Earlier this month the news was full of pictures of the Princess of Wales after she completed the National Three Peaks challenge.
Days later, my friend Gadi Albert and I quite literally followed in her footsteps – although no photographers waited for us at the finishing line of the challenge, which involves taking on Britain’s three tallest mountains in 24 hours.
“Everyone wake up, get your boots on and let’s get walking." They weren’t the most welcome words to hear having been jolted awake in a gloomy car park at the foot of Snowdon. Trying to get out of the coach felt like an impossibility given our battle weary legs and wounds inflicted by Ben Nevis – Scotland’s highest peak – and Scafell Pike, England’s equivalent. But some ibuprofen and a tuna sandwich later, we were marching up to the top as daylight quickly faded.
Time was I’d have said I was doing this for fun but now I realise it was about so much more. As a keen hiker, I’d always known of Three Peaks Challenge and its status as the most testing of UK hiking challenges. So if I truly wanted to achieve this golden badge of outdoor adventure, I knew it would be a question of when and not if. I prepared with a regime of lengthy afternoon walks, often accompanied by Gadi, with whom I last went hiking in Israel when I was on tour. I topped this up at the gym by training with the hiker’s best friend, “the Stairmaster” machine, which provides a must-do workout for anyone taking on the Three Peaks.
When we first boarded the Charity Challenge bus in Chester that Friday morning we were 14 strangers. But after two days of pushing ourselves to the absolute limit with barely any sleep, we became so much more. Each person was fighting their own battle and fundraising for a cause close to their hearts, be it Cancer Research or Dementia UK. One woman we spoke to was fundraising for research into multiple sclerosis, after she herself was diagnosed last year, showing just how meaningful this challenge proved to be.
If you found yourself struggling, there was someone on the hand with a pick-me-up or a word of encouragement – be it a Charity Challenge leader or another participant – as we all knew how much it meant to climb these mountains and complete the challenge together.
The darkest of our 24 hours came at the summit of Ben Nevis, the tallest and definitely the meanest of the peaks. Crawling up loose slate in sub-freezing temperatures was tough enough, before we were hit by driving rain at the summit, which put our so-called waterproof gear to shame. My boots let in the freezing rain which, when combined with the tough terrain, caused me immense pain in my heel and what felt like frostbitten toes. Was this meant to be fun, we asked each other?
Having hit the peak, we entered what felt like fight or flight mode. Heads went down as we put one foot in front of the other and raced to the bottom. Nobody spoke for well over an hour, united by the same determined aim: “GET ME THE **** OFF THIS MOUNTAIN.”
Throughout the weekend we were constantly reminded of the urgency of moving quickly in order to hit our goal. That said, there was plenty of time to be with our own thoughts and engage in profound conversation with our fellow hikers.
Separated from the chaos of London life by nature’s tranquillity, Gadi and I spent a lot of time talking about our chosen charity: CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably). It focusses broadly on mental health awareness and suicide prevention, and more specifically, the male mental health crisis.
We talked a lot about how much social media is damaging young people’s lives and how perhaps older generations don’t quite recognise the extent. Hateful and bigoted views are commonplace in such spaces, and with young people spending so much of their lives online there is obviously a detrimental effect to their mental wellbeing.
When we reached the bottom of Snowdon, there was a great sense of pride and relief among the group, having completed a challenge so physically, and mentally gruelling. However, Gadi and I knew the challenge was far from over, as the hardest part of our journey was yet to come: navigating the London underground in a heatwave with heavy bags and barely functioning legs.
My initial hope had been to spend a fun weekend with my old JFS friend. It was certainly packed with highs but best of all was the unparalleled sense of pride and achievement at the end. Not only for conquering the UK’s tallest mountains, but for doing so knowing that our fundraising might change, and even save, a stranger’s life.
Our next challenge? Climbing the Golan Heights at the height of the Israeli summer.
To sponsor Jack and Gadi’s achievement, visit their fundraising page: charitychallenge.com/challenge/72/National-Three-Peaks-Challenge
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