The Claret Mountaineers are back in 2023 for their third instalment and yet another mountain.
Since the formation of the group, the Claret Mountaineers have hiked over 18 miles with over 6,000 ft of elevation and raised over £19,000 for the Northampton Town Community Trust’s (NTFC CT) programmes.
The journey started in 2021, where a group of 20 staff, volunteers, and participants from NTFC CT programmes embarked on an adventure up Mount Snowdon aiming to raise £5,000. During the challenge an unexpected turn with the local public transport breaking down meant the group had to take on a more challenging route. The group completed the challenge in 5 hours and raised over £7,000 for a great cause.
In June 2022, the Claret Mountaineers generated more interest where group size increased to 27 and a new challenge in the Brecon Beacons. The main highlight being the Horseshoe Ridge walk, a 10-mile-long route over the top of the tallest mountains in the Brecon Beacons including Pen y Fan with the ambitious goal to raise £10,000. The weather conditions were atrocious with high winds and heavy rain, but the group managed to complete the challenge within 5 hours and raised over £12,000!
This year the Claret Mountaineers are back for the third year running, again looking to raise £10,000 for the Health & Wellbeing, Disability and Women & Girls departments. With the money raised the Northampton Town FC Community Trust are looking to:
• Develop and establish a Health and Well-being Hub in Northampton
• Fund the ongoing expansion of the Multi Disability Football Club with the setup of new football teams, training of new coaches and to pay for the cost of travel to annual tournaments and disability festivals
• Develop the growth of the Women’s and girls’ department development, supporting first team volunteers with sport science equipment, developing the ETC and PDC centres to increase the opportunities for girls to get involved in football
• Support the ongoing growth of the Walking Football Club
• Develop new opportunities to set up new fit Cobblers programmes around the county.
In 2023 the Claret Mountaineers will look to tackle the highest peak in England, Scafell Pike, located in the Lake District standing at 978m high, 3,209 ft. The group will be going via the Wasdale route, a short but steep route, just over 5km of a steep climb to the top which takes about 2.5 to 3 hours to get to the top. It is a challenge not to be taken lightly as the hard rocky terrain will be sure to take its toll on the feet.
In support of the big climb the Claret Mountaineers will be holding two supporting events during the year with a family day and 7m walk around Pitsford Reservoir and a matchday charity walk from the County Ground to Sixfields with more details to be released closer to the time.
The countdown has well and truly begun, Claret Mountaineers 2023 is coming soon!