At weekends in the summer, I support mountain climbing challenge events that raise money for charity. Typically these are 3 and 24 Peaks Challenges, where participants climb 3 or 24 mountains in 24 hours. For the 3 Peaks Challenge, they usually climb Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and then Snowden within a single 24 hour period. For the 24 Peaks, they summit 24 Peaks in the Lake District in 24 hours - 14 on one day and 10 on the second with a short sleep in youth hostel in between. Most events are for Children's Aid Direct, for whom we did the work in Azerbaijan but others have been for Guide Dogs for the Blind and the Notting Hill Housing Trust. Most recently, we did one for the Mitchemp Trust, for whom I went to Baffin Island.
My role is to provide radio communications at one of the hills to co-ordinate the event, working for Global Challenge UK (who devise, construct and run these things for a living), to make sure that everyone who went up the hill comes down and to organise emergency evacuation with the rescue services when needed. Easy on the face of it but we have up to 200 walkers in any one event in 20 to 30 teams, which take some organising!
Essentially, I sit in a comms vehicle all day chatting to people on the radio (each team has a hand held unit), recording teams' progress and motivating them up and down the hill (usually because I've been up since 4am and want to pack up and get to the party!). If not in the vehicle, then I'm furiously colouring our scoreboard, which graphically tracks progress, quickly highlighting teams we've not heard from (either slow or lost) and which helps the support teams to see where their colleagues are. Occasionally, the powers that be send me up a mountain the night before with a tent and a huge pile of radio kit to create a relay station to enable communications around mountainous corners that radio waves find hard to negotiate.
Oh yes, and then there's the party. The events finish with a big bash where all participants are royally fed, whilst being encouraged to water themselves in large quantities to celebrate their incredible achievement (for it is amazing what these peeps do). This, for us, the organisers, is where the challenge really begins. We say to all participants that the event is not a race, but a marathon and completion is all that matters .. but they do not realise that the finishing line at Snowden is NOT where it finishes - that's only half way! The carnage caused over the last eight years we have been doing this, takes some beating - however this is not the right place to record that particular part of history, which is best left (and taken) as a bar conversation. Just check out the pics, which will give the briefest of glimpses of where it's at. To find out more you will have to join me or, better still, do an event!
Why do I do it? Well, aside from the fun, incredibly, we raise around £1m every year for CAD alone. That's alot of pennies for ikle kiddies in need. My health suffers as a result and most of my holidays disappear as I take Mondays off to get back from Snowden and recover .. but hey! It's worth it!