Virtual 3 Peaks - How the Event works Expand Day 1 of the event On Friday 22nd May the event begins, and you can start recording stairs or steps the same day. You'll have access to our Vamoos app, where you can share moments with the other participants and where you can view all of the event information offline. You can download Vamoos to your smartphone or tablet. Download on Apple App Store Download on Google Play User ID: INSPIRE Passcode: VIRTUAL3PEAKS You can also use the same login datails to access a web-based version of Vamoos here. During the Event You can use Vamoos to provide progress updates to the team using the 'Moments' function, which allows you to upload notes and photos that are visible to all participants, to help create a supportive and inspiring community for all. That also allows us to keep track centrally of the team’s overall progress. Within Vamoos, you'll find a day-to-day itinerary with a reminder of your suggested daily targets. In each day, you can also access the route overview for each mountains, and there are links to Google Street View from that location on the mountain. There’s a map function showing your location on the peak, and you can access local weather forecasts for each peak too. On the Vamoos home screen, you have access to 'Key Info', including a detailed background information document, some advice about exercising at home, and an exercise readiness questionnaire. Under ‘Need to Know’, you have links to a 3D route video for each mountain. Inspire Alpine® founder Ricky Munday may schedule a small number of Whatsapp video calls randomly throughout the event to provide support, check progress, encourage and motivate you or answer any questions. Ricky will also give an inspirational Everest-themed talk with a short Q&A on Thursday 28th May from 6pm – 7pm. You can find out more about this talk by clicking on the image below, or at this link. End of Event The event will end on Sunday 21st June, exactly one month after we start.
Virtual 3 Peaks - Itinerary/Daily Targets Expand Detailed Itinerary & Daily Targets Teams will typically attempt to complete this challenge within 24 hours. However, to make this challenge truly inclusive, you have the opportunity to complete either the overall height gain, or the equivalent overall walking distance, over the course one month. The table below breaks down how this would look if you completed the average height gain or distance per day. You can also check out the daily targets on Google Street View by clicking on the button below Google Street View Walkthrough Day of Week Date Day Cumulative Height Cumulative Distance Cumulative Steps Achievements WEEK 1 Fri 22-May Day 1 97 1,218 1,624 Sat 23-May Day 2 195 2,435 3,247 Sun 24-May Day 3 292 3,653 4,871 Mon 25-May Day 4 390 4,871 6,495 Tue 26-May Day 5 487 6,089 8,118 Wed 27-May Day 6 585 7,306 9,742 Thu 28-May Day 7 682 8,524 11,366 WEEK 2 Fri 29-May Day 8 779 9,742 12,989 Sat 30-May Day 9 877 10,960 14,613 Sun 31-May Day 10 974 12,177 16,237 Mon 01-June Day 11 1,072 13,395 17,860 Tue 02-June Day 12 1,169 14,613 19,484 Wed 03-June Day 13 1,266 15,831 21,108 Thu 04-June Day 14 1,364 17,048 22,731 Ben Nevis completed WEEK 3 Fri 05-June Day 15 1,461 18,266 24,355 Sat 06-June Day 16 1,559 19,484 25,978 Sun 07-June Day 17 1,656 20,702 27,602 Mon 08-June Day 18 1,754 21,919 29,226 Tue 09-June Day 19 1,851 23,137 30,849 Wed 10-June Day 20 1,948 24,355 32,473 Thu 11-June Day 21 2,046 25,573 34,097 WEEK 4 Fri 12-Jun Day 22 2,143 26,790 35,720 Sat 13-Jun Day 23 2,241 28,008 37,344 Scafell Pike completed Sun 14-Jun Day 24 2,338 29,226 38,968 Mon 15-Jun Day 25 2,435 30,444 40,591 Tue 16-Jun Day 26 2,533 31,661 42,215 Wed 17-Jun Day 27 2,630 32,879 43,839 Thu 18-Jun Day 28 2,728 34,097 45,462 WEEK 5 Fri 19-Jun Day 29 2,825 35,315 47,086 Sat 20-Jun Day 30 2,923 36,532 48,710 Sun 21-Jun Day 31 3,020 37,750 50,333 Snowdon completed
Virtual 3 Peaks - Recording Progress Expand We need to record how many paces/stairs/circuits we’ve completed. Recording steps (paces) taken is easy - you can use a smartwatch, fitness band, pedometer or just your smartphone to track your steps. Your phone can track how many steps you take and how far you walk all by itself, assuming you just carry it with you in your pocket. If you're climbing stairs, you have a few options to record the number of circuits completed. use a physical tally counter or digital counter to record each circuit use paper and pen at the top or bottom of your stairs to record each circuit carry 5 small items (e.g. pebbles, coins or whatever you have to hand). Pick up one of these items when you start your first circuit. Pick