Osborne 3 Peaks Challenge 2009

3 Peaks Sunday Afternoon

2009-05-10T23:30:00.000+01:00

Sunday, 10 May 2009
Llanberis, North Wales

Running account of the 3 Peaks Challenge
by Andre Ravary

With both teams arriving at Snowden within 15 minutes of each other (Girls' team arriving at 1710), it was a quick equipment check, and onwards to the summit.
Leah's ankle felt okay, so she decided to give it a go. Mel is still out due to her "dodgy" knee.
The Boys' team left at around 1715, and the Girls' team left at 1725.
Dave King, the elite driver for the Boys' team has decided to give it a go as well...
More on this as the challenge develops...
A.

ps... photos will be added on Tuesday, when the dust settles... ¦;o)

1810 - Dave and Jon have returned. Dave had problems with borrowed footwear, and Jon was not feeling well enough to complete the trek up to the top.

2300 - The 3 Peaks Challenge is now over. The Boys' team completed Snowdon at 21:35, and the Girls' team crossed the finish line at 22:30.

Here are the final stats; Ben Nevis/Scafell Pike/Snowdon/Total Time:

Boys 4:43/5:42/4:23/24:48
Girls: 5:48/5:26/4:52/26:08

Andre Ravary
(Driver, Cook and Chief Bottle Washer)

3 Peaks Sunday Morning

2009-05-10T17:55:00.002+01:00

Sunday, 10 May 2009
Seathwaite, Cumbria

Running account of the 3 Peaks Challenge
by Andre Ravary

Both Teams arrived at Scafell Pike, with the Boys' team arriving at 0515, and the Girls' team arriving one hour later (different start times).
The Girls' team went up as a threesome, as Mel gave it a miss due to her sore knee. They started the hike at 0647, returning at 1215. During the running finish, Leah has twisted her ankle. She got some prompt attention from the doctor, looks 50/50 right now.
The teams left Seathwaite around mid-day, with the Boys' team leaving at 1145, and the Girls' team leaving at 1245.
A.

3 Peaks Saturday Afternoon/Evening

2009-05-10T17:43:00.003+01:00

Saturday, 09 May 2009
Glen Nevis, Scotland

Running account of the 3 Peaks Challenge
by Andre Ravary

Well, the two teams have gone up.
They both returned in good spirits. The Girls' team finished at 2100h.
We left the Ben Nevis area at 2150 and arrived at the M6 services at 0300, with a hot shower and clean clothes.
Mel has hurt her knee, so Scafell Pike may be a miss.
A.

3 Peaks, Saturday Morning

2009-05-09T07:40:00.000+01:00

Saturday, 09 May 2009
Lochaber, Scotland.

Running account of the 3 Peaks Challenge
by Andre Ravary.

Well, it's 0730 and it's overcast and raining outside. The Hotel is warm, but the rest of the day looks wet and miserable.
The forecast is not helping, with rain/light rain for most of the day.
Right now, looking out the window, all the mountain peaks are in the clouds. It's about 5C and the rain is pelting the glass. More to come...
A.

Ditchling Beacon Event, 25 April 09

2009-04-26T09:56:00.003+01:00

Last Practice Outing
Dichling Beacon

By Mel Lewis

The Team: Mel, Emma, Kelly, Leah, and guest appearances by Griffin and Will.

Last Girls Group Hike before the big Weekend!!!!

The sun was out, the sky, blue and a wind to chill you to the core! We returned to Ditchling Beacon for a final Group Hike before the big event.

Climbing up and down and up and down 6 or 7 times across the downs with some hairy moments zigzagging up avoiding HUGE mole hills and shuffling down on our backsides when we went off the beaten path.
6 1/2 hours later we reached the cars, exhausted but pleased with the day.

With just a few days to go we're pushing for all those last donations to flood in, so please log on to the Just Giving Website and donate generously.

Mel and the 3 Peaks Teams

Milford Golf Day

2009-04-18T09:46:00.000+01:00

Here are a few photos that were taken during our Second Charity Golf Event, held on 17 April 2009.

...More photos available on our Flickr Page...

MAD Weekend Event

2009-04-01T13:57:00.012+01:00

Mountain Awareness Day
Scafell Pike, Cumbria
27-29 March 2009

The Team: Mel, Emma, Kelly, Leah, Bob and Andre

Here's what the girls had to say...

** Best Bit **

Mel: COMING DOWN Scafell, it was beautiful views, I was smiling, the team had lasted a day on the mountain in really cold conditions…and my knees were feeling good!

Emma: Looking back up after walking down Scafell and realising just how far we had actually climbed!... And then the rock climbing up the top of Cat bells, although a few hair raising moments was really fun! The 360' views at top were amazing, the weather was beautiful and views stunning!!!... Worth every worst moment there was!!!
Leah: Getting up the scramble climb at the top of Cat Bells, it was hard on everyone physically and mentally but we all worked as a team to get there and the view from the top was absolutely stunning.
Kelly: The scenery was breathtaking, it’s a different world out there. I also thoroughly enjoyed the training, was very informative and interesting. The dog that kept playing fetch all day was great to take our minds off the hail!

