Would you let 16 year olds do the Three Peaks alone?

[lovetotravel1234]

My son wants to do the Three Peaks Challenge with two friends when they finish their GCSEs. They will be 16 and want to do this totally alone. I feel this is unsafe and they should go with a guide but they feel this ruins the fun of it. Apparently the father of one of them will drive but not hike. Am I being unreasonable?

Are they sensible and have they experience of hiking in that sort of terrain?

My brother hiked across Iceland when he was 17 with 2 friends but they had all done lots of hiking and expeditions before. Still they ended up in a river and had to be rescued. Regardless of experience I would help them research all the potential pitfalls and how they would navigate the situations first.

No, you’re not unreasonable. While they’re not technical hikes, the weather conditions change quickly and I’ve been caught out before on Scafell as an experienced adult hiker.

Yes I would let a group of 16 year olds do this as long as they are sensible and have the proper equipment and someone nearby to help if there is a problem.

When you said alone I thought you meant completely alone. Of course they’ll be ok.

I presume they know how to read maps, will have a compass and will research routes?

Have they done hikes before? Anything like DOE etc and have the right kit? If so, yes I would.

Never hiked, no experience etc, I want them to do some easier ones first.

I typed out a load of stuff but didn’t think to ask - do you mean the Yorkshire peaks or the national ones?

Depends.

have they done any hiking before? Do they have the right gear?

you do get some 16 year olds who think hiking is easy and can be done in trainers and jeans and who can’t read maps who get into difficulties.

you also get others who’ve been doing proper walking for some time and have the right stuff and have been taught first aid etc and what to do in an emergency.

it’s not the age it’s the preparation

So the dad will sit/snooze at the bottom of the mountains whilst they hike and could alert if something went wrong?

I would be fine wth that add long as they had experience hiking, did some kind of practice hike together as a group if they aren't used to hiking together, carried proper kit and were on the more touristy not technical routes.

I would be worried about hydration and heat stroke in they this weather thought and want to plan timings and date

Thank you. I mean the National Three Peaks.

And do they have experience?

What other hiking have they done. Gold Duke of Edinburgh is from 16 and is 5 days in wilderness country sometimes the assessors only see you from a distance.

He’s not alone-he’s with two other people! If they’re experienced walkers it’s fine.How are they going g to get from peak to peak?

This is next year not this year? I would allow it if they could show they were preparing properly by, say, March. But I would also assume they wouldn't actually make it happen tbh. Not worth the energy of worrying about it a year in advance.

Depends on the kids. I worked with the cadets years ago and would have trusted a group of 16 year olds from there to go up on hills. Its not long ago here that a couple teenagers found some "grown ups " on the hills and had to rescue them.

Our children are scouts/guides since a young age and they did Dofe, so yes I would let them do it. But if no experience hiking the answer would be no.

We really need to know their fitness levels and, crucially, their experience in the hills.

These mountains (and they are mountains) see countless Mountain Rescue call outs every year. A lot of those are by people who are woefully underprepared.

It's impossible to answer. It depends on their skill, their experience and the weather forecast. Heatstroke could be a real risk at the moment.

They are fit and have done D of E silver. My concern is about rapidly changing weather and not being able to see the path.

Have any of them climbed Scafell Pike before? Are they going to wait for a suitable weather window or just go up them all regardless?

No I wouldn’t allow this.

It is irresponsible- they are still children and a lot of things could go wrong.

yes given the dad will be there so will alert mountain rescue if they don’t come back and can also probably track them. I’d also veto if the weather was terrible.

I feel like experienced 16yos should be absolutely fine, the three 3 peaks routes are generally pretty easy to navigate. I certainly wouldn’t want inexperienced teens going up Tryfan, but if they’ve done a bit of mountain climbing in cloud before I think they should be okay?

If the weather closes in and they can’t see the path, they need to be trusted to either a) micro navigate effectively with map and compass or b) have the sense to abandon a summit attempt and get off the mountain. Possibly a) to facilitate b).

Have they the skills, experience and good sense to do this?

It’s natural to feel nervous for him if you don’t have any experience in the mountains and can’t gauge his skill levels. Ask him what kit he thinks he needs, how they will do their route planning, and what to do in an emergency. Then come back here and tell us his answers!

No