In what will probably be the longest day of our lives, our team of walkers hopes to scale the five highest mountains on these islands in 24 hours and raise up to £60,000 for charity.
By breakfast time tomorrow the 12 walkers - including this reporter - taking part in the Five Peaks challenge are likely to have climbed Carauntoohil in Co Kerry, Ireland's highest mountain, and be on their way up Slieve Donard in the Mournes.
Using two helicopters to ferry the climbers from the base of one mountain to another, the team hopes to set a record for the challenge, which is being monitored by the Guinness Book of Records. The climb of the 1,039-metre Carauntoohil is scheduled to begin at 3 a.m. tomorrow.
Three of the team were involved in setting a record for climbing the five peaks last September, in a time of 40 hours and 19 minutes. This was achieved using the slower option of cars and ferry transport across the Irish Sea. It was also completed in near-perfect weather; tomorrow's forecast is for heavy rain with the possibility of mist that may hamper the movement of the helicopters. The record attempt was scheduled to take place today but was postponed because of heavy mist and helicopter problems. The shorter time-span makes this year's challenge even more arduous. The money raised will be donated to Focus Ireland, which plans to use it to improve services at its housing advice centre in Dublin. Corporate sponsors have provided most of the funding - at £1 for each foot climbed - but the public is also being asked to contribute.
The team, which has been training for weeks for the event, includes the organiser, Mr John Morrison. We both completed last year's challenge, along with employees of corporate sponsors such as Irish Permanent, BUPA Ireland, Guinness, East Digifone and Country Manor Bricks.
Slieve Donard, at 852 metres, is the lowest of the five peaks and the most straightforward to climb. By midday tomorrow, the team should be ascending Snowdon, the highest mountain in Wales at 1,085 metres. From there, the walkers will be taken to the Lake District, and the challenge of a three-mile run-in awaits them before they begin climbing Scafell Pike (977 metres), England's highest point.
If all goes to plan, the helicopters will be landing at the foot of Ben Nevis in Scotland at dusk tomorrow. The ascent of this 1,344-metre mountain - easily the stiffest climb in the challenge - will be undertaken at night. With the target being to finish before 3 a.m. on Thursday, it is unlikely that the finishers will have the opportunity - or the energy - to emulate last year's record-breakers, who went straight to a local pub to celebrate.
