The National 3 Peaks : Taking Up The Challenge (2nd ed)

I bought this guide and 'The national three peaks walk' by Brian Gordon Smailes a week before attempting the three peaks challenge with a friend. Both guides are excellent and there isn't largely much difference between them however I would say this guide is the more detailed of the two. Both guides can be read in a single day and they have useful diagrams/pictures which me and my friend solely used to navigate the mountains. It's advisable to use proper maps however.I particularly found the equipment list useful (me and my friend purchased head lamps which we hadn't previously considered until reading the guides) and just the general tips on completing the challenge.We took the advice of the guides to climb the mountains in the order of Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Mount Snowdon. We had previously climbed Mount Snowdon but had never climbed Ben Nevis or Scafell Pike.We successfully climbed Ben Nevis and Scafell Pike and we made it to Mount Snowdon however we only had a couple of hours left until the expiry of the 24 hour period, after problems with a road closure and our sat nav sending us all over the place. Whilst we did the mountains in the order recommended in the guides, we failed to do them at the recommended times therefore we were faced with climbing Mount Snowdon in the dark rather than Scafell Pike.Despite having previously climbed Mount Snowdon, we were unable to navigate it in the dark and turned back after getting lost. Even without the navigation problems, it is unlikely we would have climbed the mountain before the expiry of the 24 hour period.The best advice I can give is to follow the guides and do Scafell Pike in the dark! It's probably the easiest to navigate out of the 3 mountains and I would recommend a practice run in the dark if possible, before attempting the 3 peaks challenge. Another tip I would give from experience is to get a hydration sack (it is listed in the guides under equipment list.) I got dehydrated very quickly on the mountains as I wasn't use to climbing, so I was stopping regularly to get water out of my bag which wouldn't be a probem if you had quick access from a hydration sack.I would also recommend investing in a decent pair of mountain gloves. I used the standard woolen gloves which got soaking wet in the inclement weather and my friend had difficulty getting his leather gloves on after his hands had already froze. Waterproofs are also essential!In general, just follow the advice in the guides and you can't go far wrong!

After reading the reviews for this book i decided to order it and I was not disappointed. It’s easy to read and really informative with lots of tips.

A great guide to the National 3 Peaks Challenge, written in an informal story-telling style, but nicely interspersed with facts and figures.A small printing error on one page (missing words at the end of the Ben Nevis section) marred an otherwise 5-star book.

Having decided to take up the challenge, I thought I would gather some info so bought this book as a start point. I have since read it twice as it gives a good source of information on all aspects of the challenge.Would recommend to anyone thinking of taking up the challenge for themselves. Has certainly inspired me, great book!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Really well written and helpful book. Highly recommended for anyone considering or actually doing the National Three Peaks Challenge or anything of that nature.

Plenty of relevant, useful, first hand experience information and tips. Too much waffle/personal diary included which would be better replaced by better maps.

Really good guide for the three peaks challenge and some really useful advice which we used for our challenge

Well worth a read if taking on this challenge with some good tips. Not everything was relevant to our team but it was our challenge and not theirs so to be expected