3 Peaks Challenge Timings

The most popular and most challenging version of the National 3 Peaks Challenge is to complete it within 24 hours.

To do the 3 Peaks Challenge in under 24 hours you will need to complete all three mountains in under 13 hours. Ben Nevis should be completed within 5 hours; Scafell Pike & Snowdon within 4 hours each. This leaves 11 hours for driving the 462 miles between the peaks.

What are the National 3 Peaks?

The National 3 Peaks is the tallest mountain in Scotland, England and Wales. 

These mountains are Ben Nevis (1345m) in Scotland, Scafell Pike (978m) in England and Yr Wyddfa - Snowdon (1085m) in Wales.

These mountains are the highest mountain in each separate country. The three highest mountains in the UK are all found in Scotland.

How long does the 3 Peaks Challenge take?

The ‘Challenge’ involves climbing all three mountains within a set time; typically either:

• 24 hours

• 3 days

• 5 days 

The 3 Peaks Challenge in under 24 hours is the most popular and most difficult version due to the compressed timeframe. Most people don't actually complete this within the 24 hours. For most people attempting this challenge 24-30 hours is the most common finishing time.

The three and five day challenge are a more enjoyable and sustainable alternative.

This article will focus on the popular 24 hour 3 Peaks Challenge.

How hard is the 24 hour Challenge?

The 24 hour challenge has a success rate of just 40% making it one of the most difficult mountain challenges in the UK.

High fitness level are required to finish within the 24 hour timeframe and this is underestimated by most individuals.

The main reason for failure is a lack of fitness, especially cardiovascular fitness. Other common causes of failure are; getting lost, lack of preparation, injury, lack of endurance, incorrect pacing, incorrect fuelling, traffic issues and mechanical issues with transport. Booking with a reputable and experienced guiding company increases the chances of success.

How is the 3 peaks Challenge timing measured?

The 24 hour challenge is the most popular but there are several alternatives.

The Traditional 24 hours - The clock starts when you begin the first mountain and stops when you have descended the final mountain. The timer runs continuously so traffic, and travel time are counted.

Mountain Time Only - An increasingly popular version of the challenge is to record the time on each mountain aiming to complete all three mountains within the same timeframe - 13 hours - as the Traditional 24 hours. This puts the focus entirely on the physical and mental aspects of the challenge and removes the risk of travel issues - such as traffic - prohibiting success. It is a safer alternative for teams with one driver and much safer if that driver is taking part.

3 days - One mountain is climbed on each day. The days are consecutive. 

5 days - This is perhaps the most enjoyable version of the challenge with a mountain climbed on day 1, 3 & 5 leaving a day to rest and recover between.

3 Peaks in 24 hours timings

To do the National 3 Peaks Challenge in under 24 hours all three mountains should be completed in 13 hours or less. In addition to this there is 11 hours of driving.  The National 3 Peaks Challenge consists of hiking up and down each mountain (obviously), plus travelling between them. To complete the challenge in 24 hours the following times are allocated to each activity:

• Hiking - 13 hours

• Travel - 11 hours

All the mountains need to be climbed in 13 hours. This is broken down into the following times:

• Ben Nevis - 5 hours

• Scafell Pike - 4 hours

• Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) - 4 hours

And the driving included in the 24 hours is between the following peaks:

• Ben Nevis and Scafell Pike - 6 hours

• Scafell Pike and Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) - 5 hours

The most common way to do the challenge is north to south - start in Scotland and finish in Wales. The full 24 hour itinerary for the north to south challenge looks like this…

In addition to these times, teams will need to drive to the start and from the end of the challenge. The challenge starts when you start ascending the first mountain and ends when you have descended the final one. Therefore travel to the first mountain and from the final mountain is not counted. 

3 Peaks Challenge Itinerary - 24 hours

There are three main timing options for the 24 hour challenge.

1. - Morning Start

2. - Maximise Daylight

3. - Avoid Traffic

1 - Morning Start The most common timing option is to start the 3 Peaks Challenge early in the morning - between 06:30 and 08:00am. This is the natural way to approach the challenge and works really well mid summer as the climb up Snowdon is the only hiking done in the dark.

Advantages

✅- Ben Nevis and Scafell Pike climbed in daylight

✅- Not waiting around to start challenge

Disadvantages

❌- Snowdon climbed in dark

❌- Can hit traffic (usually around Glasgow or along road to Wasdale Head - Scafell Pike)

2 - Maximise Daylight  A good option for teams wanting to do all or most of the hiking in daylight. Teams who maintain a good pace can do all the mountains in the daylight in the middle of the summer and nearly all the hiking in daylight May-August. You will be in some of the most spectacular landscapes in the UK so why not enjoy them.

