are a few pictures from our 24 hour adventure!
James (Matthew, Barry and Nick) 
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Setting off from the dealership in London at 2pm on Saturday (Left to right – James, Matthew, Barry & Nick)
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Camping in Cumbria – The Land Rover drive-away awning was a god-send!
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A brief comfort break at Loch Lomond on the way to Nevis.
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Barry (right) and Matthew getting ready to be dropped off at the Ben Nevis start point.
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At the summit of Ben Nevis (nice shorts lads)!!
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Getting ready to set off in pitch darkness and rain for the Scafell Pike summit.
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Having just returned from a night on Scafell Pike at 6am!
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Packed up and ready to set off across Cumbria and down to Snowdon.
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The Hard Knott Pass in Cumbria
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Ready for the 3rd and final peak in the car park at Snowdon (again, nice shorts lads!)
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The final push to the finish line.
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A look of relief and exhaustion after 23hrs 53mins and 1sec (WELL DONE!)
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10th Jul 2010 9:32am
