Three Peaks Challenge
Straight off a boat in Cornwall, onto a plane, hirecar and then hike up Ben Nevis, drive down to Wales, and within 24 hours, find yourself on top of Mount Snowdon. Two of Britain's highest mountains within 24 hours? Not your idea of a fun weekend? Well, mine neither, but (for my sins) I took the job, and so duly suffered the consequences. And I cheated. Twice.
In order to photograph the Three Peaks Challenge, I just *had* to cheat. First, there is no way that a guy of average fitness can run up and down three mountains laden with camera grear within 24 hours and drive the 500-odd miles between the peaks all by him- or herself. Even the fittest athletes attempting this physical endurance test have designated drivers that take them from mountain to mountain, allowing them to rest en route. This luxury was not part of the plan for me, so I skipped Scafell Pike in Cumbria and drove from the Scottish Highlands straight to Wales. And to my luck, I was ahead of the teams arriving from Scafell Pike, and then I cheated a second time: I took the Snowdon Mountain Railway to get myself as close to the summit as possible before the first teams arrived. Bliss! The cheat paid off: I was on top of Mount Snowdon, enjoying a spectacular panorama as the first runners appeared. We took a quick picture - snot and sweat included - before they turned around and ran back down the mountain.
A few more of my favourites from this mad weekend are here:
Ben Nevis:
Mount Snowdon:
In order to photograph the Three Peaks Challenge, I just *had* to cheat. First, there is no way that a guy of average fitness can run up and down three mountains laden with camera grear within 24 hours and drive the 500-odd miles between the peaks all by him- or herself. Even the fittest athletes attempting this physical endurance test have designated drivers that take them from mountain to mountain, allowing them to rest en route. This luxury was not part of the plan for me, so I skipped Scafell Pike in Cumbria and drove from the Scottish Highlands straight to Wales. And to my luck, I was ahead of the teams arriving from Scafell Pike, and then I cheated a second time: I took the Snowdon Mountain Railway to get myself as close to the summit as possible before the first teams arrived. Bliss! The cheat paid off: I was on top of Mount Snowdon, enjoying a spectacular panorama as the first runners appeared. We took a quick picture - snot and sweat included - before they turned around and ran back down the mountain.
A few more of my favourites from this mad weekend are here:
Ben Nevis:
Mount Snowdon:
posted by Jiri Rezac at
Monday, June 16, 2008
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