Two down, its time for Snowdon

Fatigue is starting to take its toll on climbers and driver alike, sapping their energy and testing their  morale.
Leaving Helvellyn behind, the team turned in a more westerly direction which took them right into the path of that weather front that had previously been chasing them. It heaped stress on John as he struggled with the weather as well as his own weariness. They were all hoping that, having driven through the weather front, it would only be  the tail end that would effect the climbers on Mt Snowdon. This however was not the case. the weather front was moving slower than anticipated and as a result seemed to hang ominously over them. Even the marshals commented on the unprecedented amount of rain.

Sodden at the start of Mt Snowdon

By early afternoon the Peakishness team arrived at the Royal Victoria Legacy Hotel in Snowdonia (a 200 mile drive). At the hotel the team had to go through another kit check before they set off for the Pen-Y-Pass car park ahead of their 15:44  Mt Snowdon climb start time.

The drivers were not able to wait at the car park, they had to negotiate the treacherous road both ways before refuelling and finally returning to the hotel  for refreshments and a snatched, well deserved nap. John was hoping to have a brief break to recharge before the sodden team arrived back.





Mt Snowdon is the highest mountain in Wales at 3559ft (1085 m) With a little over four miles to the summit and the same back down, it has been said that Mt Snowdon is probably the easiest of the 4 peaks but I think the team will strongly disagree. Snowdon, is the third peak of the challenge  but the second one of the day.
In previous years, the average time to climb Mt Snowdon and return was 3 hours 25 minutes, but I bet that was without the rain!

Soaked but still smiling

The weather  forecast had not been entirely accurate. The rain hadn't let up as Mark, Julia and Tanya forged ahead to the summit. The sodden track was treacherous and accident was almost inevitable as the trio picked their way through the rocky obstacles. Tanya probably came off the worse for wear as she pulled her quadriceps(thigh muscle)  on the way up, making the ascent an agonising one.To add insult to injury, she lost her concentration and fell and hit her head. Despite all odds, Julia, Tanya and Mark made it across the finish line at 20:05, 4 hours and 21 minutes after starting.

Carrying more water down than when they went up!

For some reason, the pubs in the area had stopped serving meals by the time the team descended the mountain, so they all had to make do with a liquid dinner.

Mt Snowdon Finish line

Not a good situation when they need their body fuel. Julia, John, Tanya and Mark had to make do with just hot showers and warm, dry clothes, before setting off for the ferry port at Holyhead. John had done his best to dry clothing and walking shoes on the air vents of the car while driving. Undaunted, morale was amazingly high.

By now, climbers and driver alike were running on pure adrenalin as they climbed into the car again. John had approximately  1 1/4 hour drive to Holyhead to make the check in time of 23:30, to catch the 2:30am ferry. Thereafter a further 4 1/2 hours to Dunloe for the last of the 4 mountains, Carrantuohill.

Authors Note,
Tanya's phone suffered on the slopes of Mt Snowdon  and as a result, there are no pictures of the team at the summit. Due to the remoteness of the peaks, it is not always possible to get a signal to send pictures, so I will add more as and when I get them.