Pictured above: (from left) Ashley Cooper, Richard
Manning, Stevie Lewkowicz (front), Peter Horsley, Ian Markham, Jack
Markham (son) and Mahmood Sharif (front) at the summit of Scafell
Pike
Mary Stevens Hospice in Stourbridge will be presented with a
cheque for £3,000 after six Yorkshire Bank staff completed
the Three Peaks Challenge.
Ashley Cooper, Richard Manning, Peter Horsley, Mahmood Sharif,
Stevie Lewkowicz and Ian Markham, who all work at Yorkshire Bank's
Financial Solutions Centre in Birmingham, walked up and down
Scotland's Ben Nevis, England's Scafell Pike and Snowdonia in North
Wales.
However, despite finishing the challenge the half a dozen staff
were 60 minutes late from completing the task within 24 hours due
to traffic queues on the M56 delaying their arrival in Snowdon.
Ashley said although they had narrowly missed their 24-hour
deadline all their sponsors were happy to pay their sponsorship
with the total being matched by Yorkshire Bank to reach
£3,000.
He said: "All the mountains were completed in time. We went up
and down Ben Nevis in our allotted five hours, Scafell an hour
earlier than the five hours we thought it would take and the
Snowdon leg was finished 15 minutes within our time challenge.
"But with the time it had taken to travel along the M56 to reach
Wales we knew when we descended Snowdon that we were not going to
make the 24 hours target and that was the most demoralising moment
of the trip.
"The most surreal moment was at 4am on Saturday morning arriving
at the foot of Scafell to find all the car parking spaces were full
and mini buses abandoned everywhere!
"The best moment is seen in the photograph which was taken at
6.30am as the sun was just breaking through and the climbing team
were together ahead of schedule on top of Scafell."
He added: "Special thanks must go to the driving team of Andy
Bartle and Caroline Dredge who did an incredible job of driving the
mini bus - which had been donated by the Burnt Tree Group Limited -
around the country lanes of the Highlands, Lake District and North
Wales, and to Jo Lane who encouraged everyone.
"And thank-you to everyone who supported us with donations for a
very worthwhile local charity."