Please suggest shoes for Hill walking (plan to do the three peak challenge in near future)

[GammaDelta]

Hi all,
I plan to do the three peak challenge( Snowdon, Scafell pike, Ben Nevis in 24 hrs.) in the near future. please suggest what shoes should I go for. I am looking for Vibram sole n waterproof. Merell, Solomon, or karrimor. high ankle support or not?

also please suggest if you could give me any advise as to how to go for the three peak challenge.. i don't have a group i can do this with.. is doing a half marathon sufficient fitness vise.. thanks in advance.

[holeinmyheart]

I would suggest ' Keen ' boots. They are fabulous, comfortable and more essentially waterproof. I have tried all sorts, Brasher etc. they were horrible.

I would get some compeed blister plasters and moisturise my feet with Vaseline. Also get double socks. These are two socks, one inside the other. I buy ones by 1000 miles. They stop blistering.

If you are going to wear new boots for the challenge then I would compeed my heels and further more I would put duck tape on top of the Compeed until I had worn the shoes in.

Buy the best gear you can. I buy Rohan. I have lightweight waterproof trousers and I wear layers. Not so important in the Summer.

In my pack I have a flashlight and a whistle as sometimes a mobile is dead.
I don't think think you are contemplating doing the three Peaks on your. Own are you ?
You need to do a lot of hill running to build up stamina. Running on the flat is not going to be good enough.
Mind you my friend and his two brothers have just done it and he cycles to work on the flat each day and back, a distance of around two miles. I think that is all he did. I didn't think he was particularly fit, but he did it.

When he finished he was utterly exhausted.

[AnyoneForTennis]

I've done 3 peaks! Loved it

Walking poles are a must

You are doing it alone?

[AnyoneForTennis]

Fitness wise, yes half marathon fitness level will be ok. I did a half after 3 peaks.

[Shallishanti]

you need a good support team, never mind the boots

[Usernamegone]

I walked up Snowden in May. I am only reasonably fit not super fit, but I haven't done the three peaks. I suspect any training that works on your endurance would be good. I would recommend that you get some good walking boots (and make sure you wear them in) for the ankle protection (I think I bought my Salomon walking boots about 10 years ago in tkmaxx!)

What do you mean by you don't have a group to do this with? Do you mean a group to train with or are you planning on doing the three peaks by yourself?

[AnyoneForTennis]

You can be a lone walker quite safely, plenty do, but how would you travel/sleep between mountains? You need your wits about you so being over tired is no good for this venture

I found scafell to be the biggest obstacle.... 5am, little sleep on a cramped mini bus,dark and raining. But with a group to spur me on it was fun

[Stubbed]

Why do the three peaks? Just go up and down Ben Nevis twice. Harder and much less hassle.

Not sure what you mean by 'near future'. It is normally done mid summer to maximise daylight. Ben Nevis can have snow on top a lot of the year.

Can't say I'd recommend it really, it's a lot of driving. Why not do Welsh 3000s?

[AnyoneForTennis]

Each mountain is a different challenge. Scafell is rockier and (we found) less busy. Ben Nevis was the biggest but I found the easiest and Snowdon I found the steeper parts tough. Snowdon was ridiculously busy,as was the first half of Ben.

[ChablisTyrant]

Impossible to recommend a brand of walking boot because they all suit different shaped feet. I stick with saloman which are great for relatively narrow feet. Find a really decent boot shop and try them all. You do want high ones that fully cover ankles for hill walking.

[AggressiveBunting]

Were I to do it, I would use Salomon XA Pro 3D, which is a pretty solid and stable trail running shoe. I wouldn't wear boots because they make it hard to run down the hills.

A half marathon is not the right sort of training for this really - you need to consider time on your feet, and practice for 7/8 hours straight on rocky uneven ground. It's not so much a fitness thing as that it's just a different beast. You need your training to mirror what you plan to do.

[madwomanbackintheattic]

You don't need a boot that someone else has recommended, you need to get thee to a specialist store and get some advice as to which suits your foot shape. Each of the common brands are build on a slightly different last and some suit wider feet, some suit narrower feet, some suit higher arches etc etc. you need a good shop where they will take a look at the size and shape of your feet and you can try a few different boots on.

Try and find a store which will allow you to return the boots within thirty days if they haven't been worn outside and are in resale shape a that way you can wear them around the house a bit before you commit.

[HelenF350]

I agree with previous posters get boots fitted at a specialist store. Proper socks and poles are an absolute must too. I've not done the 3 peaks but I've done Ben Nevis. When I started training I was almost 17st and took a week to recover climbing a local hill at 500m. Trained for 4 months, I started climbing the local hill 3/4 times a week and started running too and I managed Ben Nevis up and back down in 5 hours.

[holeinmyheart]

I got some boots fitted at fabulous shop specialist in the Lakes. They measured my feet, I ran up and down their ramp, They heat moulded them and they still tore my feet to bits. I took them back and tried again and they still tore my feet.
My KEEN suit me because my feet are wide. But the other posts are correct, one boot heaven is another walkers hell.
I don't think it is safe to walk anywhere alone. Certainly not to do the Three Peaks alone as you will get so dog tired. You don't have to fall far to do a lot of damage.
Poles are utterly essential, especially for the descent. However my friend did it without poles. I did it with poles and in a group.

