38 Munro's, 250Km - the team have completed their 10 day recce in Scotland

Alex, Tom and Ceri finished their final day of training with 6 challenging Munro's. These included the 3 Munro's which make up the Five Sisters of Kintail. Most were over 1000m, and one particularly tough one had a 1 in 3m climb which the team were pleased to complete in just 90 minutes! These particular Munro's were very rocky and involved a lot of scrambling towards the summits.

A total of over 38 Munro's and a distance of 250km have been achieved in the 10 day recce. On this occasion the trip was more about exploring the various routes and areas than about fitness training. The guys also met seasoned walkers and friendly 'Munro Baggers' along the way who not only passed on valuable advice but showed enormous interest and support for the Mission and the focus behind it. The team are especially grateful to those who very kindly donated en route! The next training session in Scotland will be in June when it is hoped that all the Munro's will have been sponsored. Check out our brand new Sponsor a Munro website.

Follow the team by GPS...

Tom, Becky and Steve climbed another 5 Munro's today covering a distance of 25km. Meanwhile Alex, Ceri and Lewis had a rest day and acted as support team, making sandwiches and setting up camp for tonight. Fortunately the weather couldn't have been more different from the met office forecast as the team enjoyed yet another beautiful day! It's the last day of training tomorrow, remember to follow them by GPS here.

Monday

Yesterday, Alex, Tom, Becky and Steve climbed 5 Munro's in the Fannaich mountain range, which make up a long chain of peaks around Loch Fannaich. The ridge provided easy walking but getting on and off was quite difficult with very steep slopes which the team hope to avoid in the summer. Once up on the ridge however, the team enjoyed clear blue skies and fantastic panoramic views!

Shortbread, snow and a swim...

Sunday saw the team in Glen Torridon where they climbed three of Scotland's steepest Munro's. They were joined by Becky's boyfriend Steve, and also Rupert, DecAid's Co Founder & Organiser. Steve, a Marine made sure they were keeping a good pace whereas Rupert provided the essential shortbread rations on the summits! Throughout the day they managed over 4000m of ascent which will be very good preparation for the massive 81 miles they will have to endure over 49 days in the summer.  After sliding down some very snowy peaks, the team 'enjoyed' a most refreshing swim in one of Scotland's finest Loch's!

Who needs a map?

The realisation that the maps had been left on the front seat of the bus occurred a few minutes too late for Tom and Ceri, as it became a mere speck in the distance.  However, they're now confidently suggesting that perhaps maps won't be necessary in the summer, after successfully navigating themselves across the correct 4 Munro's! Meanwhile an overenthusiastic Alex was assisting the locals in bridge building, or as he said "preparing the route for the summer"! What started off as a bridge quickly turned into a dam as Alex plunged a planet size rock into the water, soaking himself from head to toe! The rest of the day was spent doing gymnastics in bogs and battling against gale force winds on the summits. After 26km, much wind burn and a very wet Alex, the team were relieved to arrive at tonight’s camping spot, which is next to a Youth Hostel, near Glen Carron.

The team are very thankful to Mike Pearson at the Tomdoun Hotel for letting them camp in their grounds. They are especially grateful to the two plasterers living next door for lending the team their bath after a very wet day!

"An excellent day"

Fantastic weather, good views, and a really successful days Munro climbing have put the team in high spirits! "We managed 7 Munro's in 8 hours which was far quicker than we had anticipated" said Tom, Munro Mission team leader, "Everyone's really positive and it's been a good day all round".  Despite a few minor aches and pains the team have finished a great day with a very welcome campsite shower and a delicious curry courtesy of Sarah!

Alex joins the team!

The team were very relieved to spend last night in the comfort of the Barisdale Estate Bothy , complete with the luxury of bunk beds and a flushing loo!

The Bothy

It was also Tom's birthday, and amazingly a cake survived the wet 3 hour trek from the car park in Becky's rucksack.  The Bothy will be a perfect overnight stop for Ceri, Alex, Tom and the team in August and a welcome break from mossies! This afternoon they went off training in pairs. Alex only joined the team on their training yesterday so he and Becky were sent off on an 8 hour trek to make up! Tom and Ceri took a shorter 4 hour route. Tomorrow the team continue to head north and plan to follow a ridge which will tick off another 7 Munros! Follow the team by GPS to find out which Munro's they climb here.

A tough start...

The team had an extremely long first day on the mountains, battling against the elements with severe hail for much of the day. Their route took them up north of Drumsallie towards Loch Arkaig and back to Loch Locky. They finished at around 7.30pm and camped over night by a hotel, just south of Invergarry. This morning they met the extremely friendly hotel owner who has very kindly let them keep their tents pitched up for tomorrow night. Today has been another tough day for everyone.  A 6 inch piece of wire stopped Lewis in his tracks with a puncture this morning and the bad weather has continued.  Tonight the team are camping north of Knoydart peninsular which is a two hour trek from the nearest car park. Watch this space for more updates...

The team have arrived in Scotland!

The team, including support group have arrived in Scotland after a long journey up from Devon. Unfortunately they have had to put their tent up in the rain, but have enjoyed a delicious home cooked supper courtesy of Lewis's mum! Tonight they are camping north of Fort William, overlooking Loch Lochy. Tomorrow they will begin two weeks of training, getting used to working with a support team and bonding as a group. The team will cover as many of the Munro's as they can in preparation for the summer when they will be climbing all 283 in 49 days! The team will be carrying a GPS SPOT tracker - their progress can be followed here. Daily updates will be posted on this blog, so make sure you don't miss out on what the team are up to!