After Ben Nevis and Snowdon, the Subsea to Summit team has completed its improbable trilogy by hauling 80kg of traditional diving equipment to the top of Scafell Pike.
On top of Scafell Pike in full dive gear
There are easier ways to climb a mountain.
On 16 August, a team of divers and supporters reached the 978m summit of Scafell Pike, England's highest mountain, while taking turns wearing a complete set of historical standard diving equipment weighing around 80kg.
The ascent completed the team's Subsea to Summit trilogy, following earlier climbs of Ben Nevis in Scotland and Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa) in Wales—all involving the decidedly land-unfriendly equipment once used by working divers.
From the lake to the mountain
The weekend began appropriately underwater. On Saturday, team members conducted a standard-dress dive in Wastwater, the lake below Scafell Pike.
The following morning, the group set off from the Wasdale side of the mountain at 8am. Progress in the diving equipment was necessarily slow.
According to former Royal Navy clearance diver and mountaineer Eamon "Ginge" Fullen, team members generally covered only 100–150m at a time before another person took over. The heavy copper helmet alone weighs around 23kg, while the diver also carries substantial front and back weights.
The helmet and weights could be removed between stints, allowing each wearer to recover before taking another turn.
It took eight and a half hours to reach the summit.
Equipment designed to go down, not up
Traditional standard diving dress was developed for underwater work, where its considerable weight helps keep the diver stable and negatively buoyant. On a rocky mountain path, precisely the same characteristics become liabilities.
The rigid weighted boots, heavy helmet and limited ability to look down make uneven ground particularly awkward—something the Subsea to Summit team had already discovered on its previous climbs.
The challenge began with Ben Nevis in 2018 and continued on Snowdon in 2022. During the latter ascent, exceptionally hot weather added another difficulty to an undertaking that was already physically demanding.
Scafell Pike may be lower than its Scottish and Welsh counterparts, but Fullen reported that it still provided a substantial challenge.
Diving history with a sense of humour
Fullen is perhaps unusually well qualified for an adventure combining diving and mountains. A former Royal Navy clearance diver, he was awarded the Queen's Gallantry Medal for his role in the rescue operation following the 1987 capsize of the Herald of Free Enterprise. He subsequently became a prolific mountaineer, completing the highest points of countries across Europe and Africa.
He is also active in preserving Royal Navy diving history and received the Historical Diving Society Award in 2024 for his research and books about Royal Navy clearance divers.
The Scafell Pike expedition was not entirely undertaken for the satisfaction of doing something spectacularly impractical. Fullen says more than £2,000 has so far been raised for Wasdale Mountain Rescue Team, while a further £350 was collected on the mountain for resident Florence Moffat-Charles, who requires an operation.
After eight years and three mountains, the trilogy is complete.
Whether that means the historical diving equipment can finally remain somewhere near sea level is another matter. As Fullen put it after the climb: "Any terrible idea is worth repeating—especially if you have a terrible memory."
