Day 19

I have just had another message from Sam, the message started 'Everywhere is in the middle of F*****G nowhere and I can't get internet access'!!!!

Update on yesterday - The boys also managed to do Gormenghast yesterday, giving them 4 routes for the day.

Today they climbed

Praying Mantis - With Sir Chris Bonnington
North Crag Eliminate - With Alan Hinkes
Totalitarian
Engineers Slabs

Another 4 routes - Well done Guys

That just leaves The Crack and Kipling Groove on Gimmer tomorrow and that is the lakes ticked off.

They will be spending the Afternoon at Liverpools Awesome Walls. So please go down because they will be shacking the tins.

Thursday the plan is then to head across to the DMM offices and makes a start in North Wales.

Keep up the good work - 'You haven't forgotten about the five in Scotland have you boys?'

Keith

Day 18

Base Camp has just received a message from Sam apologising for lack of Internet access!!

Yesterday 'Cheryl' left the peak and moved to the Lakes. The boys managed to climb Extol in the afternoon.

Today they have headed up Scafell to climb Central Buttress, Ichabod and Central Pillar.

The plan for tomorrow is Praying Mantis, Totalitarian and North Crag Eliminate.

Sam hopes to have internet access tomorrow to update the blog with pictures etc.

Thanks

Base Camp

Day Sixteen - Final Edition

Celebration Time

All routes in the Peak and The Pennine completed so that means 25 out of 6o routes done! (happy Jenny x)

We are now sat having a curry and a beer and looking forward to not getting up early in the morning.

This photo was taken whilst Rich was climbing Elder Crack, Geoff Birtles kindly came out to say a few words and Rich did not listen when he told him how to climb it, but whats new!

Thanks to the following supporters todays - Dave Simmonite, Keith Sharples, Neil from Edale Mountain Rescue Team, Ian Smith and Viv, Simon Jacques and anyone else who came to watch

The Supporters - Thanks guys!

All photos below thanks to Simon Jacques

Alcasan

Rich on Elder Crack

The boys on Valkyrie

Lakes tomorrow and you better be praying for more good weather!

Day Sixteen - Edition one

Sat At Simon Jacques house in Sheffield washing very smelly clothes (yuck!) and updating blog etc etc - "Thanks Simon. Although you did bet that the boys would not do all 60! I will have to make you eat your words! I hope!"

Yesterday went really well, the boys ticked off the following routes :-

Debauchery - Matlock

Main Overhang - Kilnsey
North West Girdle - Armscliff
Debauchery - Matlock
Suicide Wall - Cratcliffe

Today we started early and headed over to Plum Buttress in Chee Dale to climb Sirplum and then walk across to Chee Tor to get up Chee Tor Girdle.

Then across to Stoney Middleton to climb Alacasan with Lucinda Hughes our North Face Climber.

Hopefully then across to Curbar for the classic Elder Crack, next Stanage and Froggatt.

Please come and join us if possible on the crags and we will be having a small drink in The Little John at Hathersage, The Mill Stone Inn and last orders at The Grouse.

If you want to contact me to find out exactly where we are you can call me on my mobile which is 07919 467 049. Or Simon Jacques 07870 819773.

Note - New photo on Centurion day

Day fiveteen 3rd edition

Friday morning at Kilnsey

Day Fifteen - 2nd edition

Just called in to see Francis from Sypeland Outdoors Ltd in Pateley Bridge. We have left him with a large pile of Hard Rock T Shirts.
You can call him on 01423 712922 to have one put to one side.
Oh and the boys have just climbed Main Overhang, only took them just over an hour!

Day Fifteen

Well our stay in the 5 star hotel is over and we are back on the road, only problem is, its still raining!

Early start on Main Overhang and then off to Almscliff.

Here are some photos from the last few days -

Old Man of Hoy, you can just make out the boys!

Reservoir Dogs!

View from the hut at the base of the Ben, cloud had hidden the cliff all morning!

They had just climbed through water falls! not nice!

Centurion photo taken by Lewis

The team back in the van with friend Lou and Scott who watched them climb in the rain!

Rich waiting to go up Trapeze, little did we know they would be back down very soon!

Day Fourteen of The Hard Rock Challenge

16.17pm - Base Camp has just heard from Cheryl, the forecast in Scotland is not good for the next few days. Therefore the boys have decided to move down to the peaks for the next few days.

