Super Six Smash Summits
On Saturday 17th May at 6.45am, Bryn, Junya, Vicky, Phil, Jess, and Josh set off on a mission to conquer the Yorkshire 3 Peaks; Ingleborough, Whernside and Pen-Y-Ghent, accompanied by Nick, their guide, and in doing so were raising much needed funds for our mental health services!
The team were Triumphant and here is Vicky’s account of the day…..
I have volunteered at Mind in Harrogate for over two years now. During this time, I have been privileged to see first-hand the amazing work that the staff, volunteers, and trustees do, and I feel passionate about the difference Mind makes to individuals’ lives! This gave me the motivation to sign up for this year’s Yorkshire 3 Peaks Challenge. I also managed to sign my husband, daughter, and her boyfriend up too!!
On the day, we were up at 4am, then setting off on the challenge at 6:45am. Climbing up Ingleborough felt relatively quick and the views from the top were stunning. The descent was made easier knowing we had a food stop and toilets shortly after.
By this stage, my daughter mentioned how she was looking forward to cheesy garlic bread at our farm shop stop! Unfortunately for her, we only managed to get her a water refill and a packet of cheddar cheese crisps. However, this stop gave us a much-needed break to feel ready for what would prove to be the hardest part of the challenge.
We tackled Whernside with grit and determination. I felt a huge sense of achievement at this point, thinking that we had two peaks under our belts so surely the rest would be easy. How wrong I was!!
The section between Whernside and Pen-Y-Ghent felt like it went on forever. We were all convinced that the final peak kept getting further away the more we walked, not closer! Our guide Nick kept reassuring us that we were all doing a great job.
The group really pulled together as a team giving each other encouragement and lifting each other up when we were finding it hard.
This sense of being a team helped us to reach the top of Pen-Y-Ghent together.
Full of aches and pains we prepared to take on the slippery, sharp climb down the other side. I found this part put me fully in my stretch zone as I find walking at heights a little scary. It was in this moment that I thought about the amazing community at Mind in Harrogate and the reasons why I was doing the challenge. It made me think about how struggling with your mental health can feel impossible some days but taking it one step at a time with support from a community like Mind can help you build towards improved mental health. This thought drove me forward to complete the last part (literally) one step at a time to make it to the end.
The sense of achievement was inspiring.
The next day was spent resting, recovering, and reminiscing on what was a truly incredible day for us all.
Bryn said:
“It was a fantastic day on Saturday, walking the Yorkshire 3 peaks, it was Challenging but brilliant! I loved the Jelly babies we all received at the start of the Challenge and our guide Nick, was a lovely chap who spent time chatting to all the group individually and had a very positive outlook that was infectious”.
This incredible team has so far managed to raise £2664.21 !!
