As a bit of an eye opening exercise we decided to have a go at climbing up Mt Snowdon in October 2007 to see how everyone could cope. We knew we needed to be doing it in the region of 4 hours up and down on the challenge day and hoped we could get somewhere close to this on the trial.
The weather was not on our side and the conditions were awful, at the top you could barely see past a couple of metres in front and everyone was talking about the accident which had taken place the day before where someone had died on the mountain.
The day was pretty succesful (depening on your point of view) and we managed to get up and down (with a sandwich and chocolate break for Tony) in 4 and a half hours which was acceptable.
The support team got some valuable practice in too, they went shopping, had a ride on the train and had dinner out...
Tony - 7 - Solid but drifted towards the end when he ran out of choclate bars. Also made the schoolboy error of taking his dry clothes up the mountain and getting them soaked, resulting in a trip to the shops for new, dry clothes for the ride home.
Shaban - 9 - Frightening pace and lack of fear. Shab's climbed in just a t-shirt until we were nearly half way up. Only down point was what can only be described as a 'Dogfood Pasty' which Shabs found at the service station which stunk out the bus.
Chris - 7 - His usual solid self, extra mention for controlling 'Party' Sean on the bus home without 'chinning' him.
Sean - 7 - Good climb, lost a bit of confidence after a trip on the way down then proceeded to get smashed in the mini bus on Sue's red wine, but crucially didn't winge as much as expected.
Craig - 9 - Led from the front and even managed to combine the climbing skills of Sir Edmund Hillary with the photography of Lord Lichfield.
Marc G - 8 - Never gave in and even managed to pose for some pictures on the top, have a look at the pic with Marc and Shabs below, rumors are rife that they look a little too similar...
Nigel - 7 - Probably found it the toughest but didn't quit, Nige probably regrets taking 3 spare changes of clothing up in the worlds biggest rucksack whcih didn;t help either. Best image of the day was Nige at the top, literally near to death, with a little kid laughing at him, as a man on crutches overtook us!
Mark A - 7 - No one really likes Mark but he didn't bother anyone too much so well done. (Following a public outcry we have to state that in fact, people do actually like Mark A.)
Sue / Jackie / Tiny - 8 - Hot dogs were excellent and special mention to Sue for bringing beer and wine. Not too impressed though with the stories of their nice day out on the train and in the pub which kind of dampened morale for the ride home. Room for improvement we think.
Getting Ready:
Nice hat Sean!
Nigel made sure he took enough gear...
Shab's was just VERY happy, not too sure why yet?
Maybe a little more training required Tony?
The 'Happy Crew' holding up the rear...
Nigel was quite confident at this point... It didn't last very long...
And then the weather started to turn... (But there's no need to cry Tony)
And it got worse...
As we neared the summit Shabs and Marc wanted to have their picture taken together...
Finally after 2 hours of climbing we got to the top... Not that there was much to see mind...
Mark thought it was worth a celebration anyway..
Nigel wasn't so sure there was anything to be happy about... (this is where the kid was laughing at him)
But enough pressure from everyone (including strangers) finally got a smile (sort of)
And finally... The obligatory group celebration.
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