Three mountains. One unfinished challenge. And a journey that would change my life.
My First Real Challenge at 50
On 7 July 2018, shortly after celebrating my 50th birthday, I stood at the foot of Ben Nevis, about to embark on what would become one of the most significant experiences of my life.
I was taking part in the National Three Peaks Challenge, an attempt to climb Ben Nevis in Scotland, Scafell Pike in England and Snowdon in Wales, all within 24 hours, including the driving between them.
I'd signed up with my old friend Richard, or Rich as I usually call him.
The difference between us was that Rich had already completed several demanding cycling challenges. He knew what it meant to push himself to the limit, to hit the proverbial wall and find a way through it.
I didn't.
I'd never really tested myself in that way before. I had no idea how my body would respond to prolonged physical exhaustion, or how I'd cope mentally when things became difficult.
And there was something else.
I was still a smoker.
I'd been trying to give up and had managed to cut down, but I hadn't stopped completely. Looking back, I had seriously underestimated how much that might affect me.
There was also a deeply personal reason for taking on the challenge.
My father-in-law had passed away around six months earlier, and I wanted to complete the Three Peaks in his memory.
I'd brought a photograph of him with me, intending to leave it near the summit of Snowdon, the final mountain of our challenge.
At the time, I couldn't have imagined just how important that photograph, and the promise I'd made to myself, would become.
Fort William: Nerves Before the Start
We'd stayed overnight in Fort William, just a short drive from the starting point for Ben Nevis.
I remember being incredibly nervous that morning.
In fact, I was so anxious that I was physically sick before leaving the hotel to meet the rest of the group.
It wasn't the most encouraging start to a 24-hour mountain challenge!
There were around 40 participants, divided between four minibuses that would transport us from one mountain to the next.
The challenge was professionally organised, with several mountain leaders responsible for keeping everyone moving safely and within the required timings.
At the briefing, the head leader made one thing very clear.
There would be no hanging around.
The quicker walkers would form a leading group, others would follow at a steadier pace, and those struggling at the back would be closely monitored.
Anyone who fell behind the head leader risked being withdrawn from the challenge.
It sounded harsh, but with three mountains to climb and hundreds of miles to travel between them, the schedule was extremely tight.
Despite my nerves, by the time we were ready to set off, excitement had started to take over.
It was a beautiful, hot, sunny morning.
And there, towering above us, was Ben Nevis.
Britain's highest mountain.
Ben Nevis: The Climb Begins
We set off at around 9am.
Rich immediately adopted a brisk pace, determined to get himself into the leading group.
Naturally, I tried to keep up.
In my mind, I wanted to be near the front. I didn't want to be one of those people struggling at the back, constantly worrying about the leader calling time on their challenge.
But it didn't take long before reality intervened.
The climb up Ben Nevis is relentless.
From the lower slopes, the mountain path climbs steadily upwards, with long stretches of steep, uneven steps that seem to go on forever.
And those steps were practically killing me.
I was breathing heavily, my heart was pounding, and I was already beginning to question whether I'd taken on more than I could manage.
Looking back, my years of smoking certainly hadn't helped prepare me for the demands of climbing Britain's highest mountain.
Rich was getting further ahead, and eventually I accepted that trying to match his pace wasn't going to work.
He continued towards the front group while I settled into the middle of the pack.
It was probably the first sensible decision I'd made that morning.
Running Out of Breath — And Water
The climb continued relentlessly upwards.
Every now and again, we'd stop for a short break, giving everyone a chance to catch their breath and take on some water.
For me, those breaks were essential.
I seemed to spend almost the entire time recovering, desperately trying to get my breathing under control before we started moving again.
And I was drinking a lot of water.
Far too much, as it turned out.
By the time we were around three-quarters of the way up the mountain, I'd completely run out.
That was alarming.
We hadn't even reached the summit, and I still had the entire descent ahead of me.
Fortunately, one of the mountain leaders kindly gave me some of his water.
I was extremely grateful, although I now had to ration what little I had left.
It was another lesson in just how unprepared I was for this sort of challenge.
I'd brought what I thought was enough water, but I hadn't anticipated how much I'd need while struggling up a mountain in the summer heat.
The Zigzags, Snow and Incredible Views
As we climbed higher, the mountain path became increasingly busy.
There were plenty of people tackling Ben Nevis independently, along with other groups attempting their own Three Peaks challenges.
The famous zigzag section was particularly congested.
We had to be careful as walkers, joggers and runners made their way down the mountain, sometimes at considerable speed.
With the steep path and loose stones underfoot, it wasn't somewhere you wanted to lose concentration.
Eventually, we climbed beyond the zigzags and the conditions began to change.
The air became noticeably cooler, and there was still snow lying on parts of the upper mountain.
Despite the cooler temperatures, I was generating so much heat from the effort that I continued in just my T-shirt.
And the views!
They were absolutely outrageous.
The skies were clear enough to enjoy extraordinary panoramic views across the surrounding mountains and valleys.
It felt as though the whole of the Scottish Highlands was spread out beneath us.
