Dear all,

I just wanted to say thanks to everyone who has sponsored us in our three peaks challenge and let you know we completed it on Sunday just managing all three peaks in 24 hours and getting back down in 26.   

We started at 15:55 on Saturday 6 August and left Glen Nevis in warm sunshine having spent the day looking up at the clear summit. The first hour was hot work with 600 metres of ascent, then the cloud and rain rolled in – we didn’t see the sun again until we were descending Snowdon. Good time was made up Ben Nevis reaching a very cold summit in rain, sleet and hail at 18:45 and getting back down at 21:00 right on schedule. We left eating a fine meal with morale high.

Solid driving through the night failed to save us from the inevitable loss of time with the minibus limited to 62 mph so we set off from Wasdale Head at 03:30 on Sunday morning, 30 minutes behind schedule.   Despite a very dark wet night all started well until a navigational error saw us crossing Lingmell Gill a bit too late and getting onto the wrong path. We quickly realised our mistake and cut across some rough ground to the correct path by which time we’d picked up a tail of two more groups who had also gone astray. Back on the track before the crucial junction we ascended into the cloud at Hollow Stones before dawn and the fun really began began. It was a lunar landscape with no path and just cairns to follow - head torch off we were in darkness; head torch on the glare reflected back from the mist. Eventually, a very grey dawn arrived with us back on the recognisable path without our tail who we’d lost somewhere in pre-dawn murk.  Having arrived at the summit at 06-15 the descent was relatively straightforward and we eventually got back down a little after 08-00 another 30 minutes lost but still pleased with progress as we learned a total of eight three peak parties had got lost that morning with a number failing to reach the summit.

Rolling into North Wales with aching muscles, some rather sore arthritic joints and one hour fifteen minutes behind schedule we accepted a 24 hour finish wasn’t going to happen. The target was re-set to making the top of Snowdon in two hours thirty minutes which we achieved inside the 24 hour mark at 15:45 - those final steps really hurt. We descended at a more leisurely pace than we’d set for the rest of the challenge and returned to a fantastic welcome and another great meal from our support team.

Big thanks to James, Chris and Erika for walking the talk and doing this with me and Mark, Gill and Jane for being the best support team ever. Also Ian for joining us on the final peak.

Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS) is a painful, progressive form of inflammatory arthritis. It mainly affects the spine but can also affect other joints, tendons and ligaments. Exercise is a key part of disease management and the NASS local branches support this through regular weekly physiotherapy and hydro-therapy sessions which are self funded.  I’ve suffered from AS for over 20 years and wanted to use the event to raise money for both my local branch in Bath and the national society. Whatever money is raised will be split between the two.

As the local group is completely self funded this donation will have a genuine impact helping secure our financial situation and enabling us to move forward with future plans and purchases.  Due to the financial restraints within the NHS the Royal United Hospital in Bath now charges us for the rental of their gym and hydrotherapy pool.  This expense is in addition to reimbursing two physiotherapists for their specialist support.  Although we use the hospital equipment, from time to time we do purchase additional items such as flotation aids for the hydrotherapy pool and exercise mats and balls for use in the gym.  The mats in particular are surprisingly expensive as they need to be top quality in order to provide adequate protection to the joints and spine when doing floor and stretching exercises. 

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