Over twenty people take on the Lakes 3000 Hike in memory of Joe Grice, who loved the outdoors
Content warning: Suicide
Joe Grice’s loved ones lost him to suicide in October 2025. In this blog, his friend Ben, with the help of Joe’s family and friends, tell Joe’s story and how taking on this massive challenge in his memory has brought them together.
We sadly lost Joe in October 2025, as he made the decision to end his life. Joe was an adventurous, caring and courageous man who truly loved the outdoors. Whether it was bouldering, bodybuilding, swimming or sailing, he was always searching for the next challenge.
Why ‘The Lakes 3,000’?
Joe tried “The Lakes 3000” on two separate occasions, first with his brother and sister, then on his own. On both occasions, he was unable to finish. Despite this, Joe always wanted to complete this challenge and would consistently ask his close friends Ben and Harvey to try it with him, though he was sadly never able to try the challenge again. For this reason, all of Joe’s close friends and family members came together as one to attempt it in his memory.
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This challenge not only pushed everyone involved out of their comfort zones and to their physical limits, but also made connections, brought conversations, raised funds for a great cause, and spread awareness of his story and the wonderful charity in which we have supported. - Ben
About the challenge
The lakes 3000 challenge involves hiking from Keswick to each of the major Cumbrian mountains camp; reaching their summits, a total walk of 78km and the height ascended is 4,500m. We challenged ourselves to complete it within the weekend. 20 people started this hike at 05:00 on Saturday 23 rd May 2026, where the last group finished their attempt at approximately 21:00 on Sunday 24th May 2026.
- All 20 successfully peaked Scafell Pike
- 14 Peaked Scafell
- 12 Peaked High Raise
- 8 Peaked Helvelyn
- 1 Peaked Skiddaw
Lauren, Joe's sister was the only person to peak all of the summits (pictured below).
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On the 48 hours allocated, nobody managed to complete this challenge in full, nor did anyone reach the spot that Joe once did. This is a great testament to display the strength, courage, knowledge, and love for hiking that Joe had
Though Joe was unable to complete the challenge himself, he was carried along the way in all of our hearts, in memory necklaces and in the spreading of his ashes at each peak. In our eyes, Joe has now finally completed his favourite and arch challenge.
Why did you choose Shout?
The motivation to fundraise for Shout is simple. Should Joe have been aware of the services, he may still be with us today.
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The service offered by Shout is suited exactly for people like Joe – someone who feels unable to speak to family and friends about their feelings and troubles. We only wish he knew about this service, as we can only imagine things may have ended differently.
What was the highlight of the challenge?
The sight of 20 young adults setting out to complete an impossible challenge at 5am on a Saturday, knowing that every single person will give their whole body and heart to pushing themselves as much as possible, is a sight that is not seen often, but very moving.
Because of the 300 donations raised by 20 young adults, with the support of their families and Joe’s, I can see that this challenge has been seen far and wide.
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With each person spreading awareness for mental health, and of the support Shout can provide, we can only imagine tens of thousands of people have seen our Story.
We had many laughs along the way and most of us did not know each other. We have since made some great new connections, leading to some everlasting friendships and support circles, with the common connection being Joe.
What was the most challenging part?
The 4,500m of incline was indeed the most challenging part of this event, followed closely by the 14-16 hours of walking on the Saturday. This pushed everyone to their physical and mental limits, making us all proud of our accomplishment.
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Nobody could have completed any more of this challenge if they tried – the pure reason for completing this much of the challenge in the first place is down to the love of Joe, and the support from those around us.
What is your top fundraising tip?
Spreading awareness of your fundraiser across all social channels is essential in creating good exposure, alongside speaking to your closest family and friends and ask for their support in sharing the fundraiser too.
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Joe, you really are one talented man. Even with our motivation, nobody could match your pace, or distance in this challenge. Though we loved every second of this challenge, we only wish you were here to experience it. We all love you very much and will hold you in our hearts and memory forever.
Together, Joe’s family and friends have raised a massive £7,430 so far. This is enough to cover the cost of 743 conversations with people in the UK who are struggling to cope.
If you'd like to help them raise more, click here to donate.