** Worst Bit **

Mel: The 50mph gusts at the top of a snowy ridge on Scafell. I felt disoriented and battered about. The -17C wind chill froze my fingers so badly that they are still red at the tips 2 days later! Poor Emma got a burst of obscenities from me describing what I thought about wind!
Emma: I'm with Mel on this one... the nasty wind on the top ridge of Scafell... We were not happy bunnies but cheered each other up with our potty mouths!!! Hail that felt like needles on my face. And having a snow ball thrown at me that went down my trousers!.... THAT WAS NOT NICE BOYS!!!....
Leah: The sad demise of my trusty walking boots that had to be patched together with hairbands and medical tape in order to last the day, unfortunately even this prompt mountainside triage administered by our instructor was too little too late and they hung out just long enough to get me down, god rest their sole (see what I did there).

Kelly: My fingers froze over as I was wearing my red Dorothy perkins gloves!

Many more photos on our Flickr page; see the link, top right of page.

Osborne Charity Golf Tournament

2009-03-12T19:00:00.006Z

Golf Tournament, Lullingstone Park

12 March 2009

In April, the team organised a Golf Tournament at the Lullingstone Park Golf Club. The event started at 0900 with a nice breakfast, and ended around 1800 with a nice meal. Fun was had by all.

Here are the results of this grand day...

Best Team - Safety Team (Bob Royce, Simon Adamson, Jez Richardson and Colin Butcher)

Second Team- New ISG (Russell Withey, Nick Ansell, Matt Wooley, Mick Schruyers)

Nearest the Pin- Hole 13- Phil Willoughby

Nearest the Pin- Hole 5- Mick Schruyers

Nearest the Pin- Hole 17- Russell Sweeting

Nearest the Pin- Hole 9- David Smith

Longest Drive- Paul Heyworth

Boobie Prize 1- Lee Brazier

Boobie Prize 2- Alan Chalmers

Cheers,

The Team.

Charity Car Wash

2009-03-06T15:24:00.009Z

Osborne 3 Peaks Charity Car Wash

06 March 2009

The team: various Osborne staff, mainly from the IT department.

We had a bumper to bumper day of car washing in Reigate and Chichester today. The results are as follows:

Reigate; 16 cars in 2 1/2 hours raising £80.00!

Chichester; 31 cars in 6 hours, raising £170!

Thank so much to all those who mucked in and helped on the today, and thanks to all of you that supported on the day!
Hope to see you all again next month, as we're running another one on 3rd April!

Andre

Otford Outing, 01 March 2009

2009-03-01T09:00:00.001Z

The Otford Outing.

By Leah Thomas

The Team: Mel, Emma, Kelly, Lisette, Leah, with guests Simon and Orsi

For the first hike in March we were joined by Simon and Orsi Adamson to hike over the North Downs from Otford in Kent.

Although only 5.3 miles this walk had some really challenging inclines one of which had 145 (I counted) man-made steps built in to the steepest part of the slope, these steps were uniquely designed in that they were too far apart to comfortably accommodate one stride and a little close for two thus ensuring maximum discomfort for this part of the climb.

Two golf courses and plenty of woodland were covered, we met other hikers, some sheep the odd golfer and a few ponies and calves en route; one stile bore a sign warning us to ‘Beware of the Bull'. As Lisette, Simon and Orsi were wearing red those of us in black decided to give them a wide berth to allow the Bull a clear run should he need it, my fun at their expense was short lived when I wandered into some electric fencing.

The weather was a little overcast and muggy yet all in all a vast improvement on some of the previous outings, the few muddy spots that we encountered were deftly negotiated by all; that said should someone take a puddle dive in the next couple of months cameras are at the ready so keep watching this space.

Leah

Boys Team Training Session

2009-02-16T09:00:00.005Z

Boys Team Training Session,

Bromley 3.5 Mile run, 16 Feb 2009.

The Team: Alan Baker, Jon Hebard, Chris Hope, Fret Tippett

The Boys team went for a training session after work (hence the darkness) on the 16th, around Bormley and the local Park.

Andrew Maslen

Cocking Outing, 08 Feb 2009

2009-02-08T09:00:00.009Z

The Cocking Outing.

By Mel Lewis.

The Team: Mel, Kelly-Ann, Lisette and guest appearance from Will.

Winter Wonderland

It was the coldest week England had seen in 12 years, and snow and ice were still on the ground. Kelly-Ann Ee, Lisette Campbell, Will Hughes, and myself trudged out onto the South Downs on a very cold day in February.

We started at Cocking and followed the South Downs Way up to Graffam and across to Duncton Hill. Crunching our way through ice and snow, my little toes took ages to warm up and the cows and sheep looked VERY cold. Yet, somehow this seemed far more desirable than the mud we had been swimming through on previous hikes!

