Steve Bowen

Steve Bowen

Biography
Growing old disgracefully is hard to live up to, but I'm trying my best.

Here's the adventure from my point of view.

We planned to start at Snowdon at 09:00 August 22nd 2009 and finish on the roof of Britain before 09:00 August 23rd. On friday evening over a beer in the hotel we decided to give ourselves a fighting chance of catching a pre-arranged flight back to Luton at 13:20 August 23rd by starting 30 minutes earlier. As it happened our 'official' start time (as monitored by our time keeper 'Vinny Viddy') was 08:41 (I think).

The walk up Snowdon was not without a slight hiccup as we took the wrong path Crib Goch briefly. However, we soon rejoined the correct path PYG Track and continued on our merry way. The weather was absolutely perfect, with bright blue skies, very little wind and a pleasant temperature. There were a number of 3 Peakers here, but mostly Welsh 3 Peak Challengers (my next hike???). Fighting the PYG track for some time brought to the us to the summit at 10:54. The temperature there was quite bracing after being on the leeward side of the mountain for the entire path. Photos were taken, people used the toilet facilities, mars bars and kendal mint cake was consumed and we began the descent. We returned to our starting point Pen-y-Pass around 12:45 and unfortunately had a wait until our driver could arrive. I think we were all in great spirits at that point and eager to continue. A quick stop for some sandwiches, etc and we were on our way to our next destination - Scafell Pike.

To be frank I don't remember very much about the journey to Scafell Pike aside from an interesting looking accident on the M6 (Rolled Range Rover - couldn't have happened to a more deserving vehicle imho). Shirley, our manic driver, managed to avoid all the other cars queuing patiently in the inside 2 lanes and steamed towards the hold-up in a completely empty outside lane. We all smiled broadly. Later we were holding on for dear life as she displayed her quality car-craft at breakneck speeds through VERY twisty, narrow lanes towards Wasdale. At one point we had to stop at a minor traffic jam, caused by some stupid local lady driver who didn't understand the width of her own car or the fact that a car driven in reverse needs to steered in opposite direction than when driven forward. Melina sorted this stupidity out for her. We smiled broadly (again).

We started hiking Scafell Pike at 18:09. It was a pleasant evening ahead, with little clouds scudding slowly across the sky. The path begins in a field (with many cow-pat land mines to negotiate), before a very gentle scenic walk to The Gill Ford. Other 3 Peakers were walking here - A bunch of folks in pretty pink ladies knickers, An Army group who we would meet time and time again. Also 'Mac's Stag Do' lad's. Imagine that, the idea that a stag do should hike this peak - they enjoyed a cigar on the summit apparently. Good luck to Mac. After fording the stream, the hike changed for the worse. The 'steps' built into this ascent are wrong - every single one of them. They are the wrong size, shape and even the wrong colour. I'm being harsh, really. I found this the toughest part so far. Finally we crested an area called 'Brown Tongue' (strange name for a strange place). Rocks all over the place. Following this was a nice zig-zag path, smooth, but seemingly never-ending. Each crest would be followed by another crest, and so on, and so on, etc. Finally the summit was reached around 20:10. The wind was pretty strong and the temperature had dropped enough that we all donned thermals and fleeces. Again photos, mars bars and kendall mint cake happened. Incidentally, my undying thanks to the un-named hero who found my phone somewhere on the mountain and returned it to me on the summit.

The descent was not without incident. Olaf, a German with a sense of humour (really? awesome dude, they do exist apparently), was struggling with a very bad left knee. Myself, Istvan and  Lindsey walked slowly down with  Olaf trying to encourage him as much as we could. He was not looking good at all. It was really dark by the time we got back to the minivan. A quick change of clothes and some nice warm coffee (where did you find that Shirley?  Thanks) and we were off again. Not before we had to empty all the inquisitive bugs/flies/etc that look a liking to the many internal lights. Tip: At night close the windows/doors of the van when the interior lights are ablaze.

And so to Ben Nevis. The drive there was long, and cramped, and long, and tiring, oh and did I mention it was long? It was. We stopped at a garage for fuel, for both the minivan and us. Coffee, pasties, and a pair of gloves (these would come in handy later). Back on the road we drove through the night and arrived at Glen Nevis Visitor Centre in the dark and rain about 4:45. Quick change into waterproof gear and we set off at 05:05. Initially the path was wonderful and, as I was leading, I decided to push hard while it was easy going. I found out later from Pixie and  Istvan that the pace was a little bit quick. We were running very late and had already given up on making the flight back to Luton later that day. The early path was very picturesque, even in the early morning light, but the rain was constant. As we headed up the mountain the path changed to a smooth wide track, well maintained and quite pleasant to walk on. Except it was very very long, and made us walk along the side of the valley instead of UP the valley. Still that was the path and we continued along it. Several stops along the way to gather breath and rest the legs, grab some glucose from Mars Bars and Kendal Mint Cake saw me slowing quite considerably. Little was I to know what was to come. Remember, I said it was raining, well very soon we were walking into the cloud cover. Once inside the clouds the most dispiriting part of the whole weekend became evident. The ZIG-ZAG path. The path itself was quite hard underfoot, and by now my feet where beginning to feel the pain of the miles we'd already covered. Couple this with the 80 mph gusts of wind that scared me frequently, the constant cold whenever I stopped (which I had to do more and more frequently), and the thought that I was always getting later and later towards the target time, meant that my spirits were low. Linds and Pixie were always close by encouraging me to keep going and I know that without them I'd never had made it. Having tramped through 6 of the 7 Zigs (or are they Zags?) I was feeling a 2nd wind and getting encouraged again. The last part of the path was described a "summit plateau", which I took to mean reasonably flat. I suppose, in comparison to the zig-zag path, it was, but at each Trail Marker I expected to reach the summit and by the time I had passed about 10 of them and still had no idea where the summit was the mind stopped thinking, the legs stopped working and the lungs said no more please. Resting my head on my hiking stick, gathering my breath and trying to think of placing another foot forward, I felt a touch on my arm. Looking up revealed the face of a smiling Buddha. A voice said something like "Come on, you can do it", and suddenly I had energy and will again. Of course, it wasn't Buddha (what would he be doing near the summit of Ben Nevis in the rain?), it was Lindsey. I have to thank him for that moment. Meanwhile, Pixie had pushed on as he was determined to beat the target time. Istvan remained and strode on ahead on me by several metres. I could see his silhouette through the clouds. Then I met Vincent,  Andreas and  Pixie coming out of the clouds. They had made the summit and simply couldn't wait there for everyone else to join them as the temperatures and wind was unbearable. Fortunately, they said (and didn't lie) "It's 2 minutes to the summit". And it was!! I'd made it. It was a let-down due to the cloud cover, wind and cold, but I'd made it. It was 09:19. 38 minutes late.

