The Real3Peaks Challenge is 7 years old!
Saturday 12th October 2019
(and Sunday 13th)
This year, not only do we have the ‘Big 3’ (Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Yr Wyddfa/Snowdon) but also Lochnagar, Cairngorm, Ben Macdui, Ben Lomond, Isle of Skye, Roseberry Topping, The Roaches, Coniston Old Man and Pen y Fan amongst others. This is a massive increase on ground we’re covering, including all the high ground in the Cairngorm National Park. That’s no modest feat! We'll find out after Saturday 12 October 2019 how we all get on...
The aim of the
#Real3Peaks Challenge (R3P) is to increase awareness of the ‘Leave no Trace’ or ‘Take nothing but photos, leave nothing but footprints’ ethic when walking in our hills and mountains in the UK (and beyond). And not only for our three most popular mountains, but for all our ‘wild’ and beautiful upland places. Established 7 years ago by three MTA members as a leader led initiative to give something back, this project is still going stronger than ever
The Real3Peaks Challenge receives NO direct funding from any source, other than volunteers’ generous amounts of time and donations of resources and coverage from other conservation and industry related organisations. This is a low-key, grass-roots, yearly conservation event…and there’s always scope to improve, expand and formalise tasks and strategies. But the majority of volunteers also have full time careers and families to juggle also.
Rich Pyne - "When I started the Real3Peaks Challenge in 2013, I was working as a full-time outdoors instructor. Whilst my group were eating lunch, I decided to pick up some rubbish from the summit of Ben Nevis, as it was looking rather sad. I managed to fill two carrier bags in as many minutes. From this point, rather disappointed in humanity, I wrote about my findings on a Facebook page, from where somebody said, "Why don't you do something about it? So, I did…
With other keen and committed ‘mountain people’, I have carried on volunteering time towards R3P. This started as a personal crusade, but now it has become my opportunity to help make a difference, and to ultimately help change attitudes towards our ‘common land’."
WE DO WHAT WE CAN WITH THE RESOURCES AND SKILLS WE CURRENTLY ACCESS.
Where did it all begin?
2013. The name ‘Real3Peaks Challenge’ was picked for a specific reason that reflected a particular concern at the time: the REAL CHALLENGE was cleaning up AFTER the ‘3 Peaks’ season (most usually May – September). The ‘3 Peaks’ is a popular walking challenge event that looks to summit Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Yr Wyddfa/Snowdon within 24 hours. But this ‘summer season’ also includes general footfall of day walkers and other mountain users, many of whom are taking part in organised group walks for varying personal reasons, charity fundraising or corporate objectives. Or just good ‘ol walking with friends and family…
The October date was set to tie in with a ‘deep clean’ after the ‘summer season’ had finished, but before the winter snows come (certainly on Ben Nevis in any case), leaving the mountains clear underneath the snow, for the spring thaw. On mountains that receive less snow/more winter visitors, we have seen this doesn’t necessarily happen in this order, though. Ironically, on Snowdon, for example, the winter period can see litter building up again due to volumes of visitors leaving items at the summit, for instance, but there isn’t as much consistent support in picking it up again (Volunteer Wardens, Snowdon Mountain Railway staff, conscientious mountain users and Mountain Leaders/Instructors working with groups and picking up ad hoc litter etc). It’s a constant year-round scenario to keep on top of, especially on popular peaks.
Add in an unprecedented hot and dry summer, like last year/2018, and even more folk are keen to get out and enjoy the great outdoors – and some are less than considerate when departing again. More like ‘Leave Massive Trace’ than ‘Leave No Trace’.
Rich Pyne - "Summer 2013 was spent with a lot of my spare time in contact with several of the big land management trusts and organisations across the areas of the 3 Peaks. I did not have access to a computer at the time, so everything was worked off my phone...which takes a while when your basic smartphone cannot copy and paste, so all done from paper notes, then individually typed to each and every one. Since then, each Mountain/Area Coordinator has built up a network of volunteers that regularly support events, and more help is offered as the concept of the event is shared and understood by more people.
Initially, my aim was to complete a Real3Peaks Challenge myself, cleaning each hill, one after the other, but I soon realised that wouldn't be effective enough to make a difference. So I soon got together a modest group of like-minded Mountain Leaders, used to working in the outdoors with individuals and groups, to manage each mountain."
How much waste has been collected?
- October 2013 – 265 kg were cleared off the major routes on Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon
- October 2014 – 423 kg (3 Peaks - we knew where to look!)
- October 2015 – 513 kg
- October 2016 – 568 kg (Ben Nevis – 267 kg – including a toilet, Scafell Pike 96 kg, Snowdon 205 kg)
- October 2017 – 570 kg from 109 volunteers split between: Ben Nevis – 120 kg; Scafell Pike – 55 kg; Yr Wyddfa/Snowdon – 280 kg; Lochnager – 13 kg; Ben Macdui – 7 kg; Ben Lomand – 16 kg; Mam Tor & Dovestone – 78 kg
- October 2018 – 611 kg from 20 x litter picks in 19 x locations
To date, 6 volunteer events days has removed over 3 tonnes of litter from the 3 Peaks and other mountains. That’s equivalent to the weight of over 6 x Grand Pianos!(which have also been left on Ben Nevis before!). We are now starting to find older items that have been hidden or buried for generations. These include historical drink cans (the ones where the ring pull comes right off), thick glass bottles, industrial waste from buildings and even a rubbish stash that looked to be dated from the days of the Summit Hotel and Observatory on Ben Nevis back in the early 20th century! Each mountain has its own unique story about their development as Victorian tourist destinations, including Snowdon's railway and summit café and Ben Nevis with its observatory and hotel.
