Kaplan 3 Peaks Challenge post-event report

The weekend of 12-13 July saw 19 teams from the Finance and Legal sectors descend on Fort William in Scotland to take part in the third Kaplan 3 Peaks Challenge – to tackle the highest mountains in Scotland, England and Wales. Teams pledged a fantastic £100,000 which will make a tangible difference to communities supported by CARE overseas.

Teams and their support crew arrived at the Glen Nevis Visitors Centre on Saturday morning with an air of excitement and trepidation, where they were greeted and reassured by the CARE Challenge Team and volunteers. After a series of briefings, teams were all kitted up and ready to start their ascent of Ben Nevis (1,334m) All were graced with near perfect walking weather and rewarded with stunning views of the Scottish Highlands. It was fantastic to welcome to the event for the first time a team from one of the Kaplan USA offices, Team Health, who had crossed the Atlantic to take on a challenge in the UK.

KPMG on Snowdon
Team Business - KPMG tackle Snowdon
After a safe descent it was time to hit the road as support crew drove their teams through the night, heading for the Lake District and Southwaite Services for refreshments and safety briefings for Scafell Pike (978m) From there it was to Seathwaite Farm and a crack of dawn start for mountain number two - Scafell Pike. Well known for being the toughest, if not the highest, climb in the challenge, with a boulder field to tackle. With Scafell under their belts, it was time for the last leg of the journey, courtesy of the fantastic support crew, to North Wales and the last peak on the list - Snowdon (1,085m)

The great weather continued for teams as they were greeted with sunshine and blue skies in Llanberis as they prepared for their final ascent. Their efforts were well rewarded with stunning views across Wales and of the ocean in the distance. Then it was time to make the final descent to the much anticipated Finish line where all were cheered in by their support crew, fellow teams, Kaplan staff and the Challenge Team and volunteers. Kaplan also rewarded all participants with their very own Challenge rucksack to commemorate their achievement along with their Challenge medal.

CIMA on Snowdon
CIMA and dog on their third peak!
Special mentions must go to Team Farming, Geldards LLP, who completed the Challenge in the fastest time of 23 hours 29 minutes. They were closely followed by Team Darfur, Kaplan Head Office, in a time of 23 hours 38 minutes. Team Dignity, from Deloitte & Touche, won the Litter collecting prize as they handed over bags full of rubbish, helping us to ensure the areas we use are left in a better condition when we leave than when we arrive. Team Shelter, Kaplan Financial Leeds & Newcastle, were presented with the Fundraising prize after their pledge of £7,000 beat the rest, a fantastic effort. A special mention must also go to Team Education, CIMA, whose four legged friend provided entertainment for all and completed the Challenge to earn her own medal!

CARE Challenge Manager, Michele Evans, had this to say:

“A great third year for the Kaplan 3 Peaks Challenge! Teams were blessed with perfect walking conditions and achieved a lot over the weekend. The biggest achievement of all has to be the fundraising total for this event, funds that will make a real difference supporting CARE International’s poverty fighting programmes overseas. We must also extend our warmest thanks to Kaplan for their continued support of this Challenge.”

Team Results

Company Name & Teamleader Call Sign Ben Nevis Scafell Pike Snowdon Drive Time Total
Geldards LLP - Jamie Turner Farming 04:58 04:53 03:38 10:00 23:29
Kaplan Head Office - Jim Ellison Darfur 05:09 04:58 03:31 10:00 23:38
KPMG - Anna Richards Business 05:27 05:19 04:17 10:00 25:03
Kaplan Financial White Lion - Barik Chowdhury Programme 06:40 04:31 04:52 10:00 26:03
White & Case LLP Team 1 - Kirsty Scott Justice 06:21 05:25 04:20 10:00 26:06
Deloitte & Touche LLP Team 2 - Phillip Scott Finance 05:55 06:04 04:29 10:00 26:28
CIMA - Caroline Kelly Education 07:03 05:13 04:23 10:00 26:39
Kaplan Financial Markets - Nigel Moran Trade 05:37 05:57 05:24 10:00 26:58
Kaplan Law School - Giles Proctor Water 06:03 05:56 05:04 10:00 27:03
Kaplan Financial Leeds/Kaplan Newcastle - Andy Buncall/Chris Siddle Shelter 05:39 06:57 04:33 10:00 27:09
Kaplan Financial Corporate - Caroline Manning Skill 05:07 07:05 05:04 10:00 27:16
White & Case LLP Team 2 - Kirsty Scott Climate 06:59 05:28 05:01 10:00 27:28
Kaplan Financial East Midlands - Will Holt Market 06:18 05:53 05:27 10:00 27:38
Kaplan Financial Manchester Sebastian Zoledziejewski Urban 06:18 06:09 05:48 10:00 28:15
Kaplan Financial Borough - Rory Page Poverty 05:14 07:16 05:03 10:00 28:35
Kaplan Financial IT - Mike O'Rorke India 07:44 06:16 05:29 10:00 29:24
Deloitte & Touche LLP Team 1 - Adam Reid Dignity 07:07 07:30 04:55 10:00 29:32
Kaplan Professional USA - Marianne Juscik Health 08:20 05:59 05:33 10:00 29:52
 
 

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CARE challenge are an in-house charity fundraising team. We offer many exciting charity events that you can join. All our charity challenges offer amazing adventures outdoors and lots of our activities take place over adventure weekends. If charity runs are your thing, then we have lots to offer - 10K runs, half marathons and many other running events. Or, how about cycling events for charity? We certainly have lots to offer in the charity cycling department. There are charity rides where you can cycle London to Brighton or you can even do a charity bike ride from London to Paris, if London to Brighton isn't far enough! We also have some charity walks and hikes. Later this year we have a sponsored walk that is 25 miles long in order to celebrate the 25th anniversary of CARE International's UK office. If activities outdoors and adventure weekends get your adrenalin pumping, then why not sign up for one of our mountain challenges? We have numerous charity challenges on mountains over the year from three peaks challenges to 24 peaks challenges - if you think you're up to it! For many of our charity fundraising events you can register as a teamleader or part of a team. We believe our charity challenges offer great teambuilding activities and are really great for team events. So if you're interested in corporate team building through a great charity challenge then the CARE Challenge Series is for you. Click here to see all our charity challenges.