Advantages 

✅- All mountains can be climbed in daylight (mid-summer)

✅- Sunset on Ben Nevis and Sunrise on Scafell Pike

Disadvantages

❌- Feels like a very long day

❌- Can hit traffic (between Scafell Pike and Snowdon)

3 - Avoid Traffic You've trained hard, bought all the right kit, travelled up to Scotland, got a good nights sleep the night before, done Ben Nevis with 20 mins to spare. Everything is going perfectly... then boom...you hit traffic and there is nothing you can do. Your whole challenge rests in the hands of the traffic gods! This itinerary is most likely to avoid traffic so increase your chances of success by a few percent.

Advantages 

✅- Most likely to avoid traffic

Disadvantages

❌- Scafell Pike climbed in dark

What is the 3 Peaks Challenge distance?

Using the fastest hiking route up and down each mountain the walking distance of the 3 Peaks Challenge is 21miles (33.6km). This can be broken down into:

• Ben Nevis (Pony Track) - 14.4km

• Scafell Pike (Wasdale Head) - 8.4km

• Snowdon (PYG Track) 10.8km

The fastest route up Snowdon isn't to go down via the PYG Track as the route is too rugged for a fast descent. To ensure you loose height quickly and to reduce the risk of injury it is better to descend via the Miners Track or the Llanberis Path after ascending the PYG Track. This changes the distance of Snowdon to:

• Snowdon PYG Track (ascent) & Llanberis Path (descent) - 11.6km

• Snowdon PYG Track (ascent) & Miners Track (descent) - 12.2km

And the overall distance to:

• All 3 mountains (PYG & Miners Track) - 35km

• All 3 mountains (PYG Track & Llanberis Path) - 34.4km

N.B. At 10.4km Crib Goch is in fact the shortest route up and down Snowdon however is almost never used for 3 Peaks Challenges as it is very rugged and dangerous - therefore quite slow. 

Moving speed to complete the 3 peaks in 24 hours

An average hiking speed of 1.6mph (2.6kph) is needed to complete the mountains within the time without stopping.

To the untrained eye this sounds slow however when you factor in the 3064 meters of elevation, uneven mountain tracks and stops the average speed is more likely to be more than 2mph (3.2kph). 

Plan for success

Here at Walk Snowdonia we have a proven track record of delivering successful National 3 Peaks Challenges. Let us take the stress out of the planning before and our expenrinced guides adjust the pace during the challenge to ensure you get back down in under 24 hours.

Contact us and let us answer your questions today!

FAQ’s

How many people complete the 3 Peaks in 24 hours?

The majority of people climb all three mountains. However, only around 40% complete all three within the 24 hours. 

How fit do you need to be to do the 3 Peaks in 24 hours?

To complete the challenge in under 24 hours you need very high levels of cardiovascular performance, excellent endurance and strong legs - in short you need to be very fit!

The best way to see whether you are capable of doing the challenge in under 24 hours is to climb one of the mountains within the target time (eg. hike up and down Snowdon in less than 4 hours). For fitness requirements and training plans for the 3 Peaks check out our blog article - Fitness Levels Required for 3 Peaks Challenge

Can a beginner do the 3 Peaks Challenge?

Individuals with a high level of fitness and little or no experience climbing mountains can do the challenge successfully. It is recommended that beginners join an organised event to help with planning, pacing and navigation, especially in the dark. 

How many calories do you burn on the National 3 Peaks Challenge?

Depending on fitness levels, conditions, rucksack weight and time taken most people burn between 4000 - 6000 additional calories on the mountains alone. When you add the approximately 2000 calories people burn in a day you can expect to burn between 6000 and 8000 calories over the 24 hour period.

To avoid hitting the wall it is really important to to fuel correctly before and during the challenge.

Which of the 3 Peaks is the hardest?

If climbed separately Ben Nevis is the hardest due to its size. For this reason it is often climbed first. 

Whilst being the smallest, many people find Scafell Pike difficult because of the steep and rocky terrain.

Snowdon is often climbed last so fatigue makes it feel much more difficult than it actually is.

Which mountain is it best to start/ finish on?

Because Ben Nevis is the tallest of the three mountains it takes around an hour longer than the other two. This makes it more difficult. For this reason it is usually better to start in Scotland.

Most people prefer to finish on Snowdon as more people live closer to Snowdon than Ben Nevis. The benefit for most people of finishing on Snowdon is less distance to travel after the challenge. Individuals living in Scotland may wish to do the challenge south to north.