Challenge Events
At weekends in the summer, I support mountain climbing challenge events that raise money for charity. Typically these are 3 Peaks 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 Snowdon within a single 24-hour period. For the 24 Peaks, they summit 24 Peaks in the Lake District in 24 hours. Most events are for Children's Aid Direct but others have been for Guide Dogs for the Blind and the Notting Hill Housing Trust.
My role is to provide radio communications at one of the hills to co-ordinate the event, working for Global Challenge UK, 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 takes 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. If not in the vehicle, then I'm furiously colouring our scoreboard, which graphically tracks progress, quickly highlighting teams we've not heard from and which helps the support teams to see where their colleagues are.
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. This, for us the organisers, is where the challenge really begins. The carnage caused over the last eight years we have been doing this takes some beating.
Why do I do it? Well, aside from the crack, incredibly we raise around £1m every year for CAD alone. That's a lot of pennies for little kiddies in need. My health suffers as a result and most of my holidays disappear as I take Mondays off to get back from Snowdon and recover... but hey! It's worth it!