Once Base Camp has heard more about the plans I will post them straight away. If anyone wants to join the guys in the Peak, you support will be greatfully appreciated.

END OF DAY UPDATE

Sat at my lovely second cousin Di's house in Shipley, "thanks Chuck" having a sleep in a real bed!

How many people can say they set off to climb in Glen Coe and then had a change of plan and went to Malham instead?

Boys successfully got up Carnage and then went to the pub for a beer and a nice meal.

Tomorrow an early start and off to climb Kilnsey Main Overhang, then Almscliff then across to The Peak to get a few routes in before it gets dark! Then hopefully the rest of The Peak routes on Saturday.

Sunday across to The Lakes - Scotland will be returned to once we have a report back that the routes the boys have left are in slightly better condition.

Please come and support the boys if you can over the next few days.

Day 13 Update

Just to let you know the guys managed to climb Centurion yesterday, due to their late start they only managed to get one route done and had to come back down. There plan for today is to climb Trapeze this morning and then walk back up to the hut this evening and get an early start on The Bat tomorrow morning.

Centurion

The weather yesterday was awful and they even had snow on The Ben!!! The only dry bit they had was when Rich was belaying under the 5th Pitch roof, Mark was getting pissed on and Rich was staying lovely and dry. Paper, Scissor and Stones worked for that one mate!!!!!

Tickets are selling well for the Hard Rock Fest, so if you want to come and celebrate the boys completion (cause they will complete!!), buy your tickets now!! http://www.hardrockfest.co.uk/

Day Thirteen - unlucky for some!

Looks like 13 is unlucky for us today as the weather is really terrible.

The boys went up to the hut at the base of Ben Nevis late last night to give them an early start. It started to ran heavily at 5am and foiled their plans. Problem is it looks like it is going to rain here for a few more days so they have made a decision to climb in the rain!

Simon is going up at lunchtime with more food and to get us a progress report, I suppose I will spend today very worried. Wish them luck everyone.

UPDATE!

Boys have started to climb as the sun is out, we told them they are running out of days so they might be down very very late tonight.

Day Twelve

Ravens Gully completed.

Tomorrow 'The Ben'.

All going to plan at the moment, sun shining and staying on the best campsite in this area.

Invercoe Highland Holidays - they are on the road to Kinlochleven. Ian and Lynn Brown. 01855 811210. www.invercoe.co.uk. Really great site and nice friendy people.

Don't what ever you do stay at the one at the visitor centre, the Camping and Caravaning one! we had a horrible time staying there, they were very rude and even tried to lock my washing in the wash room as we tried to leave.

Day Eleven

Drove to the ferry port at the Scrabster and went over on the last ferry. Got a great view of 'The Old Man' from the boat. Boys getting excited.

Decided to stay on a campsite and head to the council one in Stromness - the best site I have ever stayed at, it had just the most amazing views out over the water. Sun shining and a guy even turned up the play the bag pipes for us.



Early start in the morning in thick cloud, we left the van on the Main land and took the little ferry across to Hoy, the taxi up to the start of the 3 mile walk in and its now raining!

I setup the camera at the top looking across where we thought 'The Old Man' should be, great day for me! Not!. Boys go down the path and all I hear is voices in the mist!


After about an hour I get woken by Simon on the radio saying "wake up and start filming!", Wow what a view, the mist starts to clear and I can make out 3 little figures on the rock infront of me. Yes 3 as Simon has always wanted to climb this route.


Back to the great campsite and a great day was had by all.

Day Ten

Well we are on the road again, this time all the way to Hoy! Looking forward to that.

Here is a list of the routes so far to keep you up todate.

Coronation Street
Malbogies
South Ridge Direct
Gob
Dragon
The Scoop
The Great Prow
Swastika
Shibboleth
Yo yo
Carnivore

The boys are a few routes down but the weather is not looking good for the next few days so we will be back in Fort William in a few days. The van is now fixed (at last) so all ok logistically. The boys are really starting to get tired, legs and arms aching! Still up beat though and having fun.

Photos below from last few days

Cheryl before we got her electrics fixed in Inverness.

The Sherpas getting ready to carry the bags! I thought this was supposed to be 'Hard' for them?

