THE TCT 3 PEAKS CHARITY CHALLENGE OUTCOME

The ‘teenage cancer trust 3 peaks challenge’ support team were made up of two crews from opposite sides of the country, me, some family and friends from the south west and other friends and colleagues from the north east.

Everyone travelled towards Ben Nevis on Thursday 28th, for some including me, it was on Thursday evening, after a full days work, and we had arranged to meet up at the backpackers’ inn at the foot of Ben Nevis so as to get some rest before the challenge began on Friday, although in reality the challenge had already started a while ago.

The company who had first promised late last year to produce a chair fit for the task to hand had, just some six weeks ago and this after some persistent telephone calling and emailing, rather than informing me the chair had actually been made, instead informed me that they were actually then not going to be able to help at all; leaving me no real effective time to go to other companies, further discussions were then had and the outcome arrived at was that they would actually convert an old everyday wheelchair of mine to an original design; with pictures supplied to compliment computerised drawings it was indicated they would still have, the job was on – the chair finally arrived last Monday, not really anywhere near to absolute full spec required and leaving no real time to fully turn it around, yet, hey we had something to go with and at least the challenge was on!!

During the last few weeks two of the team also had their own challenges, one had an emergency appendectomy and the other a broken thumb (and this is an unbelievable and bemusing story in itself – not for the person it happened to of course!!)

Remembering our own chosen rule - no ‘blood substitutes’!!

We changed one around to be part of the ground crew and the other also still joined the team yet now as route finder and photographer – easy as that!!

Well it should have been, and yet it wasn’t – upon arrival at the bunkhouse on Thursday, I was informed that three other members of the support team weren’t able to be available for varying reasons – the recent floods in the north east for one – the challenge had just grown immensely, nonetheless it was just another part of the challenge and one we had accepted.

On Friday morning we saw a nice change to the persistent driving rain that had been happening for several days (feels like weeks) previously and although the clouds were still hanging around it was windy, yet stayed dry for the start

After a final team talk, a few last final checks and adjustments to the chair and equipment and, to take advantage of the break in the weather we started out at 10.06am, two hours earlier than originally planned.

The route we chose starts out from the inn and the first hurdle was to get over a sty gate or barbed wire lined fence which quickly ensured the team had to effectively work together and fully understand what potential challenges might lie ahead……………

Ahead was a gruelling 7 hours to the snow lined summit, much more than most of the usual trekkers would take to go up and down but very much as we had anticipated & given the 25% decrease in the overall team size, a great achievement – the first time a team including a manual wheelchair user has reached the summit of Ben Nevis

It was great feeling to make the summit and some were more tired than others, yet the real work had yet to begin – getting back down; many other trekkers had been inspired by what we were doing and the word had quickly spread up and down the mountain, just the sort of awareness we had hoped to achieve for the teenage cancer trust, strange though that none felt inspired enough to be inclined to want to stay and help!!

As was much anticipated with such an event many fellow trekkers and adventurers had passed us, both up and down and the comment of the day came when one of the support team asked another trekker on the way down ‘is it far to the summit’ – 'the summit' no, its not far was the reply – it’s just a LONG way!!

Basic rules of life – don’t ask questions that you really don’t want to hear the answer to.

The workload required to descend was to be equally challenging and of much similar timing & the chair had started to show the same, if not more, signs of fatigue as the team, so much so that it resulted in an initial stress fracture of one of the new welds which finally became a total detachment leaving the main frame of the chair with a potential weakness at the very least – the ultimate challenge now was to get everyone off the mountain efficiently and safely!!

We finally got off of the mountain at around midnight, some 13+ hours after starting off, very thankful for the lights that Gerry Gilloughley of Streamlight had given us, and another challenge faced me, that of the decision to continue with the three peaks or not; more an Hobson’s choice really, the support team were less in numbers than was ideal and meant very little or no rest for all of them, Scafell is considered more challenging than the other two and the chair was already badly damaged – whilst the days weather had been relatively good to us the followings days forecast was not so good.

Whilst I am the first to admit that I find not giving it my all or saying no to completing anything I take on a little difficult, reality and the safety of people has to always be the main factor in any considered decision making progress and that is why, ultimately, I called off the undertaking of the other two peaks on this occasion; so yes, the ultimate three peaks in a wheelchair challenge still remains a challenge and there was always the outside chance it would.

I was the first to do Great Gable in an everyday wheelchair in the mid nineties, Snowdon & Ben Nevis since, yet now have to still put the 3 peaks challenge together, a challenge that given that I believe 'anything is possible' is achievable and that it will now be done on another day, maybe by someone else, if I don’t get to do it first!! Maybe that someone else is YOU!!

I believe we have achieved the ultimate outcome initially sought of raising further awareness of, and support for, the teenage cancer trust, the organisation itself and their members,  certainly across a wider network of people via the assistance of MandM and Nite watches and via the many well wishers we met on Ben Nevis

A sincere thank you to every individual, organisation, and company alike that has supported this event, materially or financially and the fundraising will continue so visit the TCT online donation pages to see how you might be able to help further

To conclude; many of us have the wonderful opportunity of choosing to create or accept challenges in life, others have no choice other than to first accept and then face theirs; I’m glad I’m one of the former group

Jon Amos