For all the physical discomfort, moments like that made the effort worthwhile.
Reaching the Summit of Ben Nevis
The final approach to the summit involved crossing a broad expanse of boulders and scree.
By this point, I was tired, thirsty and thoroughly ready to reach the top.
But I kept going.
At around 11:30am, approximately two and a half hours after setting off, I reached the summit of Ben Nevis.
1,345 metres above sea level. Britain's highest mountain.
I'd done it.
For someone who had never previously attempted a challenge of this scale, it was an incredible feeling.
We spent around fifteen minutes at the summit, taking photographs, enjoying a little refreshment and appreciating the magnificent surroundings.
I was exhausted, but also immensely proud.
And there was something quite surreal about standing on the highest point in Britain, knowing that only a few hours earlier I'd been physically sick with nerves in a Fort William hotel room.
Of course, we weren't finished.
We still had to get back down.
And then there were two more mountains waiting for us.
The Race Back Down Ben Nevis
We began our descent shortly before midday.
Interestingly, I found the downhill sections much easier than the climb.
Back then, my knees didn't give me the problems they sometimes do today, and I even found myself jogging along parts of the descent.
I was determined to finish strongly and get myself towards the front of the middle group.
The path was still busy, and we had to be careful negotiating the zigzags and passing other walkers.
But with the summit behind me, I felt a renewed sense of energy.
The descent took approximately two hours.
When I finally reached the bottom, Rich was already there waiting.
We celebrated completing the first of our three peaks.
Ben Nevis was done.
I'd climbed Britain's highest mountain, something I wouldn't have imagined myself doing just a short time earlier.
We were tired, hungry and ready for the next stage of the adventure.
What we didn't know was that Scafell Pike, just a few hours away, would change everything.
Scafell Pike: When Everything Fell Apart
After the long drive south into the Lake District, we arrived for the second mountain of our challenge.
At around 8:45pm, we set off up Scafell Pike.
I was still feeling the effects of Ben Nevis, but I was determined to keep going.
Unfortunately, things began to unravel almost immediately.
Within twenty minutes, I was struggling to catch my breath.
An hour into the climb, I was in serious difficulty.
My breathing was laboured, my pace had slowed considerably, and I was finding it increasingly difficult to keep up with the group.
I knew I was towards the back.
But in my mind, I'd convinced myself that as long as there was at least one person behind me, I would be okay.
What I hadn't noticed was that the head leader had moved ahead of me.
At one point, I looked up and saw him standing further up the mountain, staring down towards me.
I knew immediately that something was wrong.
He came over and told me that my challenge was over.
I was to turn around and make my way back to the minibus.
There would be no Scafell Pike summit.
And no Snowdon.
The Moment That Changed My Life
I was devastated.
I broke down in tears.
It wasn't simply the disappointment of failing to complete a physical challenge.
I was carrying my father-in-law's photograph, and I'd been determined to take it to the summit of Snowdon in his memory.
Now I wasn't going to get there.
At that moment, I genuinely felt I'd let Marissa and her family down.
Of course, looking back, I know that wasn't true. Nobody had asked me to prove anything, and completing a mountain challenge was never a measure of how much I cared.
But standing on that mountainside, exhausted and emotional, that was how I felt.
I also knew something else.
I'd spent years smoking, and despite several attempts to give up, I'd never quite managed to stop.
Now, struggling to breathe during the biggest physical challenge I'd ever attempted, I couldn't ignore the possibility that smoking had played a major part in what had happened.
And there, on the slopes of Scafell Pike, I made a decision.
I was going to give up smoking.
Not cut down.
Not try again sometime in the future.
Give up.
I hadn't completed the Three Peaks Challenge, but something far more significant had happened.
I just didn't fully appreciate it at the time.
A Month Later: Ben Macdui
By the time we returned to Scotland for a family holiday the following month, I'd stopped smoking.
We were staying at the Coylumbridge Hotel near Aviemore, and I had something I wanted to do.
I wanted to climb Ben Macdui.
At 1,309 metres, it's Britain's second-highest mountain, and after my experience on Ben Nevis, I was determined to prove to myself that I could continue taking on mountain challenges.
On 9 August 2018, just over a month after the Three Peaks attempt, I set off alone from the Cairn Gorm Mountain car park.
It was another memorable adventure.
What began as a beautiful summer morning turned into a battle with fierce winds and rapidly changing weather on the exposed Cairngorm plateau.
But this time, I reached the summit and completed the walk.
It was an important step forward, both physically and mentally.
January 2019: A New Ambition Takes Shape
By January 2019, something had changed.
The disappointment of the Three Peaks Challenge was still with me, but rather than putting me off hiking, it had made me want to do more.
One day, I sat down at my computer and typed a simple search into Google:
"Hiking challenges in the UK 2019"
That search would turn out to be far more significant than I could possibly have imagined.
It led me to Action Challenge, an organisation running organised walking and endurance challenges across the UK.
Suddenly, a whole new world of possibilities opened up.
There were marathon-distance walks, 50km challenges and even 100km events. The idea of pushing myself further, testing my endurance and discovering what I was capable of was becoming increasingly appealing.
