The A Team Bootcamp
Posted on Jun 09, 2023Congratulations to The A Team Bootcamp who climbed Ben Nevis earlier this month! Carl Dutton, wellbeing champion at Arriva’s Runcorn depot and leader of The A Team Bootcamp led the hike up in the Scottish Highlands with 11 of his colleagues.
Tackling the freezing weather, Carl and the rest of The A Team travelled up to Fort William ready for an early start the following day. The group is passionate “nobody gets left behind” so starting steady, the group began climbing with motivation and high spirits!
As the weather worsened the group soon found themselves walking through snow and ice. Carl and 7 others were determined to make it to the summit. After a long, hard climb, The A Team Bootcamp celebrated at the top of the highest mountain in the UK, with 12 foot of snow beneath their feet and -14-degree wind chill!
Every member of The A Team joined the bootcamp for different reasons. From health conditions, mental health problems, financial struggles and getting caught up in the day-to-day responsibilities of parenthood, Carl wanted to provide an outlet for other bus drivers in Runcorn.
From what was a smaller group of drivers in the Northwest, The A Team Bootcamp quickly grew in size and has now expanded to see Carl and The A Team Bootcamp travel across the UK to help improve their wellbeing.
Everybody leads busy lives, so Carl is determined to continue planning get-togethers to keep the group active! The A Team Bootcamp has even added bike rides alongside their regular hikes. Bike & Hike events mean even more people can take part including those who find walking hard on their joints. Each month of the year, Carl is leading The A Team across the UK for bikes & hikes and welcomes anybody looking to get involved!
Carl told us that getting people out of their normal life ‘bubble’ has seen great impacts on mental and physical wellbeing across the group, one member has even lost 2.5 stone since joining in on the regular hikes!
With the motivation in their veins after tackling all the elements up in Scotland, The A Team Bootcamp is ready to climb Snowdon as their next adventure.
We sponsored The A Team Bootcamp on their recent climb up Ben Nevis and we’re proud that we were a part of the journey. The A Team Bootcamp looks for sponsorships to cover the costs of fuel and supplies while away from home, to make sure there isn’t a financial burden on those looking to take part. Keith and John are managers at Arriva’s Runcorn depot and have been extremely supportive of The A Teams endeavours!
Good luck to the group climbing both Scotland’s and Wales highest peaks within a few short weeks.
Congratulations again to the whole A Team, and good luck with your future climbs. We’re looking forward to seeing where you go next!