We Did It! 3 Peaks Challenge Conquered (in 30+ Degree Heat!) for Business Beats Cancer Chester

Well, it turns out that walking uphill repeatedly for 24 hours in 30+ degree heat really is as hard as it sounds. Who knew?

Last weekend, a brave (some might say questionable in judgement) team of 6 from Smart Waste Solutions and friends took on the National 3 Peaks Challenge to raise funds for Business Beats Cancer Chester, part of Cancer Research UK.

For those unfamiliar, the challenge means climbing the three highest peaks in Scotland (Ben Nevis), England (Scafell Pike), and Wales (Yr Wyddfa/Snowdon) — in under 24 hours. That’s 23 miles of hiking, nearly 3,000 metres of ascent, and more blisters than they'd care to admit.

And because they really love to suffer for a good cause, they did it during a heatwave with 30+ degree temperatures.

Meet the (Slightly Mad) Team

They couldn’t have done it without this determined (and now very achy) crew:

✅ William, Tom and Darren – Completed all 3 mountains. Absolute machines.

✅ Tristan and Andrew, - completed Ben Nevis and Scafell Pike, before needing to stop the challenge due to injuries.

✅ Ben and Steven – Smashed Ben Nevis like pros

✅ Karen and Nick – Conquered Snowdon, with Karen (reluctantly) taking over as chauffeur.

Oh, and about that driving...

The Fun of DIY Driving

Normally, teams have a dedicated driver so they can catch a few hours of uncomfortable, sweaty van sleep.

Did they have a driver?

Nope.

They took turns driving themselves through the night across Scotland, England and Wales. Imagine being so tired your legs won’t work, but still fighting to stay awake enough to navigate single-track roads at 2 a.m. It was character-building, to say the least.

30+ Degrees of Pure Challenge

They trained as best they could. (Well, some of them did. Others just bought new socks and hoped for the best.)

But nothing really prepares you for:

• Ben Nevis in blazing sun, where even the midges looked too hot to bite.

• A 6am scramble up Scafell Pike that felt like hiking on the surface of Venus.

• Snowdon when you have little left in the tank due to the hottest weekend of the year and only 2 hours sleep, fuelled only by melted sandwiches, grit and mild delirium.

Snowdon nearly had two more people down thanks to the heat, injury and exhaustion, but they refused to quit. The generous sponsorship and all the incredible support meant they didn’t want to let anyone down — so they soldiered on.

And they didn’t just finish the Llanberis path at Snowdon — they smashed it in a record 4 hours 40 minutes (average time is 6–8 hours!) Not bad for a bunch of self-confessed "fit-ish individuals"!

The Real Stats

Now, confession time. Technically, they didn’t quite make the classic 24-hour target.

Between road closures in Scotland, the hired minibus being over 2 hours late, wrong or inaccessible routes at Scafell Pike, and having to drop the injured back off on the way to Snowdon (though they did pick up a couple of extra climbers!)...

✅ The total time ended up at 26.5 hours.

✅ And overall, they clocked up an additional 6.5 miles of walking!

So effectively? They did four peaks worth of distance in 26.5 hours.

Honestly, they’re claiming bonus points for that.

Why They Did It

All jokes aside, there was a serious reason behind the madness.

Many at Smart Waste Solutions have been affected by cancer in some way — whether personally or through friends and family. That’s why Business Beats Cancer Chester is their nominated charity of the year.

Cancer Research UK does vital work funding life-saving research. The team is proud (and hobbling) to have done their bit to help.

A Huge Thank You ❤️

They truly couldn’t have done it without the amazing support of so many generous people and businesses.

✨ Everyone who took part — whether you hiked, drove, encouraged or laughed at their complaints.

✨ All of their wonderful donors — your kindness kept the lads going when things were tough (which was basically the entire 26.5 hours).

✨ Ben at 1st Response Environmental in Scotland — for joining them on the Ben Nevis leg and for his generous donation.

✨ NWR — for their very handsome contribution.

✨ Rodney Collins at Snowdon Mountain Railway — for kindly letting them park on his driveway and to his wife Iona, who patched Karen up after her spectacular fall. Absolute legends.

✨ Lloyds — for their incredible planned £1,000 donation.

✨ Tom’s employer (final amount TBC) — who they’re told are generously donating £500.

Your support means everything. It made every single step — even the painful, sweaty, uphill ones — worth it.

Back to Work!

And just to prove how tough (or stubborn) they really are — after 26.5 hours of climbing mountains, driving through the night and surviving a heatwave, the entire team was back at work on Monday!

That’s commitment. Or possibly insanity.

There's Still Time to Donate!

If you'd like to support the team's incredible effort (and show them all that those bonus 6.5 miles really were worth it), there's still time to sponsor them via their fundraising page:

Donate here: https://fundraise.cancerresearchuk.org/page/the-smart-waste-cancer-research-3-peaks-challenge?sfnsn=scwspmo

Every single donation helps fund vital research and means the world to the team.

The Verdict

Would they do it again?

Let’s just say they’re currently sticking to walking to the kettle.

But who knows. Once the blisters heal and the minibus is returned, maybe they’ll get the itch again. There was already talk of a bike ride for next year’s challenge, so watch this space!

Until then — thank you for making this challenge such an unforgettable (and mildly unhinged) adventure!