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B You enjoy outdoor sports and have found an interesting story in a mountain
climbing magazine.
Attempting the Three Peaks Challenge
By John Highland
Last September, a team of 12 of us, 10
climbers and two minibus drivers, participated
in the Three Peaks Challenge, which is well
known for its difficulty among climbers in
Britain. The goal is to climb the highest
mountain in Scotland (Ben Nevis), in England
(Scafell Pike), and in Wales (Snowdon) within 24 hours, including
approximately 10 hours of driving between the mountains. To prepare for this,
we trained on and off for several months and planned the route carefully. Our
challenge would start at the foot of Ben Nevis and finish at the foot of
Snowdon.
Ben Nevis
(▲1344 m)
Scafell Pike
(▲977 m)
Snowdon
(▲1085 m)
We began our first climb at six o'clock on a beautiful autumn morning.
Thanks to our training, we reached the summit in under three hours. On the
way down, however, I realised I had dropped my phone. Fortunately, I found it
with the help of the team, but we lost 15 minutes.
We reached our next destination, Scafell Pike, early that evening. After
six hours of rest in the minibus, we started our second climb full of energy.
As it got darker, though, we had to slow down. It took four-and-a-half hours to
complete Scafell Pike. Again, it took longer than planned, and time was
running out. However, because the traffic was light, we were right on
schedule when we started our final climb. Now we felt more confident we
could complete the challenge within the time limit.
Unfortunately, soon after we started the final climb, it began to rain
heavily and we had to slow down again. It was slippery and very difficult to
see ahead. At 4.30 am, we realised that we could no longer finish in 24 hours.
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