[HelenF350]

I did Nevis by myself, my friend who signed up with me pulled out. I did contemplate not going but I'd raised a fair bit of sponsor money and wanted to prove to myself I could do it. I was doing it for charity so there were many others doing it on the same day for the charity. We all met at the bottom before we set off. Will you be doing similar OP? I just followed the guides, and spoke to a few people on the way up. If you are doing it as an organised fundraising event I don't see any reason you can't go by yourself, just make sure you stick with a group of people or the guides. They will register you before you start and when you come back down.

[GammaDelta]

hi All,
thanks for the response. i am going to join with a group. .but i won't know anyone of them in advance hence i have no idea what fitness levels will they be having. I plan to practice in those boots before I use it for three peak. i plan to do at least snowdon once before i take on the mammoth task on 3 peak.. it's high on my bucket list. .

[AnyoneForTennis]

good luck!

I loved the 3 peaks. I didn't find the mountains them selves so bad....just the lack of sleep,restand recovery between each mountain. they are only British mountains,not particularly high or too taxing,but respect them,as they do take lives

I did it in august 3 years ago,there was snow on top of Ben Nevis,and a bit lurking on Scafell

[shovetheholly]

Can I recommend trail shoes rather than boots? They're so much lighter, and more cushioned, but will still give you grip. The downside is that they may let water in, but over 24 hours this should be less of a problem than it would be day-in, day-out (you can buy waterproof pairs, but you'll still get water coming over the top if you need to cross streams).

Also, in response to your question about half marathon fitness: it depends on the half marathon. If you can run a 14 mile fell race with a good amount of ascent in a decent time, that's a good base to work from. If, however, your 14 miles is on a really flat course, I would suggest some hill training. I know a group of ultra-runners (supremely fit people who regularly do 100 miles on the flat) who signed up for a long fell race, and they really struggled with the gradient. It just demands so much more power. Of course, they were running and walking is less impactful, but you get the idea...

[madwomanbackintheattic]

Trail shoes are okay if you are running and are comfortable that your ankles are strong enough to withstand the twists. For a beginner fell walker,who is absolutely unused to the terrain, I would recommend starting with something with ankle support every time.

[runtothehills]

Hi I'm a hill walker turned hill/fell runner. I've done all 3 hills but on separate occasions. I think it sounds a great challenge to aim for Gamma . Regards fitness I would mirror what Aggressive said, a HM even on flat trails is not the same as what you will be tackling. If you can get out on some hills that would be better. You don't have to learn to run up them, just be able to go at a fair pace without needing to take rests over a long period of time (5 hours +). If you don't have local hills, doing some steep hill reps can help too.
Regarding footwear, I would tend to use my trail running shoes, but if you are looking for something with more ankle support there are some hybrid type boots that combine the lightness of running shoes with a higher ankle for support. I have a pair of Salamon Fastpackers, not sure if they still make them but I'm sure there are equivalents about.
Finally even if you are going with a group I would recommend getting some navigation training (if you don't already have some). You may be with a group but you can get separated in the mist/darkness, and it will give you confidence going up and about in that terrain.
Good Luck

[WankerDeAsalWipe]

Husband and children were up Ben Nevis yesterday, still a lot of snow and was baltic.

[GammaDelta]

Hi All,
I went to Cotswold and Blacks today. I was sugegsted stronly to go for Boots today. I liked Salomon 4d 2 GTX boots (only shoe in which when I tapped my shoe on toes.. toes didnt touch the front end of the shoe)
www.cotswoldoutdoor.com/salomon-mens-cosmic-4d-2-gtx-boot-32110407. While In Blacks I was sugegsted to go for shoes.. not very high ankle support. A bit confused. I hopefully will be doing Snowdon or Ben nevis before I go for the three peak challenge. Thanks again please keep your suggestions flowing in.

Any advise on what I should and shouldnt do.. please let me know thanks again.

[madwomanbackintheattic]

You will get different info from everyone because as we said, boots are a very personal choice (as is the choice for boots or shoes lol).
You really won't know until you try them. You, personally, not anyone else. And you won't really know until after the challenge whether you personally would have preferred boots or shoes.

I like salomon. And in your situation I would go for boots first. I would make sure I had the ankle support while I was building up my miles, hills, and fitness, and then later I might get a pair of mid or low's to try. Because once you've done this once, you'll be hooked, and need more than one type of footwear anyway

[AggressiveBunting]

what madwoman said.

Boots vs shoes is basically stability vs speed. If you need to run down the hills to make the time, it'll be much easier in shoes than boots. It'll also be a lot easier to roll your ankle though. I do exercises specifically to stabilise my feet and ankles for trail running. Can google them.

[GammaDelta]

Thanks a lot aggressive bunting and mad woman.. i have tried them on n I'm trying to get more info on them to help me decide better. I feel time is running out for this year because i plan to do at least ben nevis before i book myself for 3 leaks. i have climbed down once from snowdon in my trainers. . silly i know

[GammaDelta]

Hi Aggressivebunting I will look for the exercises as i don't have any hills around in Essex where i live. but i think i need to go for a bit distant ones. .thanks for the advise. .