AN ABBEY Gate College student found his 16th birthday a bit of a challenge.
Year 11 student Nick Roden chose Friday, September 9, to begin the Three Peaks Challenge – an attempt to climb Ben Nevis in Scotland, Snowdon in North Wales and Scafell Pike in the Lake District in 24 hours.
Nick was joined in the feat by his brother James and friend Edward Reid, both 19 and former Abbey Gate College students.
Deputy headteacher Gavin Allmand said: “When Nick first came up with the idea of doing the challenge he admits that he hadn't contemplated climbing in driving rain with winds gusting at about 60mph, on the weekend Hurricane Katia hit Britain.”
Edward is no stranger to danger having survived the two earthquakes that struck New Zealand this year while he was on a one-year choral scholarship.
The first leg of the boys’ challenge began with a drive to Fort William to tackle Britain's highest mountain, Ben Nevis, standing at 1,344 metres.
Next, following a drive through the night, the team arrived at Scafell Pike at 3.15am on Saturday.
The climb began in the dark but thick cloud reduced visibility to two metres meaning that, after consultation with other climbers, the team decided it was not safe to continue even though they were only five minutes away from the summit.
Despite further heavy rain and winds gusting up to 70mph the trio conquered Mount Snowdon in just over three and a half hours finishing the challenge with just one hour to spare.
Nick aims to return to Scafell Pike in October to complete the last five minutes’ worth of the climb as well as cycling from John o’ Groats to Land's End in aid of the Help For Heroes charity.
