According to Branson they were playing an early morning game of tennis and stopped to look up at The Pitons. “There had been a quick shower just before we began our game and the mist was rising over Gros Piton. It looked absolutely magnificent. As I stared, I wondered: could we climb it?” he wrote.
Within a matter of hours, they were at the base of the mountain and began their ascent into the rainforest in high spirits; “having heard it was a simple enough hike and wouldn’t be too challenging”. “That wasn’t quite the case,” Branson pointed out.
“The rain had made the path slippery, and we were soon clinging to each volcanic rock, using them as stairs. By halfway, our water was beginning to run low and sweat was pouring off us,” he went on.
Their guide according to Branson, who has been climbing the mountain every day (sometimes twice a day!) for seven years, had raced ahead. “After just under two hours, we made it to the top. It was well worth it, with spectacular views in every direction and smiling faces from all of the team. We could see the gorgeous Caribbean Sea, St Lucia sprawled out beneath us and St Vincent in the distance. By the time we made it back down the sunset wasn’t far away. We made it back to Necker Belle just in time to soak it in. As Marvin Gaye sung, Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” Richard Branson ended.
So what I clime it many of times. I have even spread so high grade seeds up there too as a test run. The higher the elevation the closer to the sun, abundance of moisture equal more potency. I call it the Jazz blend.