Is there a good time to climb the Three Peaks and cycle the 500 miles between them? It’s hard to know, but as Radio 1’s Greg James is currently discovering, there is a bad time to do it.
The presenter is currently completing a Gregathlon challenge in aid of Sport Relief and when the mission was planned, the last week of February probably seemed like a suitable time to give it go.
But that was before the ‘Beast from the East’ hit, smattering the UK with a covering of snow.
For the past three days, Greg has been battling against the elements, scaling Snowdon and cycling to Scafell Pike - which he will climb today (Wednesday 28 February) - and he still Ben Nevis plus plenty more time on the road to go.
Still though, Scafell Pike, how hard can it be? Hmm...? It’s 978m tall?? And caked in snow? Oh, Greg.
Sharing an update on his progress on Tuesday night, the presenter revealed he had been forced to call to end the day early on advice from the experts.
“Day 2 is done,” he wrote on Instagram. “Over 100 miles covered. 12 hours in the saddle. £127,000 raised and counting. Thank you for your support.
“And thank you for spreading the word and getting in touch with your stories of overcoming some of the issues we’re talking about. Starting the conversation is what it’s all about.
“So...the safety team have called it a night as it’s too dangerous on the roads even for cars so we start again in the morning. There’s a mountain to climb and then 120 more miles to cycle.”
The conversation Greg is referring to are ones centred on mental health, as along the way he’s encouraging people to share stories and their own experiences.
If you’re following him on Snapchat, you’ll have seen that he celebrated another day on the road with some pizza (strong choice) and an ice bath (rather him than us).
Thankfully, he’s had lots of support along the way:
Greg is hoping to complete the whole challenge on Friday, when he’ll scale the tallest mountain of the lot, Ben Nevis. So far, he’s raised almost £130,000 for charity.
Find out more about the challenge and how to donate here.