Isle of Man Guide

CIVIL Defence volunteers raised more than £1,500 for good causes by scaling the highest mountains in England, Scotland and Wales.

Nine out of 10 participants managed the Three Peaks Challenge within 24hours over the late May bank holiday. The hardy souls who completed the 19 miles and 2,995 metres of ascent were Jim MacGregor, David Kermeen, Mick Naylor, Nick Webb, John Callow, Andrew Greaves, Phil Styles, Johnnie Sayle and Andrew Quirk. Team member Tom Stewart turned back before summiting either Scaefell Pike or Ben Nevis in order not to slow down the team but he did complete the climb of Snowdon.

As well as being a valuable training and team bonding exercise, the challenge helped to raised £1,060 for the Isle of Man Search and Rescue Dogs Association and £250 each for Llanberis Mountain Rescue in Wales and the Island’s nearest Mountain Rescue Team Bowland Pennine at Garstang, which the team presented during the trip.

Event organiser Jim MacGregor said:

‘The challenge began before even leaving the Island as the Steam Packet discovered our vehicle with passengers was too heavy for the SeaCat’s ramp but after walking on as foot passengers the team were under way. We completed Snowdon 30 minutes quicker than the four hours allocated and then began the real challenge. Our two dedicated drivers, Nigel Smith and Judith Bartram, also had a major challenge not only navigating to the mountains but the endurance of driving the distance. The first real snag was a major hold-up on the M6 at Preston where an earlier crash had closed two lanes of the motorway.

‘Scaefell Pike was by far the hardest and least enjoyable of the three and, after a continual slog uphill, the team was rewarded by thick wet mist and no views. Worse was that people completing the three peaks in the other direction were passing on horror stories of half a metre of snow on top of Ben Nevis. This certainly put the team on edge.

‘It was then a long six hour drive to Fort William, Scotland, at the base of Ben Nevis. This was a chance for some of the team to get some much needed sleep although obviously the drivers had to take it in turns. Ben Nevis is a big lump of a mountain with no visible sign of snow when we set off. It was 4am Sunday morning when most sane people are safely tucked up in bed! The team made good progress up the “tourist track” which is a name local rescue groups are not keen on. This became very evident later on when we were surprised to see how poorly equipped some people tackle the mountain. Nine members of the team summited by 7.30am with the long slog back down to the bus still to come. It then became clear what a good choice it was to set off at 4am as the “tourist track” becomes a continuous line of people like ants climbing the mountain.’

The final combined total walking time for the ten members was 114 hours 25mins, with prizes for guessing closest going to Margaret Swindlehurst and S. Moore.

The team would like to thank Isle of Man Civil Defence and all their sponsors for getting behind the team’s efforts, and also all those who provided prizes for the fund raising event including: Brian Kewley Landscaping Group, Boat trip on the Vagabond to the Calf, ½ lamb courtesy of Ballaneddin Farm and others.

There is an intention to create a new challenge for the Isle of Man Civil Defence volunteers each year supporting a different local charity.

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