Glencoe-based Keri Page is planning to undertake a solo walk of the UK’s 3 big mountain rounds in one go. The charity challenge which will raise funds for the John Muir Trust and WaterAid, will take in the Bob Graham Round (England), the Paddy Buckley Round (Wales) and the Ramsay Round (Scotland). Overall this amounts to 187 miles, 113 mountain summits and 83,000ft of ascent or roughtly 3 times the height of Everest.
Keri, who up until 5 years ago had never climbed a mountain but is now a keen climber, fell runner and hill walker, says: “Each round in the UK BIG 3 is an ultra-distance classic in its own right, rich in history and interesting characters! The three rounds are famous as 24h fell-running challenges, not as walks. Nevertheless, this challenge has never been done before, unbelievably. There are obviously several amazing fell running records for the UK Big 3, such as Mike Hartley completing them all consecutively in 3d 14h 20m (1990) or Helen Diamantides completing all 3 in one season (1989), but I can’t find any records at all of anyone walking the big three in one big push! Attempting all three back-to-back as one long endurance walk is a massive mission. This is especially true for someone of average ability who has not traversed any of these three rounds before.”
Keri aims to complete the challenge between May 16th and 28th, averaging 17 miles, 10 mountains and 2300m a day for 11 days.
The challenge is also personal for Keri who’s first experience of Ben Nevis involved assisting in a serious mountain rescue situation. Keri says: “The mountains make me feel free and alive. The UK Big 3 Challenge is my chance to give something back; to help protect our wild places (John Muir Trust) and save lives through the gift of water (WaterAid).” You can follow Keri’s progress at her blog.