It’s fairly inevitable at some point that if you’re a Mountain Leader based in Yorkshire you’re going to lead a group on the challenge route called The Three Peaks. This is a good example of a regularly advertised freelance job sometimes seen on Facebook, where companies offer very high rates of pay for what is quite a demanding day. 25 miles is no short distance, and probably much longer than the average ML day out in the hills. Most recently I did this with a company called Running Bee Foundation, based out of Manchester. They are a superb company to work for, and I really enjoyed the day.

Here are a few points for the aspiring freelancer to consider for this particular day.

1: Do your homework and prep thoroughly. Well before accepting the gig, make sure you know the route inside out, clockwise and anti-clock, with knowledge of various ‘escape’ paths should you need them. I walked this route in summer and winter conditions a few times in the past ten years, and also hiked it once fully again two weeks prior to the job to refresh my memory and see if anything could be tweaked or changed.

2: Any company doing this challenge has a support staff system in place, usually with radios and re-supply stations. Learn how a radio works and how to use it. Professional usage of all the tech kit goes down well and could save the day in an emergency. Learn where the checkpoints are and above all communicate this to the group.

3: Know your timings. Let your group know that if you don’t make it to place X by time X then the walk will take a lot longer to complete etc. Be realistic and accurate. 25 miles is quite a long distance, and Whernside is usually the peak that ‘breaks’ people when they realise what is involved.

4: Manage group pace. The classic mistake is to set off too quickly with loads of energy and enthusiasm only for it all to get a bit too much after the half way mark. A pace where you can maintain conversation with your clients is key to having a good time.

Above all, it’s a classic route with lovely scenery and one I look forward to guiding for Running Bee and other companies in the future (please email me if you wish to request my services for this).