Day Nine - edition two

Check out this Video Link -

http://www.army.mod.uk/news/army_news_current_stories/hard_rock_climb.htm

I so should not have warn that lipstick :0)

Photos below from the last few days.

Day Nine - edition one

Sat at friends house in Inverness, thanks Kathy and Geoff. I will tell the story about Geoff later in the blog, he is one of the reasons we need to raise money for the mountain rescue teams!

We are here because 'Cheryl' is having the electrics fixed (we hope). The boys left early this morning to climb Yo yo, Trapeze and hopefully Carnivore, Rain is falling here in Inverness!!

Dave Simmonite arrived yesterday and getting some great shots, which hopefully I can get on the blog later tonight when we go back to the pub.

Plan is that we have one more day here and then head to do The Old Man. Hoping that the weather inproves as we come back down to finish off the Scottish leg!

The boys are really tired now, but not moaning at all. Dont know how long that will last though. I am very proud at the moment, but they still have a long way to go.

Be back later tonight to let you know how they got on.

Sam

Day Seven and all on Track!

I am sat at the pc in the Lovely Claichaig Inn, its just like The Orange House only in Scotland. Thanks to the guys here for helping us out and letting us sell T shirts etc. Only problem is that the machine is dial-up so no photos until tomorrow when we get to Inverness.

The Scoop was completed when the boys got back to the van at 11pm, another long day, they had a roast dinner and then we started driving again. Only this time we only went half an hour as we had found the most amazing beach at the end of the road. A great view in the morning and Simon even went for a swim! Not sure I will put that photo on the blog though!

Ferry taken at 12 back across to Skye and we sent the boys climbing again at 2pm. The Prow was completed in good time and back at the van at 8pm for homemade soup. I am doing really well with all this cooking!!

Another long drive through the night (I am doing all driving by the way as we did not get Simon on the insurance) to arrive at the foot of Etive Slabs for an early start. Boys left the van at 8am and we hope to meet them any minute now to get them across to do 2 more routes today.

I will update the blog again tonight when we get back in here for a pint!

Thanks for all the comments everyone, they are great. Hard Rock Team

Congrats to the boys they completed Swastika and Shibboleth in one day! well done.

We then all had a great night here watching a band, Rich even managed a little dance!

Day Five - The Scoop

Arrived late at night in strong winds and had to drive up the most scary road! under a large water pipe.

Had an early night, but even so the boys would not get up early in the morning, are they trying to delay me thinks!

We all walked in with every bit of climbing gear the boys have.

No rain and the strong winds have dropped slightly so all looking good, until we try to scramble to the bottom of the climb! too wet and dangerous so the boys rope up! Gues what Rich has the wrong climbing shoes with him (he picked up Marks!) so Simon has a long walk back to get the right ones.

Pitch one at A3 takes Mark 5 hours, then Rich leads pitch two A1 in one hour. They then come back to the van for tea and to refresh ready for tomorrow.

We have booked the ferry out for Thursday so the boys have to do it all today!

Day 5

Base Camp has not managed to get contact with the intrepid explorers today. We can only assume that this is a good sign and that progress is still going well.

Hopefully they made it onto 'Harris' successfully and therefore have no signal to the outside world.

We should have a report back from them sometime tomorrow so will update everyone as soon as possible.

Hope to see everyone in Glencoe on Saturday to cheer on the guys and sell some Hard Rock T-Shirts!!

Pictures from Day One

I have just received some fantastic pictures from Dave Simmonite from Day one, which I thought you would all like to see.

The First two are of the guys climbing 'Coronation Street' and the final picture is of Rich climbing 'Malbogies'

A Long Day Three!!!

Sorry for the lack of post yesterday, I have just had a phone call this morning, saying they had another successful day yesterday. The boys had 15 hours on the hill yesterday and got back to 'Cheryl' at 11pm last night. They managed to get both routes climbed on Carnmore and are now heading across today to Harris to begin The Scoop first thing tomorrow morning.

Hard Rock Team Here - (Monday Lunch Time) we are in Portree stocking up on Mountain Food, Keith I hate you for putting up that photo. All ok although the boys are all a little stiff! Also 'Cheryl' is ill she keeps blowing the main fuse for the electrics! why is life never easy?

Day Two completed!

We drove from Bristol to Ardrossan in 7 and a half hours! So a late night for Simon and myself, the boys slept on route.

