The Real 3 Peaks Challenge 2017

This year’s Total….

570 KGs from 109 Volunteers… Not a bad day’s work, thank you all

We do believe that we have been making a huge difference to these wonderful places, being able to get down into the nooks and crannies clearing stuff that has accumulated over many years.

We have had lots of support and interaction on the hills with passers by offering to carry a bag for us, and picking litter on our behalf, some even asking to take a bin liner from us so they can carry more.

We would like to say thank you to the following individuals for their time and willingness to organise areas on the day (Plus the work before and after the Event), this couldn’t be done without any of you :-

• Ben Nevis – Rich Pyne, responsible for the original idea, Mona Pyne, constant support and great ideas.
• Scafell Pike – Kelvyn James, has been looking after The Pike since Day 1 back in 2013. Always a brilliant job, and a great friend.
• Snowdon –Kate and Ross Worthington, both been here since Day 1, getting a very thorough job done every year, and they are great with spreading the word about our awareness campaign, thanks guys.
• Ben Lomond – Mhairi Cameron, new this year, she offered to help out on one of her more local hills, and had managed a stirling job, you seemed to have the nicest weather out of all of us.
• Lochnagar – Glyn Jones, Head Ranger on the Balmoral Estate and also his first time with The R3PC, looked after this fairly remote hill, giving it a really good going over.
• Ben MacDui- Chris Taylor, working locally to Cairngorm, offered to deep clean the second highest mountain in the UK. A small but effective team had to deal with 74mph winds, those rubbish bags must of given a real fight!
• The Peak District- Gill Gillybean Nott, was previously a volunteer on Scafell Pike, this year she was up for deep cleaning another area, with MamTor and Dovestone being selected. Incredibly effective, even pulling out a sleeping bag that was more moss than sleeping bag!
• Goatfell- Steve Morley, super keen, but was unable to commence this year due to unforeseen family circumstances. Next year Steve, it will all be good.

Volunteers pick up 4kg of chewing gum discarded on Ben Nevis.

A bag of chewing gum and an empty 1980s packet of peanuts were among 121kg (267lbs) of rubbish found on Ben Nevis.

Fourteen volunteers filled 21 bags during a litter pick on Scotland's highest mountain on Saturday.

The debris found on the hillside included a peanut packet with a best before date of January 1987 and a ball of chewing gum weighing 4kg (9lbs).

It was one of a series of events across the UK organised by the Real 3 Peaks Challenge.

A total of 570kg (1,256lbs) of waste was taken off seven peaks in Scotland, England and Wales. They were:

Ben Nevis – 120kgs from 14 Volunteers plus members of the public.

Scafell Pike- 55kgs from 34 volunteers spilt into 4 parties.

Snowdon - 280KGs from 29 Volunteers plus members of the public

Lochnagar - 13.4kgs from 3 Volunteers

Ben MacDui – 7kgs from 4 Volunteers

Ben Lomond – 16kgs from 8 Volunteers

Mam Tor & Dovestone, Peak District – 77.5kgs from 17 Volunteers (2 were kids) plus 2 dogs.

Organiser Rich Pyne said it was "not a bad day out" for the 109 volunteers who took part in the nationwide clean-up."

Among the debris were lots of tissues, cigarette ends, banana peel, orange peel, bottle tops, tampons, sweet wrappers, foil, crisp and sandwich wrappers.

Some of the 150,000 people who climb Ben Nevis every year even abandoned walking poles, tents and flags on the mountain.

One volunteer also came across a horseshoe they believe belonged to one of the ponies which worked Ben Nevis in the early 1900s.

A horseshoe believed to date back to the early 1900s was among items picked up on Ben Nevis

My Pyne told the BBC Scotland website that they generally receive a good reaction from other hillwalkers during their annual litter picks.

"They always say thank you, they're always grateful," he said. "Quite often they ask if there's anything they can do and then they might pick up a few bottles on the way down."

The mountain guide, from Kinlochleven, set up the Real 3 Peaks challenge in 2013, in a bid to clean up the mountains before the winter snowfall.