At the bottom of the hill we were surprised to see sunshine and snowdrops! A welcome relief as we started to climb back up the muddy path towards the viewpoint at Duncton.

Just over 4 hours, this is one of the tougher hikes, yet it had to be one of my favourites with all the snow on the fields - and of course very little mud!

Mel

Devil's Dyke Outing, 01 Feb 2009

2009-02-01T19:42:00.014Z

The Devil's Dyke Outing,
By Emma Hoad

The Team: Mel, Emma, Leah, Lisette

A very windy and cold start at the Jack and Jill Windmills on Sunday Morning, much the same as the previous week - but less rain and more snow (and I did not forget my boots)!!

A 10mile hike across to Devils Dyke with a few wrong turns (which included up some killer steps and down a steep hill on our bums!) and along the way meeting some very mad cyclists and runners along with another 3peaks girls team!!

Lots of wind, lots of mud (that I did take a bit of slip in!!), lots of horses / riders / dogs and HUGE cows, and towards the end lots of snow and aching legs and a very weird stone shaped like a finger that Mel stumbled across.

All in all was a pretty good walk which tested us all on our fitness levels!!...

Plus it was finished off with Chips and Soup in the pub on Andre!!!.... Chips never tasted so good!!

Emma.

The day ended at the local pub ( The Jack and Jill Inn, of course), with a warm meal and some refreshing drinks.

Ditchling Beacon Outing, 25 Jan 2009

2009-01-28T09:00:00.005Z

The Ditchling Beacon Outing,
by Kelly-Ann Ee.

Date: Sunday 25th January 2009
Location: Brighton- Ditchling Beacon
The Team: Mel Lewis, Kelly-Ann Ee, Emma Hoad, Leah Thomas, Lisette Campbell
Guest: Peter Robertshaw

We were off to a good start; Leah overslept, Emma had left her walking shoes, Kelly had left her walking poles, and it had been raining continuously since Saturday afternoon. Still, the determined crew met up at the Jack and Jill Windmills at Clayton for the hike at 09:30hrs. We had Peter Robertshaw as a guest to give us a lesson 101 on navigation.
So off we went along the South Downs Way to Ditchling Beacon. Being on the brow, we got gail force winds and sleet so we were glad to head downhill to Lower Standean. My navigation skills failed at this point, and we found ourselves herded by a farmer back on course. Fortunately the team appeared distracted by the clever sheep dog which herded without any instructions.
Once we made it back up to the South Downs Way, we covered Wolstonbury Hill and Clayton before being finally defeated by the rain which had not eased off the whole time.
Well done team! It was a long hard run with the weather against us, but good company and determination kept us going. Andre and Bob were sorely missed as we were desperate for food and tea at the end.
Statistics: 4.5 hours, 19.5km/11.7 miles, total ascent 500 metres.

Kelly.

Groombridge Outing, 18 Jan 2009

2009-01-27T20:44:00.020Z

The Groombridge Outing,
by Emma Hoad.

The Team: Mel, Kelly, Emma, Leah, Lisette and Denise (Nikki was unable to attend as she was on holiday... somewhere a lot warmer than here!!!)

A nine mile circular walk from Groombridge village into the country side and around Harrison's rock. Our first walk with no rain and reasonably good weather... lots of muddy boots and trousers and some very angry farmers!!!

A very cute golden retriever puppy and a weird face carved into a tree in the middle of no-where followed by tomato soup and spaghetti Bolognese by Andre and Bob - LOVELY!!!!!

Emma.

Box Hill Group Outing, 23 Nov 2008

2008-11-30T12:00:00.002Z

The Box Hill Group Outing,
by Mel Lewis

The Team: Emma, Kelly-Ann, Mel, Chris, Jon, Andrew and Alan.

This is the first Group 3 Peak hike - Girls and Boys. The Boys and Girls Team all met to launch the start of our training for the 3 Peaks.

A gentle hike around Box Hill to help to get to know everyone. A sign of hikes to come, the weather was fearful, with ice on the ground sleet and driving rain in our faces.

Thankfully we all turned out to be a cheerful bunch and continued on our way - if not a little drenched in the process. Little did we know what was still to come!

Mel.

The Early Days...

2008-10-01T12:00:00.000+01:00

Welcome to the Osborne's blog on The Coins Foundation 3 Peaks Challenge 2009.

Our goal is to raise funds to support the Coins Foundation charity by climbing Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowden in 24 hours. The "Fun" starts at 14:00, Saturday, 09 May 2009.

We have two teams participating, and here they are:

Girls Team - Mel Lewis, Emma Hoad, Nikki Moore and Kelly-Ann Ee. The backup girls are Leah Thomas and Lisette Campbell, and the support crew consists of Bob Royce and Andre Ravary.

Boys Team - Alan Baker, Jon Hebard, Chris Hope and Fred Tippett. The backup boy is Will Hughes, and the support crew consists of David King and Tim Wallis.

We also have a Fund Raising Treasurer in the name of Andrew Maslen.

Stay Tuned!