A charitable challenge to test the limits of endurance

I’m an outdoors person and love a walk â€“ but scaling a mountain (or three) is a fairly daunting prospect! So I am incredibly impressed with 11 of our Close Brothers colleagues who embarked on a gruelling challenge last weekend - to climb the three tallest peaks of Scotland, England and Wales – all in aid of an excellent charitable cause. 

Also known as the Three Peaks Challenge, this event saw them walk more than 37 kilometres (23 miles) and ascending a staggering 3,064 metres (10,052 ft), within 24 hours. It also involved driving over 600 km (400 miles) between the three peaks of Ben Nevis, Scaffel Pike and Mount Snowdon.

Our colleagues have raised almost ï¿¡10,000 for one of our local charities, Jigsaw4U, who do amazing work with children and young people, helping them put the pieces back together after bereavement, trauma or domestic abuse. We are proud to be supporting the work they do in our local borough of Merton, and with Close Brothers matching the funds raised, the donation will climb to almost ï¿¡20,000.

The Challenge started on Friday evening at the foot of Ben Nevis in Scotland, which they scaled and descended in under 6 hours, mostly in the dark (thanks to headtorches), and in the midst of a snowstorm which greeted them at the summit! They then piled into a minivan that drove through the night to the Lake District, where they started their ascent of Scaffel Pike at 6:55am.

After coming down the scrambly Scaffel Pike (which took a total of 3 hours 35 minutes) and having a much-needed bacon butty, they were en route to Wales, and their final challenge: Mount Snowdon. They ascended and descended picturesque Snowdon in exactly 4 hours, bringing their total Three Peaks Challenge time to 23 hours 25 minutes!

I take my hat off to our colleagues – this really was a test not just of stamina and physical fitness, but also mental fortitude and determination. To volunteer for this challenge, in order to raise funds for a charity that does such much-needed work, is remarkable. Well done Mark Farrant, Tony Sweeney, Alice Stein, Mark_D'Ambrosio, Robin Farrer-Fisher, Alex Williamson, Anita Lyons, Clara Tsang, Anete Kreinberga, Richard Stanbrook and Rozhan Mallender, on a truly amazing feat!

The team are still accepting donations: you can sponsor them on JustGiving here.