National 3 Peaks - What to wear - What to carry

[@treeoflifebahrain08]

The best prep video for 3 peaks. Thank you 😊

[@monkeymountaineering1722]

Your welcome - glad you found it useful.

[@corinnaluxford8790]

Thank you. Doing this in October and great to have some first hand knowledge and experience

[@monkeymountaineering1722]

Hi Corinna, your welcome - hope your challenge goes well.

[@ccatchpole25]

Good advice, I would have hope if you're ambitious enough to try the 3 peaks, you would have enough experience to know how to deal with 3-4 intense climbs and what you should personally pack in your kit. However, the reality is most people do it from inspiration off of an ad on social media so this is not the case. Really important to listen to this if the above is you haha. The one thing that shocked me the most was eating, toileting on demand then sleeping in a bus that throws you around like a box of tools in a white van for 12 hours.

[@voetbal12]

3 jackets, 1 fleece, and a thermal for a 2 up, 2 down? Come on. The buff is my go to though, so versatile.

[@horsebattery9243]

Keeping it light and simple is good. Surprised to see no mention of map, compass or whistle? Navigation might be the guide's job I suppose but a whistle has always been standard safety gear.

[@monkeymountaineering1722]

Thank you for your comment. Most backpacks these days have a whistle integrated into the chest strap buckle hence no mention of carrying an extra one.

[@bipedal_shenanigans]

Very informative and interesting video. lots we'll put into place this year. Thank you for sharing

[@monkeymountaineering1722]

You are most welcome - thanks for watching and commenting. Good luck with the 3 peaks.

[@p4ttl344]

Great info, thank you!

[@monkeymountaineering1722]

You’re welcome

[@stuartbennion]

Excellent video, thanks for sharing this advice

[@monkeymountaineering1722]

Thanks - glad you enjoyed it.

[@Mr-vv3hr]

Very helpful. Thank you

[@monkeymountaineering1722]

You’re welcome.

[@MiniMushroomGaming]

Great Video and really amazing advice!!

[@monkeymountaineering1722]

Thanks Jess, I'm really pleased that you liked it.

[@Adam-lf9vs]

Great Video- thankyou! I feel like it should be compulsory to watch this before climbing a mountain for the first time! How many times do we see people wearing jeans pumps and hoody on the way up Snowdon!

[@monkeymountaineering1722]

Thanks Adam. Yep, we see people inappropriately dressed in the hill all the time - hopefully they get away with it and don’t need to call for help!

[@ggamer7830]

Did the Yorkshire 3 peaks summer just gone in a myprotein t shirt meant for the gym. I thought it would wick away since it’s meant for the gym… I was soaked through to the point the whole t shirt eventually looked like it was just a darker shade 😂

[@davidroughead774]

Great video, great advice! I am doing it in July, but after watching your video,ill ensure i am fully prepared & will 100% not underestimate the weather. Thank you 😀👍

[@monkeymountaineering1722]

Nice one David - thank you. Good luck in July.

[@scottjohnson8611]

Great video Sam.

[@monkeymountaineering1722]

Thanks Scott.

[@monkeymountaineering1722]

Thank you for commenting.

[@daveplant1611]

Cheers Sam great advice and very helpful 👍

[@PJ-kg2pw]

really good! Thank you

[@monkeymountaineering1722]

Cheers - I’m glad you found it useful.

[@rp-kt1le]

What about maps and compass , and know how to use them , surely these are essential items .

[@monkeymountaineering1722]

Hi R P, thanks for watching our video and commenting. The video is aimed at people joining a guided group and so they don’t need maps and a compass - the guide will take care of all that. Of course if you are planning to do the challenge unguided then yes, you will need maps, a compass and the ability to use them.

[@arronswainbank9394]

I walked up skafell pike in air maxes 🤣🤣🤦🏼‍♂️ but now Iv done that I want to do the 3 peak challenge but I certainly won’t be wearing trainers lol good video mate

[@monkeymountaineering1722]

Thanks Arron, glad you found it useful.

[@adeel577]

Thanks video was really helpful

[@monkeymountaineering1722]

Your welcome - glad you find it useful

[@The_Summit_Wanderer]

I've ALWAYS carry spare boot laces ...imagine getting a breakage miles from anywhere and unable to walk as a result

[@monkeymountaineering1722]

Nice one!

[@steffenchristmas1987]

From experience, just tie a knot in your broken lace and carry on. I've run in the mountains for years. This works.