Alarm went off at 6am and a bit of a panic to pack, make sandwiches and film a short piece to camera! 7am ferry crossing and the boys have left me. Good job really as I need to sleep!

Taxi took the boys to Glen Sannox and then a nice walk up following a good path, pity about the rain.

11,000ft in the rain, all slimy and the wind decided to blow strongest as they attempted the crux! The Y cracks! Sun came out as the boys walked off. We then went and had a nice meal by the sea looking out across the water the Arran.

NEXT MOVES!!!

Tonight we are now driving to Poolewe in the far north west of the highlands so the boys can climb Dragon and Gob tomorrow.

Then off the Skye on Monday morning then the Harris crossing in the afternoon.

IMPORTANT - Next weekend we will be in Glen Coe so come and say hi and bring your wallets as you can buy the T-shirts from us. Saturday night in the Clachaig Inn.

First Day Completed!!

After a great evening in a Cheddar Gorge car park (we managed to have a party in 'Cheryl' with 12 people), the day had finally come to start the challenge.
The day started off well, with the Courier company managing to deliver the Hard Rock Challenge T-shirts which should have arrived two days ago. Thanks to Fluidbranding.com, with all their help getting them to us.

After two hours of radio interviews and filming, the boys finally kitted up and started 'Coronation Street', Rich made great progress on the first pitch, which was not in good condition, the rain then started!!! Mark climbed the second pitch well, with Rich then finally topping out on a wet and slippery route (yes the boys did complete the route in 3 pitches and in a time of 3 hours).

The guys then went on to Avon and also manged to climb Malbogies in under an hour.

That actually means we have managed to complete the first day on schedule (How long will that last for!!) The team are now on their way up to Scotland, with 'Severe Weather Warnings'. So lets just see were we end up tomorrow!!

Thanks to everyone for all the support we received today, especially from Dave and Mikey, and the guys from the Avon and Somerset Rescue Team.

The Hard Rock Challenge T-shirts are now available to buy, and cost £10. All proceeds are going to Mountain Rescue. They are currently being transported in 'Cheryl' around the country, however if you are not going to see them on route, Keith at Rock and Rapid Adventures is also selling them, and you can contact him on keith@rockandrapidadventures.co.uk or 01984 630123.

Only 19 hrs 52 min before we start!

Base Camp looks like a bomb site!! poor Keith, its a good job he is out at work!

'Cheryl came back from Chelston Motorhomes this morning, all fixed and looking great, they have even fitted a flat screen tv! Shame I will have to re mortgage the house in Spain to pay the bill!. In seriousness though we have to say a big thanks to them as they pulled out all the stops and did all the work we needed.

Rich and Simon have just headed off to Exeter to collect Evolv shoes for Rich (not last minute at all!), I have even given him his credit card so he can treat himself. Lets hope he remembers to ask Cotswolds for a discount.

Before they left though I asked them to help me load up 'Cheryl' they messed around too much so I sent them on their way!

The plan is to leave here at about 7 tonight, after a meal, and head up to Chedder to spend the night at the foot of the crag, I could even stay in bed and watch the boys climb!

I will update later this afternoon if anything else exciting happens - watch this space.

Only 1 day 13 hrs 13 mins before we start!

Last night we had our first team meeting at The Mill Adventure Centre, where we are holding our end of Challenge party- Hard Rock Fest - in August.

The first parcel had arrived from North Face and the boys had fun trying on the t-shirts and first layers. Only one problem no water proof jacket for me, and I think the way the weather is looking I might need one!

We have been told that The Army Press people are coming along to Chedder to film the start, and hopefully the local TV will also turn up, I suppose it depends what else is happening in the South West on Friday morning.

Today was a bit of a rest day, Rich and I went shopping in Taunton, mostly for 'Mountain Food', but could not resist the special offer on cheap DVDs, so bought 13 new movies just in case we have to spend hours waiting for the rain to stop! Vertical Limit should keep us all laughing.

David Simmonite has also confirmed that he is coming down on Friday to take photos, I am sure I also heard that he has arranged for some of 'The North Face Team' to come and join us, how many people can we fit in our small motorhome?

Off out now for a meal with friends in a 'real English pub' cant wait.



Meeting now resumed at the Rock Inn, Waterrow nr Taunton.

Simon, Rich, Sam, Keith, Hazel, Jon, Caffrey and Tufu.