YB Tracking receives hundreds of requests each year to support individuals in their efforts to challenge themselves for some great causes, whether for themselves or others.
We strive to assist as many as possible by providing our tracking services, allowing family, friends, and supporters to follow along on their journeys.
One such individual is Sophie Mackenney, an Air Cadet and an unstoppable teenager with a mission to conquer the Three Peaks Challenge. Tackling any one of these three formidable mountains is a daunting task, but doing it within 24 hours is beyond what many of us can imagine.
Read Sophie’s story and watch the inspirational video showcasing her journey and unwavering determination to achieve this remarkable goal.
On Saturday, July 13th, 16-year-old Air Cadet Sophie Mackenney set out from the foot of Mount Snowdon on an endurance undertaking of epic proportions. Her aim was to climb the highest mountains in England, Scotland, and Wales in under 24 hours…known as the 3 Peaks Challenge.
Under the patronage of the renowned explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes and with support from Bear Grylls and the Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff, amongst others, Sophie took on this gruelling endeavour to raise funds for her Air Cadet squadron, 1064 (Honiton) in East Devon.
Sophie’s team consisted of two support climbers, James and her dad, Mac, along with support driver ‘Aitch’, who were all serving or ex-military personnel. With sponsorship from Mazda UK and the use of a new CX-60 3.3D 254ps AWD Takumi support vehicle, the team drove to Pen Y Pass at the base of the 3,560-foot-high Mount Snowdon in readiness to climb their first peak.
Even though she’d never been to Snowdonia before and seen the sheer scale of the mountains, Sophie was undaunted by the task ahead as she started the stopwatch at exactly 08:00 hours. The route up Snowdon was easy at first but soon turned into a challenging scramble over boulders, scree slopes and up steep rock faces. There was no time to stop and enjoy the view though as every minute counted, so the team pushed on, racing passed those that had more time to take in the beauty of the surrounding landscape.
With her ex-military dad having to gasp for every lungful of oxygen, Sophie’s fitness and sheer strength showed through as she powered her way ever higher, almost as if gravity had no effect on her! Her dad, though, wasn’t going to be beaten and kept on her tail as she reached the summit of Snowdon in a staggering time of 1:58 hours! Sophie pressed the button on her satellite tracker, which was kindly supplied by YB Tracking, to mark the exact time of summiting. The tracker would then carry on automatically updating her position on Google Maps every 15 minutes.
A short break for sponsor photos and then it was back down to her awaiting support car and a 205 mile drive to mountain number 2, Scafell Pike, the highest in England. The car offered luxurious comfort and fortunately the motorway traffic was quiet passing Liverpool, so although Sophie didn’t sleep, she was well rested as the team drove into the Lake District.
From blue skies and fluffy clouds in North Wales, the Lake District was covered in a heavy blanket of grey and gloom. Setting off from Wasdale Head, as Sophie and her team pushed higher up the mountain, they entered a cloud where visibility dropped to no more than 50 meters. The wind picked up, and it started to rain, plummeting the windchill temperature to below zero. The team was well equipped, though, with Craghoppers-supplied expedition clothing, consisting of softshell jackets and waterproof jackets, along with woolly hats and gloves, but there was no time to dawdle in such conditions.
Sunset wasn’t due until 21:30 hours, but due to the thick cloud, dusk was rapidly approaching as Sophie marked the team’s position on the satellite tracker at 3,209 feet atop England’s highest mountain, and then it was a rapid descent to the valley floor. Arriving back at their awaiting support vehicle, they were tired and hungry, but whilst they tucked into bags of pre-cooked military rations, the heated front and rear seats of the Mazda CX-60 warmed their bodies and soothed their aching limbs.
Now was the most dangerous part of the whole challenge, a long 260-mile drive through the night to the foot of Ben Nevis. The team had been awake since 05:00 hours that morning and pushing hard since 08:00 when the clock started, which meant that they’d been on the go for 16 ½ hours! They were all tired, hadn’t ate a proper meal and were relying on snacks, sweets and cold rations to fuel their bodies. It was at this point that an accident could happen, so the rule was that the co-driver never slept - better to have 2 pairs of eyes on the road than just one.
Through the night the team drove, arriving at the foot of the UK’s tallest mountain at 03:15 hours in the morning. With head torches on, they packed essential survival kit for their final ascent, as even in July, climbing ‘The Ben’ cannot be taken lightly. They’d left the hardest to the end and unlike the other two mountains where they could drive part of the way up before setting off, with Ben Nevis they’d have to start at just 65 feet above sea level, that’s 4,348 feet of gruelling climbing to do!
Sophie’s support team, exhausted by the previous 20 hours, struggled through the darkness up the steep mountain tracks, but Sophie powered ahead like a mountain goat, nimble underfoot over the rocky terrain. Darkness lifted, but there was only a short window of good visibility before the team climbed into the clouds and trudged their way through more murky conditions.
For hours they zig-zagged up the rocky track alone, no other climbers foolish enough to set off so early, but eventually, with 400 feet of altitude to go, they burst through the grey and gloom and into bright sunlight as they climbed above the clouds. They were met by the most stunning views of surrounding mountain peaks all rising above the white blanket below.
With aching legs, Sophie, though full of drive and determination, dragged, encouraged and motivated her 2 teammates to the very top, never having any self-doubt that she wouldn’t make it to the 4,413ft high summit within the challenge time of 24 hours. With the large stone plinth marking the summit in sight, Sophie surged ahead, stopping the YB tracker at 07:16 hours on the morning of Sunday, 14th July, to mark the finish of her 3 Peaks Challenge. Her total time – 23 hours and 16 minutes.
She’d endured over 10,000 feet of climbing, 462 miles of driving, 18 miles of trekking and summitting the 3 highest mountains, but not for one minute did she give up. Her dad, Mac, finally reached the summit 10 minutes behind her and standing on top of the UK’s highest mountain together was an incredibly emotional experience - he won’t be too proud to say that he shed a tear or two. With champagne popped (non-alcoholic of course!), they celebrated together with James the most incredible achievement.
There was one final task to do, phone home to Mum on their AST Networks sponsored satellite phone to let her know that they were safe and their mission had been a resounding success!
As this Press Release goes to print, Sophie’s fundraising for 1064 (Honiton) Squadron Air Cadets stands at £3,115, over 6 times her original goal of £500, which even she thought was an ambitious target!
This money will now allow the squadron to purchase a range of expedition equipment such as tents, rucksacks and stoves, so offering all of the Cadets at 1064 Squadron the opportunity to embark on their own life-changing adventures.
Support Sophie To help Sophie in her aim to support her squadron even further, please donate through Just Giving via the link below… https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/sophie-mackenney?utm_term=Kaz2XJE36