Babcock International Sunset to Sunrise Scotland

Why book with Charity Challenge

• Everything included from the moment you arrive. Buffet dinner, snacks and hot drinks throughout the night and then a glass of champagne and a buffet breakfast to celebrate at the end.
• The very best Mountain Leaders, who are fully qualified, highly experienced, knowledgeable and fun. They will do everything to help you complete the challenge and have a great time doing it.
• Ethical consideration. For every participant we donate money to the ‘Friends of Nevis’ in order to protect the beautiful route that we use. We also do our best to use local suppliers, which helps us to put money back into the local area.
• The highest quality Ben Nevis charity trekking experience on the market!

Level of Difficulty

The Scotland Sunset to Sunrise challenge is graded as tough. This is the perfect challenge for participants who are of an adventurous spirit and an open mind, who have taken part in other trekking challenges and now wish to test themselves in a slightly more wild environment and with the added challenge of trekking at night. You can tell your supporters that on your Scotland Sunset to Sunrise Challenge you will be:

• Trekking for around 8 hours, starting at midnight and finishing the following morning.
• Covering 10 miles of undulating mountainous terrain.
• Ascending to 1344m. Starting at sea level so you climb every single metre! That is more metres of ascent than the final summit night when climbing Kilimanjaro.
• Summiting the highest mountain in the UK.
• Crossing the unique navigational challenge of the summit plateaux, your final hurdle before reaching the top (don’t worry, you’ll Mountain leaders will be there to guide you).

Clothing and Equipment

Equipment of good quality and durability could make the difference between a fantastic challenge experience and an uncomfortable one. For this challenge, a good quality headtorch with spare batteries is vital. A headtorch is much better than a handheld torch as it allows you to keep your hands free. If you do not wish to buy and expensive headorch just for this challenge then very good quality ones can be hired for the weekend from our partners at Outdoor Hire. Waterproof and well-worn in boots will be indispensable. The terrain is uneven and can be very rough, so it is vital that you use a strong pair of canvas or leather boots with good ankle support for this challenge, coupled with a pair of good quality walking socks. Sports trainers are not suitable. As this a nighttime challenge the temperatures on the mountain will be significantly colder. Enough warm layers are vital as are hats and gloves. If possible try to bring two pairs of gloves and two hats as these can very often get wet. The benefits of a comfortable day sack cannot be underestimated - so make sure that you train with this. Other essentials are high quality gore-tex waterproof and windproof jackets and trousers, as well as technical/wicking t-shirts rather than cotton shirts. We would like to emphasize that jeans should not be worn on this challenge. A full kit list for this challenge can be found here. Once you book you will have access to kit discounts with our partners The Outdoor Shop, Outdoor Hire and Cotswold Outdoor.

Challenge Timings

Your challenge begins in the late evening (usually around 9pm) with a welcome dinner in Fort William. Here you will get to meet your leaders and listen to the all-important safety briefing. As midnight approaches we will transfer to the bottom of the mountain to begin our trek. Having trekked through the night we will then return to Fort William for a celebration breakfast before departing.

You will be walking for approximately 8 hours, which makes your trek a very long night. You can expect to arrive back at the finish at around 7.00am. Delays can happen, and the return time will all depend on the speed of your group, so please do try and book flexible return arrangements. At the finish there will be a hot buffet breakfast available before you depart.

Getting there

We will confirm the event location at no later than 1 month prior to the start of the challenge. The location will be in the town of Fort William which is easily accessible by both car and train. the train station in Fort William is in the center of town and the train journey along the West Highland line is one of the most scenic in the UK. travelling by train also allows you to relax on your journey home.

We will send across all driving details, plus the address of the registration point, at no later than 1 month prior to departure.

Training

The Scotland Sunset to Sunrise Challenge is a long, sustained, overnight event covering mountainous terrain with steep ascents and descents. Therefore it requires a good level of fitness. The ideal training for this challenge is, naturally, hill walking. However, if you do not have the luxury of living near the hills, then the stairs at home (or an office block) are a great place to start. Most training should be part of an ongoing lifestyle, but if this is not the case then you should begin training 2-4 months prior to the challenge and gradually build up as suggested. Remember to use the walking boots that you will be wearing on the challenge in order to get them worn in, and take the daysack that you will be using during the challenge.

There is no substitute for walking in the hills so try if possible to get out on a weekend and train in an area with steep hills. If it is possible for your to practice walking at night with your headtorch then this is also useful. You should progress to training with your boots on from week 4 at the latest, but preferably from week one. The more you exercise before the expedition, the more you will get out of it.

Emergencies

Your leading team are trained to deal with emergency situations in remote areas and will be carrying a mobile phone and radios in case the emergency services need to be contacted. The event is not run as a race and you will never be encouraged to walk at a pace ‘beyond your ability’. There will always be a wide variety in people’s walking abilities which will be carefully managed by the leader team. This team will always keep the group together for maximum safety on each peak and set a sensible pace for all to achieve this challenge within 8hrs. If we find that you are unable to trek at all, then we will arrange for you to be escorted back down to the start/finish.

Safety

Charity Challenge considers the safety of all of our participants and staff to be a top priority, and as such we have set up Challenge Safe, one of the most advanced and thorough safety management systems in the industry. Challenge Safe formalises our ethos when it comes to safety, and brings together the procedures and risk management strategies that we use to audit all aspects of our challenges, from vehicles to accommodation to the challenge activity itself. Your welfare is absolutely paramount!

