CARE 3 Peaks Challenge supported by Square Mile Magazine post-event report

On the weekend of the 6th September 12 teams of intrepid professionals arrived at Fort William in the Scottish Highlands to take on their CARE Challenge, tackling the three highest peaks in Scotland, England and Wales. With the daunting task ahead the greatest achievement for teams will surely be the significant difference made to communities overseas with the £100,000 pledged to complete the challenge!

A glorious day greeted teams of walkers and support crew as they gathered eagerly at the Glen Nevis Visitor Centre on Saturday morning. The CARE Challenge team and volunteers were on hand to help with preparations as teams got kitted up and began their briefings. There was excitement in the air and everyone was in good spirits and keen to get on the mountains. The teams were rewarded with stunning views of the Highlands while conquering their first and highest peak, the mighty Ben Nevis (1,334m) With their support crew on hand to greet them off the mountain after a safe descent it was a fantastic start to the Challenge. 

After being driven through the night to the Lake District it was time for a stop over at Southwaite services for refreshment and safety briefings for the dawn ascent of Scafell Pike (978m) the most difficult route of the three mountains. Unfortunately the British weather just couldn't hold out for the teams and they were greeted with extremely high winds and torrential rain. As a result of the treacherous conditions on the mountain, for the sake of the teams safety, the summit for the challenge was brought down to Esk Hause below the dangerous boulder fields, less than 150m from the true summit. Reaching this point under the circumstances was an achievement, and all teams did that and returned safely to make their way to North Wales and their final peak – Snowdon (1,085m)

With improved, but not ideal conditions, spirits were high in Llanberis as teams headed off for their final ascent. There was limited visibility on Snowdon but all teams summited in good time and were greeted with cheers and celebrations at the finish line courtesy of their support crew, family, friends along side the CARE Challenge Team and volunteers. After a few bottles of champagne were popped outside the marquee everyone sat down to a well earned meal and reflected on the achievements of the weekend with presentations and an insight to CARE's work in Africa supported by funds raised through the CARE Challenge Series.
Michele Evans, CARE Challenge Manager had this to say:

“We are delighted with the results of this Challenge, as the last  CARE 3 Peaks in our 2008 season it was great to have such a great event. All the teams showed good spirit and determination on the Challenge, and the funds you have raised will make a tangible difference to our work overseas. We look forward to seeing you again on the mountains soon.”

There are a few special mentions that have to be made. The fastest team on the mountain was Team TRADE from National Grid, completing in 21hours 41mins. But this challenge had one of the closest top three times ever with Team KENYA from Bardon Contracting came in at 21hours 43mins and Team EDUCATION from Iceland came in at 21hours 44mins, only 3 minutes between them and all great times! But the competitive edge we really like to see is in the fundraising, and the team from Deloitte & Touche really pulled out the stops with an awesome pledge of £20,000. The final award went to teams from Barclays Bank and Moneycorp for collecting the most rubbish from the mountains in our litter picking competition, helping us to fulfill our pledge to leave these stunning areas that we use in better condition when we leave than when we arrived. All involved went on to celebrate in to the night and stretch out on the dancefloor with some finding the energy until the early hours.

Team Results