up the second when you complete the second, and so on. On every fifth circuit, when there are no more items to pick up, mark another 5 circuits as complete on a piece of paper and start again with the first item only. Alternatively, you could move these items from one pocket to another until all items are in one pocket, then mark 5 circuits as complete If you have access to a laptop, you can do this by using two Excel spreadsheets. On the first, you simply record ‘1’ in a cell every time you complete a full circuit, then hit return/enter to move the cursor to the next cell down in the same column. In a second spreadsheet, you input a formula into a cell here to add up all of the entries in column ‘B’ in the first spreadsheet. Now, every time you complete and record a new circuit in spreadsheet 1, the number of circuits completed in spreadsheet 2 will increase by 1. In another cell in the second spreadsheet you can automatically calculate the number of metres climbed. Other cells can calculate how many metres remain, allowing you to have a 'live' view of progress and metres remaining at all times. Now you’re ready to begin your Virtual National Three Peaks Challenge!
Virtual 3 Peaks - Ben Nevis Expand Ben Nevis: Ben Nevis is 1,345 meters high and we begin the ascent from almost sea level. The popular Mountain Track (sometimes called the Tourist Track or the Pony Track) is the easiest route up Ben Nevis and travels 17km up and down the mountain's benign western bulk. The track begins at the Ben Nevis Inn, at Achintee on the east side of Glen Nevis about 2 km from the town centre of Fort William, just above sea level. The track starts with a steep climb to the halfway Lochan Meall an t-Suidhe, zig-zagging on rocky paths up to the summit plateau. If you are lucky with the weather then the views from the summit, and even from half way up, are quite stunning. On a good day you can see all the way to the majestic rock spires of The Isle of Skye and looking the other way, down Loch Linnhe to the Irish Sea. There is a rocky path most of the way to the summit. In its lower sections it is ‘stepped’ and consists of large rocks & boulders forming a path. In some of the middle & upper sections of the route the path is made of scree - smaller rocks and stones. In wet or snowy conditions, the path and rocks become very slippery. We will aim to reach the first rest stop below the lochan after 45-50 minutes, and the Red Burn at halfway after 1.5 hours. If it takes more than 1 hour to reach the first rest stop then this gives you an indication that you are falling behind schedule. After the Lochan, there are a number of zigzags (9 in total), which get gradually shorter as we ascend. It should take us around 1.5 hours to complete the zigzags and reach 1,200m on the summit plateau. The plateau is more like a very broad ridge as there is steep and dangerous ground on either side. From here, we follow the prominent cairns another 30 minutes or so to the top, although more often than not, these are shrouded in mist. Most of this section is easy angled with a couple of short uphill sections. Please be aware that there can be snow on the plateau into June, and the first snows of the season often arrive in September. About half a kilometre horizontally before the summit, we pass the edge of Tower Gully and. In the final 150m we change direction to avoid Gardyloo Gully, a large chasm in the plateau, which even in summer can have its edges hidden by a large snow cornice. The summit area is marked by the summit shelter and trig point, and the ruins of the old Weather Observatory. The summit area can be very dangerous. The path follows very close to the edge of the North Face, which has steep cliffs over 300m high. Even in summer, in low visibility it can be very difficult to identify where the edge is. In bad weather, navigating down from the summit of Ben Nevis can be difficult. If you veer too far to the right while descending from the summit trig point you risk falling down the North Face cliffs or dropping into one of the gullies. If you veer too far left, further down, you may fall into Five Finger Gully (a known accident blackspot). Unfortunately, every year people do die in this area due to navigational errors. In low visibility, it’s essential that you stay with your Mountain Leader. Ben Nevis is usually completed during daylight hours, however a headtorch is still essential as conditions on the summit can vary dramatically from those in the valley. Even in the middle of summer the summit temperatures can be below freezing, and the summit temperatures are typically 10 degrees lower than in the valley.