This year
Now in its 7th year, the #Real3Peaks Challenge has steadily become more visible within the outdoor and recreational sector and with land managers and organisations, conservation charities, landowners and activity providers. The R3P now commands in the region of 50 – 60,000 people reached via our Facebook page posts, before and after the events, and with the likes of the Balmoral Estate sharing our posts, we should reach record numbers this year. Please do help us in our aim to reach as many people as possible with our consistent and simple messages. Take off the hill, what you bring on…and if you can take a little bit more off, even better!
We aim to increase this traffic throughout the months between an annual event on the mountains (www.facebook.com/Real3peaks) but it’s definitely a tireless process to keep this momentum going when also working full time in the mountains – we could certainly do with some more PR/Media Management time! Those working in the outdoors, landowners, conservation charities and land management teams have all been managing litter issues for a long time, but we do not believe these efforts have had enough exposure with the general public, as well as those visiting these particular mountains. Now there is more potential to increase visibility. The #Real3Peaks Challenge is just part of a potential solution to the huge, UK wide issue of littering in our communities and environment – and there needs to be another government-led campaign to help address this. As children of the 1970s/80s, we remember the widespread anti-littering campaigns of our childhood! Where is that ethic now – what has happened to a generation of people that are too quick to absolve personal responsibility for their actions and think that “It’s someone else’s problem…”?
Supporters
The #Real3Peaks Challenge has received generous practical and publicity support from the following organisations. We are very grateful:
- Mountain Training Association
- The British Mountaineering Council
- Mountaineering Scotland
- The John Muir Trust
- The Highland Council
- The National Trust
- Snowdonia National Park
- Snowdonia Society
- Snowdon Mountain Railway
- Keep Wales Tidy
Plus, we cannot forget the (100s of) volunteer walkers and outdoor professionals that have helped on previous events. Many of these are members of the Mountain Training Association – a membership organisation to support professionalism and development of its members, who are training towards or working with a number of Mountain Training leadership qualifications. Also, many volunteers will be a member of the British Mountaineering Council or Mountaineering Scotland.
Rich Pyne - "A while back, I was having a conversation on Facebook with regards to the littering issues and how long "perishables" last. A chap came back to me with, "I understand about plastic bottles, but what is wrong with leaving banana skins…they degrade?" I responded by stating, “Next time you eat a banana, do a little experiment: once you eat it, throw the skin in your garden. At 6pm put it in your fridge. At 10am place it back in your garden. Keep doing that until October when you then put it in your freezer until April. Repeat the process." I didn't hear from him again. It can take up to 2 years for banana skins to degrade on a high mountain plateau."
But on a refreshing note, Dee, the Post Lady from Skye, and Chris Littlehales, who organises a lot of 3 Peaks Challenges, have done their bit for the R3P. Chris always sets his clients a mini competition on who can bring the most litter down off each hill...they win a T shirt!
And also an example from Monika Pyne: in 2016 she decided to clear the Red Burn (stream) on Ben Nevis. She was struggling with several bags of litter, with no one offering any help to carry them as she walked past. Except for a little lady that insisted on taking one on her behalf, even though she was on holiday from China. Thank you!"
Just imagine, that with the 1 million+ visitors that collectively walk on these 3 mountains over a year, picking up just one piece of litter each, how long would it take them to make these hills pristine and not need the 100+ volunteers to clean up each year? Providing that no more litter was dropped…now there’s the REAL challenge!
Just a thought...what can we do to help affect behavioural change? Do people leave rubbish around their own house, gardens and local beauty spots (err…yes is the answer in some places, we know). Why leave litter in the mountains (or anywhere, granted), where it has no place being and no-one is ‘employed’ to clear it up – or maybe that’s it. Maybe people mistakenly think there are ‘magic bins’ that are emptied and folk that will clear up after them in a formal way – ‘like what happens in the city’. Maybe visitors think no-one will see them ‘do the deed’, or that the litter will not bother anyone if it’s left there. Why leave litter ANYWHERE? Is this from a lack of respect and understanding of how we interact with our local community and environment? Is it someone else’s job to pick it up? Unless we have a close connection with, or sense of ‘ownership’ of, a particular area or mountain, does this mean that many people will not even think about the impact of their behaviour when they’re in that location? How many people naturally take the responsibility of picking up someone else’s litter – or is it ‘someone else’s job’?
Over the years, #Real3Peaks Challenge volunteers have spoken with a multitude of people on the hill about ‘litter’, and no one we speak to can understand "Why?" So who’s throwing items away? Secretly… What's the reason why most of what we find is ‘hidden’, ‘wedged’, or ‘buried’? People know they are doing wrong. There is guilt in there somewhere…and further education and government support is needed to turn this secret guilt into a conscious act of taking litter back to a bin at home, the car or appropriate public bin. It’s not difficult! The litter created from pack lunches, snacks and drinks etc is lighter in weight than before it was consumed. That’s the irony!
If you would like to volunteer to help on any of these hills below, or if you want to organise your own #Real3Peaks Challenge litter pick on
Saturday 12 October 2019 or beyond, then please use the contacts below:
The Real3Peaks Challenge Volunteers