My vanity would usually stop me posting the photo on the left but this is the difference 24 hours can make. Said photo is on the top of a mountain in the dark after being awake for near on 24 hours. The second is 24 hours later, rested, fed and feeling accomplished. 

This was my third mountain challenge. Two years ago I climbed the three national peaks. The 3  highest peaks in Scotland, England and Wales. It was one a day for three days. The following year I did the 3 Yorkshire Peaks with four of the women that I did the previous climb with. You do develop relationships on such adventures. The Yorkshire three did take it out of me. 27 miles over 13 hours. I could hardly put one foot in front of another at the end. There was the usual ‘never again’ but it wasn’t long before three of us were planning this latest challenge. Again three mountains. The difference being that it wasn’t a continuous walk. We would be getting a bit of respite as we were driven between mountains. Less miles. 20 compared to 27 but the same amount of hours climbing. The big difference being that a lot of the time would be under cover of darkness. We were kicking off at 12 midday and completing it at 7 o’clock the following morning. 

So at 10 o’clock on a sunny (it had been throwing it down the day before) morning we met the other 36 challengers at Chester Station for our kit check. There were a few fails so we had to detour to a sports discount store. A waterproof jacket for one and a pair of climbing boots for another. Good luck with that one. A three peak challenge is not the best way to break in new boots. 

Kirsty and Lisa

It was 1pm when we set off up Snowdon. There are a number of paths up the mountain. We were going up the Miner’s Track and down The Watkin Path (the second hardest path). I had climbed Snowdon via Miner’s  before. There is a lot of scrambling. I’d managed to impale my knee with my walking pole last time. But I got to the top unscathed on this occasion. The wind was fierce. On occasions it had the potential to knock you off  balance  as my light weight walking poles flapped about. But it wasn’t raining.

 By the time we had got to the top we had broken into four groups. I was in the last. Not unusual. Although I did progress into the third group for the second two mountains. The last time I climbed Snowdon we descended down the railway path which is slow and steady. Watkins was very different. Quite a bit of scrambling. We were told to keep our distance from the walker in front in case we fell. Great. But we all got down although I later heard of one injury that stopped a fellow challenger going any further. 

Half way up Snowdon

We got down Snowdon by 6pm. A bacon butty later we were on our way to Cadair Idris for a 8pm start. I found most of Cadair fairly easy. The ascent wasn’t particularly hard. The light was fading but I was fine with that. One of our group was finding it difficult. She asked how much further to the top as she was starting to feel panicky. These challenges are mental as well as physical. 35-40 minutes replied our guide. It remained 35-40 minutes for the next half hour. This is something I have often found with mountain guides. 5 minutes equates to 15 and 35 is easily an hour. 

Sunset on Cadair Idris

The last 20 minutes were hard. Our guide stressed the importance of staying on the trail as 10 feet either side were cliffs that would be game over. And the last few feet were a scramble over boulders. As we sat at the summit in the dark I hoped we wouldn’t be going back the same way. No such luck. I struggled. By this time the rain had come in. We had to quickly get our waterproofs on and get ready for the descent in the darkness. We were now a group of 10 with two guides. They decided that I would follow the first guide being the slowest in the group. I do find getting down a mountain much harder than walking up. I’m more likely to fall over and more prone to overthink things which makes me hesitant. Not good. And going first put a lot of pressure on me as I felt I was slowing everyone else down. I will also mention here that I was the oldest challenger probably by a good number of years. And what is tolerated with a certain amount of sympathy if you are young this is certainly not the case if you are older. In very much the way that as a woman you have to be so much better than a man to achieve the same as an older person you have to be up there with the best not be viewed as a liability. 

Anyway we all got down. We were on our way to the final mountain three hours away. I did try to snooze on the minibus but it wasn’t going to happen. It was now 3.30 in the morning. A time I hadn’t seen for a good few years. Strangely enough I didn’t feel tired. I was ready for this last mountain. I had done it before. It is a relentless climb with little reprieve as you ascend but no scrambling so I knew that it was going to be straightforward if not easy. And it was. We completed it in two hours. But I don’t think I want to repeat being up the top of a wet, windy mountain at 5.30 in the morning in the dark. 

By 7 o’clock it was all over. And I wasn’t the slowest down. I had been less affected by the fatigue than some. A piece of cake, a certificate and a glass of Prosecco later we were on our way to our AirBnB in Cardiff. Lisa’s brilliant idea. We spend the day eating, lounging and complaining about our aching muscles. It is just wonderful sharing challenges with these two girls. And to think I’ve only known them two years.

24 hours later


Twenty-four hours later it all feels a little surreal. Being at the top of a mountain in Wales in the middle of the night was certainly an experience. One that I won’t be repeating but it was life-affirming. My body can do these things. My age makes me a little slower, the arthritis in my fingers makes scrambling and holding the walking poles slightly painful and being on Warfarin makes me more wary of hurting myself. But out of the 39 challengers that stepped onto the first mountain I was one of the 35 that finished. 

3 mountains, 20 miles, 17 hours. Done.