Virtual 3 Peaks - Scafell Pike Expand At 978m, Scafell Pike is the highest peak in England, but the lowest of the three peaks. It's not only England’s highest mountain but also the highest war memorial, given to the National Trust in memory of those who died in WW1 so that people would have the freedom to enjoy the mountains Scafell Pike is made of igneous rock and the summit is a giant boulder field of shattered rocks of the Borrowdale Volcanics, which vary in size from small stones to large boulders. The rocks are most likely shattered due to a combination of weathering and frost action. Various cairns mark a number of paths in different directions, which makes the summit area a confusing place – and especially so in poor conditions. The summit of Scafell Pike is often wreathed in cloud and it is typically wet. The nearby village of Seathwaite is consistently the wettest inhabited place in England. Unsurprisingly, Scafell Pike is home to the highest standing water in England, known as Broad Crag Tarn, which lies at an altitude of 820m, a quarter of a mile south of the summit. In addition, Wastwater, which is the deepest lake in England, lies at the foot of Scafell Pike. We begin our ascent around 70m above sea level from Wasdale Head and follow the Brown Tongue/ Hollowstones route via Lingmell Col. This route up Scafell Pike is far harder to follow than the paths described up Snowdon and Ben Nevis as the area is criss-crossed with indistinguishable paths going in different directions. A torch is vital, and spare warm clothes and full waterproofs should be carried, along with warm gloves and hat. Psychologically, most participants find Scafell Pike the most difficult of the three peaks as it’s usually climbed at least partly at night when people are feeling tired and sleep deprived, and yet they know that Snowdon still lies ahead of them. Our planned ascent and descent time for Scafell Pike is 4 hours. In terms of terrain, the path is mostly rocky with larger stones making up the path lower down and smaller looser stones forming the paths higher up. However, there are sections where the path disappears altogether, and these sections can be a muddy and wet underfoot and very difficult to navigate in the dark. We always insist that everyone stays as a group with the mountain leader on Scafell Pike. If you separate from the group and you lose your bearings around the summit area you could end up walking into any one of three different valleys, all of which have no mobile signal. If you end up walking into Eskdale, it’s a very long walk out even if you do know where you’re going.
Virtual 3 Peaks - Snowdon Expand Most participants find the ascent of Snowdon to be the easiest of the three peaks. Often, we feel revived after grabbing some sleep on the way south from Scafell Pike, and the new day seems to bring renewed energy. Our route on Snowdon is the Pyg Track, and this has the least amount of height gain of the three peaks. At the start of the PYG track in the car park at Pen-y-Pass there is a café and toilet, and a Youth Hostel directly across the road. The Pyg Track starts off gradually on short rocky steps with a few sections requiring gentle scrambling. The peak that dominates the view ahead isn’t Snowdon, but Crib Goch (which translates as the Red Ridge). This is a knife edged arête with sheer drops on either side and is regarded as one of the classic scrambles in the country. The Pyg Track skirts below this ridge. As on the other peaks, the route is mostly manmade and quite rocky, with large stones placed together to make up the path. The Pyg Track contours along the hillside below Crib Goch and above Llyn Llydaw and is a good path all the way, ust take care in the wet as the rock is well polished in places. Once the Miner’s Track joins the Pyg Track the going becomes rockier and in places the path becomes indistinct. Keeping right at all times is advisable as the routes to the left tend to find scree. Ascending slowly, the Pyg Track / Miner’s Track eventually reaches the sheer cliffs below Garnedd Ugain, before the a welcome wall marks the point where the path turns right up the infamous zig-zags. In fact, it’s just a zig and a zag and you’re on the crest of the ridge marked by a finger post, Bwlch Glas. Take the path to your left, as the Pyg Track now joins both the Llanberis and Snowdon Ranger paths to the summit. While the summit of Snowdon is close now, but still another 100m climb. There are steps either side of Snowdon summit and at the top a brass plate on the trig point can be used to identify all the nearby summits. While Snowdon typically has the best of the three peaks, the weather of the summit can often bear no relation to the weather lower down. It’s therefore essential that you carry your spare warm clothes and waterproofs. We recommend you carry some money (case/card) as it’s nice to pop into the café when you get down if waiting for others.