[@miaclark8797]

Hi Sam, are the waterproof bags from anywhere in particular? Thanks 😊

[@monkeymountaineering1722]

Hi Mia, Thanks for your comment. The waterproof bags are dry bags - Osprey, Ortlieb, Sea to Summit and Exped all do a good selection in various sizes. You can find them online or in most good outdoor shops. Hope that helps. Sam

[@thenazarite2444]

Hopefully, one will only be on the mountain for three hours, and in the middle of Summer.

[@alicepearce8180]

Hey! Great video, does this apply whatever time of year you go? I’m going at the end of June.

[@monkeymountaineering1722]

Hi Alice, glad you liked my video - thanks for commenting. The challenge only really runs from May through to October. Outside of this period Ben Nevis is generally in winter conditions making it much more difficult. Hope that helps. Sam

[@Bigred2894]

Good video mate thinking about doing 3 peaks, just wondering what litre bag is that or whats the minimum you would recommend for 3 peaks the onee ive got is decent but no bladder compartment

[@monkeymountaineering1722]

Thank you. It’s an Osprey Talon 33 which is 31l. You could probably get away with something around the 20l mark unless you need to carry safety kit. Good luck.

[@Bigred2894]

@Monkey Mountaineering legend mate thankyou, appreciate the reply

[@monkeymountaineering1722]

@@Bigred2894 you’re welcome

[@lukehassall3049]

Hi Sam, very helpful video. How many spare sets of clothes would you take? Even if they are back at the car park in the van?

[@monkeymountaineering1722]

Thanks for your comment Luke - glad you found the video useful. I always have three sets of cloths on a National Three Peaks so that I can have dry stuff to wear on each mountain if needs be.

[@lukehassall3049]

@@monkeymountaineering1722 Thank you very much for taking the time to reply! That’s really helpful!

[@joshuamatheron1]

Blimey. You are thorough. Was waiting for the condoms to come out. You never know!

[@jamiegrenfell4346]

Whistle?

[@monkeymountaineering1722]

You could carry a whistle if you wanted to Jamie but if you are in a guided group then your guide will have one and there’s no good reason for you to be separated from him/her. These days almost everyone carries a smart phone anyway!

[@maffbuckley600]

Hello there Sam, Do you use a gps?

[@monkeymountaineering1722]

Hi Maff, thanks for the question. I always carry a GPS device but to be honest, I hardly ever take it out of my bag or turn it on. I use paper maps and a compass but having guided on the National Three Peaks over a hundred times I rarely use these either! Hope that helps.

[@maffbuckley600]

@@monkeymountaineering1722 thank you for replying, Waw! I guess you could probably do it blindfolded then! May I ask where you got the maps? And any advice for a beginner? Is it easy to get lost off the trail? If I’m doing the National three peaks challenge I may have to start in darkness? Or if I start in the light it may be dark on descent but at some point I’m guessing it will be dark I’m just not sure if the paths are easy to follow or if there’s any signage etc

[@monkeymountaineering1722]

@@maffbuckley600 If you start on Ben Nevis at first light then you’ll only be on Scafell Pike in the dark, assuming you make reasonable time. There are good paths but it’s easy to get misplaced in poor weather and bad visibility on the summit plateaus of Ben Nevis and Scafell Pike, especially in the dark. If you aren’t competent map reading then maybe join a guided group. You can pick up a challenge map from Ordnance Survey: shop.threepeakschallenge.uk/products/os-national-three-peaks-challenge-maps

[@maffbuckley600]

@@monkeymountaineering1722 thank you 🙏

[@AndyHepton]

You might want to check out on the downsides of the 3 Peaks challenge. It is genuinely causing a lot of problems to the areas it visits and is basically a driving challenge as much as anything. Maybe think about other mores sustainable challenges?

[@monkeymountaineering1722]

Hi Andy, thank you for your comments. We are extremely mindful of the downsides and the impact the National Three Peaks Challenge has on the peaks themselves and the local communities it passes through. We follow the leave no trace principle and only arrange a small number of challenges throughout the year and all our groups are 8 or less people so as to lessen our impact. These challenges raise massive amounts of funds for very good causes but I do agree that they need to be managed in a more sustainable way.

[@AndyHepton]

@@monkeymountaineering1722 Thanks for your reply and good to hear. It is a bit Catch 22 though since the amount raised for charities is always used as the counter argument whilst the charities themselves do little to mitigate the impacts. I think it would be useful to move out of the 3 peaks mindset!

[@monkeymountaineering1722]

I don't disagree Andy and not sure what the solution is - there is a demand for National Three Peaks so I guess the problem will continue to exist. Perhaps the best course of action is to offer alternatives and if that doesn't suit then keep numbers to a minimum, avoid busy weekends and promote a leave no trace approach.