We started from the youth hostel in Glen Nevis at 17.09. Jeremy started like a greyhound out of a trap and continued the rest of the Challenge like a sheep dog (racing ahead and then stopping and waiting for the rest to catch up). Richard, Tom, Marcus and myself made up a group that stuck closely together. Andy and Martin followed behind at their own pace. The weather was the cause of much debate as we waited around in Fort William during the day. There had been frequent and heavy showers. Fortunately John Kettley was right and by late afternoon it was dry. The weather conditions for Ben Nevis were good, mild and overcast, until we reached the zig zags, which was the level of the low cloud, it was damp and cool from there to the summit.
As we climbed we were passed by three other teams attempting the Challenge, one of whom were raising money for a school for kids with cerebral palsy. We exchanged fund raising and training walk stories on the way. They were from Suffolk so had had even more difficulty finding places to train than us!
The ascent and descent passed without incident and we all finished in less than our target time of 5 hours. David the support driver had prepared a hot meal of Irish Stew and sausages, unfortunately, as we paused to eat the food we were attacked by midges, millions of them! The food was consumed as fast as possible and an early exit was made! The late hour meant the drive to Scafell Pike was mostly quick and uneventful, the only delay being a slow driver who looked suspicously like he had had a beer or six before driving home. Keep death off the roads (and stop holding us up) don't drink and drive. Myself, Martin and Andy shared the driving of the Galaxy, with David G. and Jeremy driving the support car. Somhow, Richard managed to escape driving, and kipped in the back of the support car until we reached Wasdale Head
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