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I will be doing the Ben Nevis Mountain Challenge on the 27th June in aid of Marie Curie Cancer Care.
I have set up an online donations page at http://www.justgiving.com/jemmahicks
Ess and Canadia from NOOL will be doing the walk also (and will probably put their links on here at a later date).
Please do your best to support this worthy cause. All donations gratefully received.
Thanks in advance
Missy Jem
ah cheers, its only a fiver for, currently being burnt of charity money atm, half me flat are doing every charity run possible
but ill whip round when they are drunk and get some money out of them
A worthy cause and good on you for doing something for charity. Its gonna be a challenge alright. I will sponsor you after payday.
Good luck!
Missy Jem wrote:
Which one is it?... or are you doing all of them?
Please tell me its got snow on it..
It will be the end of June, so probably not as much snow as that.
Mods can you make this a sticky post please? Won't work for me.
Ta
Missy Jem wrote: It will be the end of June, so probably not as much snow as that.
I had a walk up in june last year, snow was knee deep at the top
I dont use paypal or anything like that,
so i'll square ye up at the ACR gig on the 24th J 
might even sponsor ye as well....
Missy Jem wrote: Mods can you make this a sticky post please? Won't work for me.
Ta
I SAID...
Missy Jem wrote:
Missy Jem wrote: Mods can you make this a sticky post please? Won't work for me.
Ta
I SAID...
Yes.Come on Mods,pull yer bloody fingers out!
Boatraceface wrote:
Missy Jem wrote:
Missy Jem wrote: Mods can you make this a sticky post please? Won't work for me.
Ta
I SAID...
Yes.Come on Mods,pull yer bloody fingers out!
WE ARE MODS...WE ARE MODS ....WE ARE WE ARE WE ARE MODS!!!
I'm Ru-unn-in Ro-ock-et
(Now I get your other comment!)
Thanks for your donation Chorley Surfer x
Missy Jem wrote: I put you down for £100 as you said Monty.
Do hope it wasn't a typo
OI!!!!!!!!!
Well, we made it. Here's a bit of a report for those who are interested. Thanks to all of our sponsors. We're overwhelmed by the generosity and support we've had from people off here, some of whom we've never met. Our target was £120 and I doubled that within 2 days and the donations kept coming in. Between us we've raised over £900 for Marie Curie. The walk was challenging but rewarding.
Sadly Bonz could not make it, but she saved herself being eaten alive by midges. While Ess and I had the relative luxury of a Premier Lodge, Canadia and Leggy camped at the base of Ben Nevis. We went over to inspect their 'palace' (Leggy's words). This is when we got our first proper glimpse of the foothills before the mountain - scary stuff (we're not gym types).
Gulp
After a few strong drinks, we decided an early night was in order and we were all tucked up in bed by 10pm, although I didn't sleep well as our hotel room was like a sauna. After a hearty breakfast, we set of at 9:15 in the hot sunshine. At first the path was gentle and easy and spirits were high (helped a little by the fact we were all still slightly pissed from the night before).
For the first hour, it was a gradual climb and with a few stops, it wasn't a problem. But it soon became apparent that this would not be easy. We had to negotiate our way over huge boulders. Every footstep required concentration and it started to get physical.
The higher we climbed, the more mountains were revealed in every direction. The scenery was absolutely breathtaking, which made the pain worthwhile. The weather was just perfect (if a tad too hot). We reached a natural stream and the cold, pure spring water was gorgeous. I was so hot I just wanted to belly flop in the stream. But, as this would have resulted in multiple fractures, I refrained.
We soon started walking through the clouds, which cooled things down considerably, but we were glad of this. After an hour or so walking through the clouds, we were only just over halfway. The path here was loose stone and this was worse than the big boulders, as everybody was slipping about everywhere.
We were all starting to ache a bit by now and it was getting colder so we added a few more layers. Sarah wanted to ask somebody how far we had to go, but I didn't want to know, preferring to keep my head down and concentrate on the path.
At this point Canadia pulled her groin and was in some pain (we encouraged her with promises that Leggy D would rub it better). With plenty of stops we managed to keep going. Our only motivation was the thought of reaching the top and having a well deserved rest and drink. We actually thought we were near the top when, without prompting, some horrible woman told us we still had at least an hour left. At this point our enthusiasm waned considerably - why couldn't she have lied?
Our enthusiasm plummeted even more when we hit snow. We were told we were half an hour away from the summit, but at this point visibility was less than 10 feet. I took this to mean that the rest of the route would be through thick snow. The slope here was pretty steep, my hiking boots weren't giving much grip and we didn't have crampons - I started thinking about giving up at this point. Thankfully there were people descending without proper equipment and with huge smiles on their faces, this gave us a boost.
It turned out the snow was just a drift partly covering about 50 foot of the path and then it became rock again. We kept soldiering on for what seemed like hours, then I realised there seemed to be a lot of people on the path. I could hear lots of voices and saw loads of silhouettes. I cracked, I turned and begged a woman to tell me we were near the top, she pointed behind us to the summit point. We were there - woo hoo!
I can't describe exactly how we felt, but it was a heady mixture of exhaustion, relief and absolute elation. It was 13:15, so it had taken us a reasonable 4 hours (average is 3-5).
We celebrated in style with a small bottle of red each (and a cheeky fag - are you watching Nick King?) 
We had intended to take champagne but were told the bottle could explode at a high altitude so we were a bit miffed when the party next to us popped a bottle of bubbly open - bloody show offs!
We sat in a little stone fortress (that smelled of wee) to shelter from the strong winds. There was a little tent thingy in front of us with lots of giggling coming from within. What a great place to do it, I thought. Then four people and a dog emerged - kinky!