Here are a couple of important points that you should be aware of:

• The terrain on the challenge is often rocky and in wet conditions can be extremely slippery. Please make sure that your walking boots have good grip. Trainers are not appropriate as they lack grip.
• Trekking at night is by its nature a hazardous activity. A powerful, good quality headtorch is absolutely vital.
• Due to extra risks posed by trekking at night we always use a higher ratio of Mountain leaders to maximise safety. It is very important that you always listen to your leaders at all points and obey any decisions they make.
• The weather on the summits of the hills can be very different to down in the valleys. Please make sure you carry an additional warm layer, waterproof jacket and trousers and a hat and gloves.
• As you will be trekking to the highest point in the UK it is not uncommon for there to be snow and ice on the summit, even in summer. This does not require specialist equipment, but you should make sure that your footwear has adequate grip.
• 8 hours is a long time to be out on the hills, especially overnight. Ensure that you eat lots throughout the night and keep yourself hydrated by drinking lots of fluids.
• The terrain across the summit plateaux can be very loose and rocky and should be taken with care.

Toilets

There will be toilet facilities both at the start and end of the trek; however during the challenge such facilities will be limited to the great outdoors!

Food & Drink

Dinner upon arrival is usually in the form of a buffet meal as in the celebration breakfast in the morning after the trek. Because of the remote nature of the trek you should carry any snacks that you require on the challenge. The drinking of alcohol the night before the challenge is strongly discouraged for your own health and safety during this tough challenge.

Accommodation

No accommodation is provided for this challenge. We would like to encourage all participants whenever possible to book a few extra nights in the local area to fully enjoy their challenge and to put money back into the local communities. However, there are lots of excellent accommodation options to suit all budgets in Fort William. For a full list of accommodation choices in Fort William please check out the Visit Fort William website. Alternatively, beautiful Glen Coe is a twenty minute drive along the road back to Glasgow and makes a perfect stopping off point. We can highly recommend the Clachaig Inn as a famous mountaineers pub that offers great accommodation and a hearty lunch or dinner. Other famous West Highland inn’s on the route back to Glasgow include the Kings House Hotel and the Bridge of Orchy Hotel. Both make for great ways to break-up your journey.

Responsible Tourism

At Charity Challenge we are committed to sustainable and responsible tourism. On this challenge in particular, we always liaise with the rangers at the Glen Nevis Visitors Centre to make sure that we minimise our impact on the local environment. Our leaders care passionately for the environment and will be keen to talk to you about how you can do your bit to conserve the local area and enhance your experience. We believe that acting responsibly should add to your enjoyment of the challenge so we won’t lecture you about not dropping litter. Instead we’d like to encourage you to support the ‘Friends of Nevis’ who maintain the excellent footpaths we will be walking on. The Friends of Nevis have an excellent website that provides information on their fantastic work and allows you to donate to them directly. Their website can be viewed here. We would also like to encourage all our participants to spend a little extra time in the local area. Why not consider booking an extra night in a local B&B, and go out for a meal in one of the excellent local pubs after the challenge? Not only will you be able to celebrate your achievements but you will also be putting more money back into the local area. The Ben Nevis Inn at the foot of the mountain is a fantastic pub that we can highly recommend. For extra information, please visit our Responsible Tourism section.

Terrain

Despite its location in the UK, the difficulty of this trek should not be underestimated as it includes one long day of hiking, with tough ascents and descents. The route is predominantly on good paths, but it's the variation of rugged boulders, scree and bog that makes this challenge a unique and fun experience. In particular terrain on the crossing of the summit plateaux can be loose and very rocky.

Climate

As you know, the weather in the UK can be highly unpredictable and at times erratic, so being prepared is the key! We will run UK challenges between April and October, and although the summer months of June-August should be, in general, warmer, sunnier and more stable in terms of the weather conditions, we all know that this isn’t always the case. As this challenge takes place at night the temperature of the top of the mountain can often reach freezing point, even in the height of summer. Please check the weather forecasts up to ensure that you bring clothing suitable for warm sunny walking weather and also sudden wind and downpours should they occur. The Mountain Weather Information Service provides specific weather forecasts for the mountains of the UK, including Ben Nevis.

Leadership

We employ experienced and fully qualified mountain expedition leaders to accompany and lead you. The mountain leaders are first aid qualified and have extensive experience in leading expeditions throughout Britain and overseas. They will be ultimately responsible for the running of the itinerary and the safety of your group. They will be carrying full safety equipment and mountain first aid kits with them at all times.

Group Size

Our minimum group size for this challenge is 10 and the maximum is 100. There will be one expedition mountain leader per approximately 10-15 participants and you may find you will naturally walk in smaller groups according to your own pace.

Insurance

We don’t offer insurance for our UK trips, as any medical emergencies would naturally be covered through the NHS. If you wish, you could look into your own policy that covers cancellation for travel within the UK.

Money

During the trek there are not an opportunities to spend any money. At the end of the trek Fort William does have several nice cafes, pubs and restaurants that you may wish to relax in before travelling home. We would advise you should need no more than £20.00, excluding your joining and returning home travel costs.