The adventure started with an 8 hour drive up to Ben Nevis, Pete and I left at 11am and managed to make good time and arrived early evening at the Moorings Hotel at the foot of the mountain.  We checked in to the wheelchair accessible room and I was pleasantly surprised to find that it had a great roll in shower and plenty of room to move about.  We then hooked up with Pete and Rob from our team and had dinner.    We had a couple of drinks then straight to bed for a 5am start.

The alarm sounded at 5am and we jumped (rolled) out of bed excited by the challenge ahead.  The climb started at 6am at the bottom of the mountain and my team of Cat, Caroline, Louise, Rob and Pete with Pete from The Wheel Life filming the event got together to go through final preparations. Each team were given a staggered start and we set off at 6.25am.  The first thing that I think all the teams found was that we had under estimated the level of terrain we were going to be climbing!  The training expeditions had taught us how to get over the largest of obstacles but I don't think anyone was prepared for the distance we had to travel.  Ben Nevis is a 4 ½ km climb to the summit and there are very few areas that you could take a rest at.  You will see by the pictures what I mean. 

We had a guide and medic for the challenge, Mark who was there to keep an eye on us and help us take the right route up the mountain.  Mark was very good at motivating us although whenever we asked how far we had to go on a particular section his reply would be "Just around the next corner" which it never was!!  I think though if he had been honest about how far we had to go we would never have made it.

For me sitting in the chair for the ascent was much easier than on my team mates as although I was pushing as much as I could, most of the time I was required to steer a path through the rough terrain.    It was always very important to try and keep a steady rhythm going so that we didn't wear ourselves out early on.  When we had got about half way up Rob was beginning to struggle and it was only then that I found out he had been off work for the last few days with a virus.  Mark checked him out and it was decided that he shouldn't really continue with the climb.  Considering that Rob had been off sick for most of the week it was an amazing feet that he had even managed to make it to the mountain at all.  At this point Pete had to put the camera down and do some real work!  Our next catastrophe came only a few hundred yards later when my chair got a puncture; this potentially was the end of our challenge.  I had brought with me a tyre weld product that would fill the tyre with foam in the event of a puncture but the tear in the inner tube was so big that the foam just escaped.  At this point we were all very down hearted and felt for sure that it was over.  We only had a small window of time to make the summit and that window was increasingly getting smaller with each moment that passed.  Mark radioed down to camp to inform them of the situation and amazingly the message back on the radio was that they had a spare wheel at one of the stations below and they would send it up.  Twenty minutes later a very hot and exhausted runner appeared with a new wheel for the chair. 

Depressingly though, Mark now told us that we were unlikely to make the summit and we had to decide whether to carry on or not.  The decision was quickly made that even if we didn't quite make the top we had to keep going.  From then on it was heads down and full steam ahead.  I was in awe of my team at this point as they showed huge grit and determination and really put in 110% effort to get us all as far up the mountain as possible.  With what seamed like an impossible task the team doggedly pushed on and Mark kept in touch with the organisers to report our progress.  We had done so well in pushing forward that we could almost taste the summit and we weren't going to give up now.  With shoulders aching and leg muscles burning we climbed on until we got the message everyone was dying to hear;  we had climbed so well in the last couple of hours that we would be able to make the top and savour the feeling of being the highest people in Britain!!

Another final push and we would be there; we still couldn't see the summit at this point but with Mark shouting that it was "Just round the next corner" we painfully pushed on.  As we came over the crest of the summit 8 hours in to the climb and we could see all the other climbers, who broke out into spontaneous applause and cheering as we crawled the last few steps.  With all the cheering and clapping it made it a very emotional moment and I think we all had a tear in our eyes.  We had made it to the highest point in Britain and the feeling was amazing and euphoric.  What an achievement and what a team! Six out of the eight teams made it to the top and as we had come so close to not making it, you had to stop and feel for the guys that didn't.  Feeling like being on top of the world we all managed to forget our aches and pains and enjoy the moment, however brief it would be.  I was even given a beer by Dave, one of the other wheelchair team leaders which totally cemented the feeling of achievement.  What an amazing feeling to sit on top of the mountain, with snow all around, your team mates with you and a beer in hand; PERFECTION!!!

We had 15 minutes or so to phone loved ones, take a few photos, have a bite to eat and then we had to get on our way back down.   We had concentrated all our efforts on getting to the top but now getting down was a whole new challenge and at that point the whole team were already exhausted.  For me the journey down would be much harder than the one up.  For starters I was now facing down the mountain and the only thing stopping me falling out of the chair on occasion was the handle bars in front of me which I gripped for dear life.  We also had to make good pace, as we had been allowed to reach the top over and above the time restriction this meant we had to race to get down before it went dark.  This meant I had to hold on as we bounced the chair off rocks and boulders in an attempt to get down as quickly as possible.  About 2 hours in to the descent I started to get pains in my wrists and hands as I gripped the handle bars so tightly, by the time we got to the bottom I was in agony and my hands had swollen up but at least I was feeling some of the pain that my team mates had gone through.

When we did finally make it to the bottom 13 hours into the climb we were greeted by another huge round of applause and a photographer ready to take our picture with our challenge medals.  Now it was time for beer!! 

We made it back to the hotel for a quick shower and off to the evening's party.  Capability Scotland and Scope had laid on a great buffet and entertainment to finish the weekend off but for most of us we were too shattered to really enjoy ourselves.  By this point I was also feeling like I had been on a boat all day and had a bad dose of sea legs (or mountain wheelchair legs).  As I had spent 13 hours being tossed and bumped around the mountain my brain was still telling me I was on the mountain and I could feel myself swaying back and forth.  I managed to make it until 12 o'clock but by then I just needed my bed.

Climbing out of bed Sunday morning was not a joyous occasion but I did laugh when I saw that Pete wasn't much better at walking than me!