It is named a 'Shagbag' apparently
The Highest New Order fans in the UK at that point
We stayed at the top for about 45 minutes, unfortunately it was still cloudy so we could not see over to Ireland (we were told you can, on a clear day). But we could see this instead...
We then began our descent, happy. When we hit the patch of snow again, the clouds had cleared and we could see it was only a drift over the path. Time for some fun - I threw on my waterproofs and sledged down on my backside (apologies to the couple I nearly took out at the bottom!)
Weeeeeeeeeeeee
Unfortunately, this is where the real hard part began. We'd heard that the descent wasn't easy, but it was actually much, much worse than the climb. It required the use of muscles we didn't know we had. Also, the rocks we negotiated on the way up, were even more difficult to traverse, especially with wobbly legs. I lost count of the times we all lost our footing.
See!
We had to keep stopping to remove layers as it was warming up again
There was an amusing moment when a lad zoomed past us, slipped and fell on his arse. I turned immediately to grin at Canada and she burst out laughing and promptly slipped! Karma in action
We were told the descent would take 2 hours, but it was more like 3. I was like Bambi on ice on the shale, slipping and sliding into everybody (in hindsight, wearing stilettos was not a good idea).
Canada rang Leggy to tell him we were half an hour away. He'd already been in the pub an hour waiting for us (after a 40 mile bike ride). It seems she was a little optimistic, our checkpoint lady told us we were a good 90 minutes away.
You can see from our faces, we were not happy at hearing this news, luckily you can't hear what we said.
After what seemed an eternity, the pub was in sight. We hobbled our way over to the final checkpoint...
... where we were greeted by Leggy D in his cycling gear!
Wit woo!
We were then given the most delicious soup I've ever tasted in my life. I also had the nicest lager EVER. There were a lot of tired but happy faces in that beer garden.
As an aside, the birds around Ben Nevis are weird. They don't fly much at all, seemingly hopping along the floor is preferable to flight. They also cling to the stone walls (pretty much as we were doing on the way down).
We went off for a long hot shower then into Fort William for a session to celebrate. It was such a session that Canadia and Leggy didn't make it and Ess and I were in bed for 10pm again. Hardcore us!
It was an unforgettable day and we're all so glad we did it. Thanks to everyone for sponsorship and all the encouraging mails and texts we got. That's why we love this site!
It's a wonder we have any teeth left after consuming our body weight in mars bars, milky ways and polo mints. We still couldn't walk 5 days later - but 'no pain-no gain'. Canada and I were the source of much amusement in work as we had to get the lift up to the office.
We're doing Snowdon and Scafell soon, but just for 'fun' - we won't be asking for more money!
Jem, Canada and Ess x (Nevis Order)
Nice diary kidder,nice diary..
That really is quite something.
Fact is,you Sandra and Sarah must be pretty steady lasses,or fuckin nails even,for girls..
Edit: Not that it matters in this instance,but I'll wager Leggy D is half tidy in a sprint finish,for his age...I reckon I'd lap him,but he'd be half tidyish. Actually Dave would deffo beat me at Danny Le Rue impersonations,but only just...
Eh girls,you did really really well. Fact is,you'll always have that in your locker,as long as you live,proud as fuck of yourselves you ought to be.. You must be!Hats off!
I love being a pissed up right as fuck 3 in the morning Saturday night cunt.
I like your Ben Nevis experience as you tell it,Gums.
I bet I'm not the only one...
Missy Jem wrote: ... We're doing Snowdon and Scafell soon, but just for 'fun' - we won't be asking for more money!
...
We can spend all our money for Big Clive then. He has just told me, he is going to do the bulls run in Pamplona next year. He will do it for the Alcoholics Anonymous.
Is Alex aware that somebody was gored to death on Friday in that very run? As well as the foot complaint, I think it's a bad idea!
Missy Jem wrote: Is Alex aware that somebody was gored to death on Friday in that very run? As well as the foot complaint, I think it's a bad idea!
Sorry, Jem. But Alex would collect money for the well known alcoholics, if he would de the run. But people who are gored to death or only injured in that run are a little bit stupid, aren't they?
confusion wrote: But people who are gored to death or only injured in that run are a little bit stupid, aren't they?
Or too slow!
Missy Jem wrote:
confusion wrote: But people who are gored to death or only injured in that run are a little bit stupid, aren't they?
Or too slow!
or blind/deaf good work on the climb though! 
Well done honey!! And well done Sandra and Sarah! Great blog,and love the photos.It is a fantastic view,not been up for years,but when I did go up with 2 of my mates,there were people around freezing their tits off,and we were there scoffing Pot Noodles making BB "Halfwit" noises like "MMmmmmmmmm".
Well done Jems am so very proud of you, Sarah and Sandra, obviously. Loving the write up - made me laugh. This, by the way, is how I spent my summer holidays with my Dad whilst growing up - climbing bloody mountains, oh how I wished for a family holiday in Tenerife somewhere. Needless to say, in later years I appreciate how wonderful mountains and climbing really are!
Thanks for the mention - just to make clear to folk though, it was not my intention to actually do the climb this time with the girls for charity - I was going to go up to Scotland for a bit of moral and drink in the pub at the bottom! Sad it didn't come off with all the madness that's been happening, but there's always the next time!!
Missy Jem wrote: Did you take boiling water with you for the Pot Noodles or did you eat them dry?
We took one of them dinky gas cookers and boiled water in a lickle pan. Had a nice cup of coffee too. I was taking the piss and was saying "Ooh it's hot this!"
Missy Jem wrote:
The Highest New Order fans in the UK at that point
Have you checked with Al? 
What those bleedin mountains need is a tube line. I trust Leggy was on a scouting mission.
Seriously great work
