Braving the UK’s three highest peaks to fundraise for Samaritans
17 colleagues from Atmos International (Atmos) recently completed the National Three Peaks challenge to raise funds for the Manchester & Salford Samaritans.
Here’s how it went and how much we raised for this local charity.
About the Three Peaks Challenge
The National Three Peaks Challenge involves hiking the three highest peaks of Scotland, England and Wales: Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon.
The total walking distance is 37 kilometers (23 miles) and the total ascent is 3,064m (10,052 feet), which is equivalent to climbing approximately seven Empire State Buildings.
Ben Nevis
Coming in at 1,345m (4,413 feet), Ben Nevis is the tallest of the three peaks and the highest mountain in Scotland, the UK and the British Isles.
After an early morning pickup from Atmos’ UK headquarters, the coach arrived at Ben Nevis’ visitor center car park for an evening challenge start time.
Atmos colleagues completed their ascent and descent of the mountain in times ranging from four to six hours before the coach transported them to Scafell Pike in the Lake District.
Scafell Pike
Scafell Pike’s ascent is 978m (3,209 feet), making it the shortest of the three peaks but the tallest mountain in England. The journey there wasn’t without its own challenges, there were traffic jams coming in and out of Scotland and there was also a broken down car partially blocking the only road leading to Wasdale Head, where the Scafell Pike ascent would be taking place.
A core value at Atmos is fresh thinking, which Atmos colleagues embodied when they got off the coach to guide the driver through the tight gap which had a broken down car on one side and a lake on the other.
After arriving at Wasdale Head in the early morning following Ben Nevis, the participants completed their early morning hike in times ranging from three to four hours so the coach could transport them to the challenge’s final hike.
Snowdon
Snowdon is 1,085m (3,560 feet) tall, making it the second highest mountain of the three peaks and the tallest in Wales. Atmos colleagues arrived at Pen-y-Pass in the mid afternoon and had all descended the mountain by the evening, bringing this challenge to a close.
Over £4,600 raised in the name of suicide prevention
A core value at Atmos involves being brilliant together, which is why Atmos colleagues understand the importance of supporting local communities and chose to directly support the Manchester & Salford branch of Samaritans.
Through their combined fundraising efforts, all 17 participating Atmos colleagues managed to raise over £4,600* for the Manchester & Salford Samaritans, which will support the branch’s plans to introduce a support service to local schools, colleges and universities.
*Amount correct as of July 19. Special thanks to Torque Consulting, who donated a generous £250 to this fundraising campaign.
About Samaritans
Every life lost to suicide is a tragedy and Samaritans’ vision is that fewer people die by suicide.
Samaritans offer listening and support to people and communities in times of need and they respond to a call for help every ten seconds.
They're there every day and night of the year for anyone struggling to cope and can be reached by phone, letter, email and face to face.
Samaritans is not only for the moment of crisis, but they take action to prevent the crisis too, which is why funds raised from Atmos’ Three Peaks challenge will go towards preventing crises in local schools, colleges and universities local to the Manchester & Salford area.
Marketing Content Manager Dominic Thompson was one of the organizers of Atmos’ Three Peaks challenge and is also a volunteer for the Manchester & Salford Samaritans.
He said: “The goal for this fundraising event was to raise £2,000 so I’m astounded that we’ve been able to beat this target by 230%!
We’ve received lots of heartfelt comments on the fundraising page about Samaritans which proves how valuable their emotional support service is to so many.
I’d like to thank the 16 other participants who completed the Three Peaks challenge, Harry Smith for co-organizing with me and everyone who donated or raised awareness of this fundraising activity.”
Atmos’ Three Peaks challenge fundraiser is still open