Volunteers from the Isle of Man Civil Defence Unit are preparing to scale the highest mountains in Britain to raise money for a number of deserving causes.
A team of ten walkers have set their sights on completing the annual Three Peaks Challenge - a total distance of 19 miles and 2,955 metres of ascent - in under 24 hours.
The plan is to reach the summit of Snowdon in Wales, before scaling Scafell Pike in England and then finishing with a trek up Ben Nevis in Scotland.
The hardy souls who have signed up for the adventure are Jim MacGregor, David Kermeen, Mick Naylor, Nick Webb, John Callow,
Andrew Greaves, Tom Stewart, Phil Styles, Johnnie Sayle and Andrew Quirk.
Judith Bartram and Nigel Smith will act as support personnel and transport the walkers between the three peaks in an Isle of Man Civil Defence vehicle.
As well as being a valuable training and team bonding exercise, the challenge will help to raise funds for the Isle of Man Search and Rescue Dogs Association and Mountain Rescue groups in England, Scotland and Wales.
The 12-strong Island group will leave the Isle of Man by ferry on Friday 22nd May and launch their marathon effort from the base of Snowdon at 9am the following morning.
The walkers, who are paying their own travel expenses, will pair up for each mountain ascent and have been putting in plenty of training miles in the Manx fells in preparation for the task ahead.
The Three Peaks Challenge will provide the participants with an opportunity to test their logistical planning, health and safety, communication and navigation skills – as well as their physical fitness.
The experience gained should also stand the Civil Defence volunteers in good stead when responding to emergency situations back in the Isle of Man, such as hill searches for missing persons.
Challenge organiser Jim MacGregor said ‘There was an enthusiastic response when the idea was first mooted and we hope to repeat the trip next year with a different team of recruits.
‘We are planning to meet up with local Mountain Rescue and dog handling teams during the course of the challenge to learn more
about their procedures and equipment.
‘Raising funds will help us to give something back to organisations that have assisted us with training requirements in the past.’
As part of their fundraising drive, the Civil Defence walkers are inviting sponsors to guess how long it will take them to complete the 19 miles and 2,955 metres of ascent. Those closest to the overall time will win a prize. The competition to guess the completion time is open to anybody, at no cost.
Additional prizes and sponsorship are still being sought and anybody interested in pledging their support should email defence@gov.im