Istvan and myself hid in the emergency shelter to escape the wind, although the cold remained. I can't remember if I was happy or not. I guess I was. I had 'tweeted' from each summit as I reached them and found the energy to do the final tweet from Ben Nevis. I'd also been texting several friends of my progress, but simply couldn't find the strength to do so from this beast of a mountain. After resting 10 minutes or so, more mars bars and mint cake, Istvan and I began the descent. He was really struggling with his knees now and looked in great pain. My feet were beginning to hurt like mad now and the wind and cold was really getting to me. I wanted to get down off this bloody mountain, but I didn't want to leave Istvan behind. I'm afraid I pushed him slightly faster than he wanted to go, but I was worried about stopping for long periods as the cold and wind were relentless. He kept on going though, like a good trooper. After what seemed like a lifetime we escaped the cloud cover and could see Loch Linnhe below (and it was so far away). The wind was still scaring me, especially as we rounded the valley head and descended the smooth path. A number of times I had to crouch to avoid being blown over. Meanwhile the feet were hurting bad. We caught up with Andreas who was really struggling with leg/knee pain. Vincent had walked back up the mountain to join us and the 4 of walked together some some time. I was feeling that the best thing to do was get off the mountain as quickly as possible and, apologies to the other 3, I legged it. Now walking on my own I made up reasonable time, still being blown about by the wind. The cold started to ease though, but I didn't have the energy to stop and take my weather gear off. Eventually, after what seemed a 2nd lifetime I made the final path back to the visitor's centre. I finally got back to the finish at 13:30. Making a total ascent/descent time of 08:25 (including the 15 minutes rest in the shelter).

Once again, Shirley had rustled up some hot coffee - how? I was so glad. Pixie, Lindsey and Melina were already down and we exchanged handshakes and stories. About 20 minutes later the 3 that I'd left behind earlier made it home and we were all together again. Exhausted. In pain. There wasn't much celebration. But, after washing and changing at the visitor centre, we repaired to a local inn. Beer never tasted so good, as did the wild boar burger. It was quite late by know - I guess about 14:30, maybe. The spirits were somewhat higher and pretty soon we headed to the van and set off for the loooonnnnggg journey home. I managed to sleep a lot of the way. There wasn't a lot of chatter in the van, although myself and Shirley tried to keep Lindsey awake as he drove through the evening.

So, now several days later, how do I feel about what we've done. Firstly, I'm very happy to have raised £2400+ for MacMillan Cancer. That was the whole driving force for me. The charity donations made it. Secondly, I'd achieved (albeit slightly behind schedule) the target of the 3 highest peaks in Great Britain in 24 hours. I'd learned a lot about my fellow hikers, and also a whole lot more about myself. I had dreamed of hiking Kilimanjaro and thinking it would be a blast. Now I realise that that will be an even greater challenge and I am completely un-prepared for it. Physically, mentally and emotionally. If I am to head up Africa's highest mountain I need to train much much harder than I did for this challenge. Would I do it again? If you'd asked me 2 days ago I would have said "NO", but now that the legs/feet/lungs and mind have rested I think I would. However, I would do it differently:
 * In the reverse direction, so Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and ending at Snowdon
 * Leisurely weekend challenge - camp at each peak overnight, climb, shower, eat, drive to next peak. 3 Peaks in 3 days - time to enjoy the experience
 * Welsh 3 Peaks - Snowdon, Cadair Idris, Pen-y-Fan - can be done in 15 hours without pushing too hard

Finally, I'd like to thanks every member of the team. We did it, guys!! Always remember that. Lindsey (Organisation and Encouragement), Shirley (Driving and Coffee Support), Melina (Organisation and Food Distribution) all deserve special mentions for their magnificent team effort. Pixie and Istvan deserve my special personal thanks for keeping me encouraged. Vinny and Andreas deserve my utmost respect for actually achieving the time target (how the hell, guys?). Olaf deserves my thanks for being un-typically German by having a terrific sense of humour and struggling bravely down Scafell Pike.

Same again next year, guys?

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