Three countries, three tough mountain climbs and just 24 hours to reach ground level again…it sounds like an impossible challenge.
But Rob Brown and his team of eight friends completed the famous national Three Peaks Challenge in 22 hours and 45 minutes.
Starting in Scotland, Rob and the team - five walkers and a support group of four - climbed the 1,345m of Ben Nevis, before going on to tackle the 978m of Skafell Pike in the Lake District and then faced a finale that will saw them climb 1.085m to reach the top of Snowdon in Wales.
And by the time the challenge was finished the gang had raised a fantastic £5,000 for St Luke’s Hospice, where Rob’s lifelong friend Emma Fisher was a patient as she reached the end of her battle with cancer just a few weeks ago.
“I watched Emma fight so hard for so long and she never once complained to me about it,” said Rob.
“I visited her at St Luke’s and I couldn’t stop thinking about it, the fact that everybody there was so supportive - and that’s what inspired me to do something.
“We want to raise as much money as possible for St Luke’s and raise awareness too because it really is an incredible place and they did so much for Emma.”
The adventure started well with good weather for the Scottish leg of the challenge but by the time the weary walkers reached the summit of Snowdon, they were facing 45 mile per hour winds, visibility of just two metres and horizontal rain.
In addition, Rob had sustained a knee injury during the team’s time on Skafell Pike – though he was determined that nothing would stop him completing the full course.
“We were doing this for Emma and there was no way I was going to let her down,” said Rob, who lives in Woodseats.
“The money we have seen coming in has just been absolutely unbelievable and it’s made it all worthwhile.
“Physically Snowdon was the hardest because I had hurt my knee by them but also the fact that it was the last and we weren’t feeling so fresh any more made a big difference.
“It was almost like Lord of the Rings – we started off and it was all fun and adventure but every single mountain seemed to have its own surprise for us.”
Undeterred though, Rob and the team are now looking at their next fundraiser in memory of Emma.
“I’m so fired up that I know we definitely want to do more and we are talking about cycling coast to coast,” said Rob.
“And Emma had climbed Mont Blanc so that’s something we might be looking at too!”
There’s still time to support Rob and the team – click here