Mind United Yorkshire 3 Peaks

Why book with Charity Challenge?

• Everything included from the moment you arrive. Unlike other operators we include everything from the moment your arrive, hot drinks and a breakfast snack at registration and plenty of lunch and snacks whilst on the trek.
• 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 ‘Three Peaks project’ in order to protect the beautiful route that we use. We also stay in local accommodation, which helps us to put money back into the local area.
• The highest quality Yorkshire 3 Peaks experience on the market!

Level of Difficulty

The Yorkshire 3 Peaks challenge is graded as challenging. This is the perfect challenge for participants who are of an adventurous spirit and an open mind, but perhaps haven’t taken on a strenuous challenge event before and are hoping to push themselves out of their comfort zone. You can tell your supporters that on your Yorkshire 3 Peaks Challenge you will be:

• Trekking for around 12 hours in a single day.
• Covering 24 miles of undulating terrain. Almost a full marathon, but with 3 hills!
• Ascending a total of 1532m in a single day. That’s more ascent than Ben Nevis, the UK’s highest mountain!
• Summiting 3 of the highest hills in the Yorkshire Dales, Pen Y Ghent (694m) Whernside (736m) and Ingleborough (723m)

Clothing & Equipment

This challenge takes place in a remote and mountainous environment, away from roads and immediate access to vehicle evacuation. It is therefore extremely important that you come prepared with the correct kit for this challenge. Please ensure that your waterproof jacket is able to keep you dry when subjected to rain for several hours at a time, and that you also have waterproof trousers as legs get just as wet as tops. Footwear should also be waterproof and most importantly should have good grip. Sports trainers are not appropriate for the terrain of this challenge. We also ask you to ensure that you bring with you a warm layer, along with a hat and gloves.
Once you book you will have access to kit discounts with our partners Cotswold Outdoor.

Please be aware that because of the environment that this challenge takes place in our leaders may ask to see the vital parts of your kit. Participants found without kit marked on the kit list will not be allowed to take part in the challenge.

Training

The Yorkshire 3 Peaks Challenge is a long, sustained event over 12 hours, therefore requiring a moderate to 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. You should progress to training with your boots on from week 4 at the latest, but preferably from week 1. The more you exercise before the expedition, the more you will get out of it. Also see your Charity Challenge Fitness Training notes.

Money

During the trek there will be opportunities to purchase an ice cream, some extra snacks or a cup of tea, for which approximately £20 should be sufficient, which excludes your joining and returning home travel costs.

Insurance

We don’t offer insurance for our UK trips, as any medical emergencies would naturally be covered through the NHS. Therefore the main thing that you will not be covered for is cancellation. You can read our cancellation policy within our terms and conditions here, and if you wish, you could look into your own policy that covers cancellation for travel within the UK.

Group Size

Our minimum group size for this challenge is 60 and the maximum is 100. There will be one challenge leader per approximately 10-15 participants and you may find you will naturally walk in smaller groups according to your own pace.

In is important to note that this challenge is not route marked, and you will be walking with our leaders at all time. This challenge is as much about supporting each other as it is about completing it yourself. Like all good football teams, and facing mental health difficulties, we are stronger if we support each other.

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.

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. Please check the weather forecasts up to ensure that you bring clothing suitable for warm and sunny temperatures as well as strong winds and downpours.

Walking as a 'team'

This is a unique challenge, created for Mind and the EFL. In accordance with Mind's ethos this event is not about individuals racing to complete the challenge as quickly as they can. This challenge is designed to encourage likeminded people to come together and support each other. The event is built on the the idea that if we collectively support each other then we are stronger and accomplish more than we ever can be ourselves.

Therefore this challenge is not route marked, and will be leader led at all times. During the trek you will naturally split into smaller teams based upon your walking speeds. These teams will then work together to complete the challenge. If you need to move between the teams then all you need to do is talk to the challenge leaders and they will arrange this.

Fundraising Page

Please make sure you join the Mind United team fundraisng page by setting up your JustGiving account via the below link:

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 good walkable limestone and bogs that makes this challenge a unique and fun experience.

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 Yorkshire Dales National Park 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 ‘Three Peaks Project’ who maintain the excellent footpaths we will be walking on. The Three Peak Project offers an excellent and informative mobile phone app that will add to your knowledge and preparation for the challenge. The app can be downloaded from all good app stores! (For more information click 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.

For extra information, please visit our Responsible Tourism pages, where you will be able to view a list of the other projects that we currently support.

Challenge Timings

Your challenge begins early on Sunday morning with registration from between 6-6.30am. You will then meet the leaders, as well as the rest of the group, then there will be a short safety briefing before the challenge begins at 6.45am.

You will be walking for approximately 12 hours, which makes your trek a very long day. You can expect to arrive back at the finish at around 7pm. 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.

Getting There

We will confirm arrival details at no later than 1 month prior to the start of the challenge.

Th registration point, and the finish of the challenge, will both be in the town of Horton-in-Ribblesdale. Parking will be available.

Accommodation

Accommodation is not provided for this challenge.

If you would like to book any pre-or-post accommodation either before or after the challenge, there are several options in the area. Visit www.visittheyorkshiredales.co.uk for lots of accommodation options.

The challenge begins and ends in the village of Horton-in-Ribblesdale where there are two good pubs in Horton-in-Ribblesdale that can provide accommodation, The Golden Lion Hotel and The Crown Hotel. Alternatively, there is an excellent campsite in Horton-in-Ribblesdale.

The slightly larger towns of Skipton, Settle and Ingleton are all within 30 minutes drive and have a wider choice of accommodation.

Food & Drink

You will be provided with a packed lunch for this challenge as well as some additional checkpoint snacks and water. We strongly encourage you to bring additional sweets and snacks if desired.

Toilets

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

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.
•  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.
•  The ascent of Ingleborough, your last peak, is particularly steep and does involve the use of your hands to a small extent.
•  12 hours is a long time to be out on the hills. Ensure that you eat lots throughout the day and keep yourself hydrated by drinking lots of fluids.

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 12hrs. If we find that you are unable to trek at all, then we will arrange for you to be collected and taken back to the hostel.