And then, while exploring the different challenges available, I stumbled across something else.
International trekking adventures.
Including Everest Base Camp.
Everest Base Camp!
Little did I know that this discovery would eventually lead me to the Himalayas, trekking to Everest Base Camp and the Gokyo Lakes, and ultimately writing a book about the experience.
That adventure became Everest Base Camp & Gokyo Lakes – A Midlife Journey to the World's Greatest Trek, in which I share the highs, lows and unforgettable moments of taking on one of the world's most iconic treks.
Until then, the idea of trekking in the Himalayas had seemed like something other people did. Experienced mountaineers, serious adventurers, people who had spent years exploring the world's great mountain ranges.
Not someone like me, who just six months earlier had been struggling for breath on the slopes of Scafell Pike.
But the more I looked into it, the more the idea took hold.
What if I could actually do it?
That discovery eventually led me to sign up for an Everest Base Camp trek.
And suddenly, my ambitions had shifted.
I wasn't just thinking about completing individual hiking challenges anymore.
I was on a mission.
Returning to Scafell Pike and finally reaching Snowdon were no longer simply about putting unfinished business behind me. They had become part of a much bigger journey.
I had something extraordinary to work towards.
And I was determined to give myself every chance of achieving it.
May 2019: Unfinished Business on Scafell Pike
With Everest Base Camp now firmly in my sights, I had a renewed sense of purpose.
I knew there was a long way to go before I'd be ready to tackle the Himalayas, but I was determined to build my fitness, gain mountain experience and prove to myself that I could overcome the challenges that had defeated me the previous summer.
And there was one mountain in particular that I wanted to revisit.
Scafell Pike.
It was the mountain where my Three Peaks Challenge had ended, and I wanted to go back.
Not as part of an organised challenge.
Not against a 24-hour clock.
And not with a leader deciding whether I could continue.
I wanted to climb it on my own terms.
In May 2019, I returned to the Lake District and set off alone to tackle Scafell Pike.
This time, I reached the summit.
But I didn't stop there.
Having finally conquered the mountain that had defeated me the previous summer, I continued my walk and climbed two additional peaks.
It was an incredibly satisfying experience.
I'd returned to face something that had once seemed beyond me, and discovered just how much had changed.
There was still one piece of unfinished business, though.
My father-in-law's photograph.
And the mountain where I'd originally intended to leave it.
August 2019: A Promise Fulfilled on Snowdon
On 7 August 2019, we were enjoying another family holiday, this time in Snowdonia National Park in North Wales.
I wanted to climb Snowdon.
But this wasn't simply about reaching another summit.
I still had my father-in-law's photograph, and I hadn't forgotten why I'd originally taken it with me on the Three Peaks Challenge.
This time, Abbie and Harrison joined me.
What followed was an epic mountain walk.
We experienced just about every type of weather imaginable as we made our way up the mountain.
It certainly wasn't an easy stroll, but we kept going.
And eventually, the three of us reached the summit.
More than a year after setting off on the National Three Peaks Challenge, I'd finally made it to the top of Snowdon.
Somewhere near the summit, I found a place to leave my father-in-law's photograph.
It was an emotional moment, but also one of enormous relief and satisfaction.
I'd finally done what I'd set out to do.
And sharing that experience with Abbie and Harrison made it even more special.
Looking Back: More Than Three Mountains
When I think back to July 2018, I remember a man who was approaching his first serious physical challenge with very little idea of what to expect.
I was nervous, inexperienced and still smoking.
I wanted to prove to myself that I could do something difficult, but I didn't really understand what pushing myself to the limit would involve.
The Three Peaks Challenge certainly taught me.
I reached the summit of Ben Nevis, but my attempt ended on the slopes of Scafell Pike.
At the time, I saw that as failure.
Looking back, I see it very differently.
That experience prompted me to stop smoking, encouraged me to take on more mountain adventures and helped me discover a determination I hadn't previously realised I possessed.
Over the following thirteen months, I climbed Ben Macdui, discovered Action Challenge, set my sights on Everest Base Camp, returned to conquer Scafell Pike and finally reached Snowdon with two of my children beside me.
And although I never completed the National Three Peaks Challenge within 24 hours, I eventually stood on the summits of all three mountains.
More importantly, I fulfilled the personal promise that had made the challenge so meaningful in the first place.
Since then, my hiking adventures have taken me much further, including trekking to Everest Base Camp and the Gokyo Lakes in Nepal.
What started with a simple Google search in January 2019 eventually took me to the foot of the world's highest mountain.
If Everest Base Camp is something you've ever dreamed of tackling yourself, I've put together a collection of practical trekking guides, itineraries, training advice and personal experiences to help you plan your own Himalayan adventure.
But whenever I think about where that journey really began, I find myself returning to one particular evening in July 2018.
Standing on the slopes of Scafell Pike, exhausted and in tears, being told that my challenge was over.
Because sometimes, what feels like the end of one journey turns out to be the beginning of another.
Happy Hiking!