560 Miles - 3559 Feet - 11Km

Setting off at 4.30am, we drove through a couple of storms towards Snowdonia where we found a beautifully decorated Snowdon with just a touch of white stuff visible on the upper slopes. Certainly nothing like what we experienced back in April but there was one element that made this day challenging in its own right - 100mph winds on the summit.

We took the Pyg track which in fine conditions is a very easy route. However, the strong gusts of wind made this route very interesting, with slippery ice as you reached the ridge on the last section. We made it despite all this and ticked off yet another summit on what has - in 2013 at least - proved to be a very versatile mountain with a range of challenges to throw at us.

We climbed with a highly experienced Norwegian pair, Sissel Smaller and her partner Petter. We met them as we set off and spent the day with them, not only are they incredibly friendly people but their knowledge and stories from their many climbs, including the '7 summits', made for some awesome conversations throughout the day.

We made it up there in what was for myself at least, a personal best. 2 hours up 2 and half down, we then came back down safely and drove the long but completely worth it journey home back to Kent.

Pyg track.

Scouting the route.

On the ridge.

Summit - Santiago, Sam & Roy.

The Spartan Run? Well, it was bloody hard.

With a slight delay, I can now report back on how I found the 'Spartan Run' in November.

It was hard. It was freezing cold. It was raining, a lot. No one told you how far along you were so there was no sense of proximity to the finish, only sketchy rumours from fellow speculative Spartans. By the end I could barely run anymore, totally exhausted, knackered. I don't think I've ever been so worn out before. It was awesome...and would I do it again? Yes, anytime! It was an incredible and somewhat unexpected challenge as Tough Muddder was so easy in comparison.

Tomorrow morning I'm on the road to North Wales with Sam again, should be good to catch up as he's been in South Sudan since I last saw him in April. A couple of other chaps are coming along too including Roy who I ran Tough Mudder and Spartan with, so it should be a good day. The weather is forecast to be absolutely awful so a navigational challenge lies ahead, and we're very much looking forward to it.

The plan is to do the Pyg track, to Snowdon summit and back. We were hoping for something more challenging but there is serious wind and rain to take into account so it may end up challenging enough!

Traviajero.com is back!

On a completely different note, you may remember that a few years ago the blog was under traviajero.com. I since lost the domain due to my failure to renew it. The bastards who subsequently bought it made some sort of random travel site out of it, which obviously didn't do very well because I've just spotted the domain up for grabs again, and I'm pleased to say I've got it back!

Traviajero is a mixture of the word traveller and the spanish word with the same meaning, viajero. I thought of this before my big trip in 2009 and although it was more fitting back then, I am going to revert back to this domain as it reflects my passion for travel, be it a day-trip to Snowdon or 8 months in the Americas, I will always be up for an adventure.

Expensive challenges

We embark on a new challenge next weekend, and after completing an 8.5 mile run in the pouring rain yesterday, I wondered whether that's enough training or not. I must confess that whilst it was a challenge, ToughMudder was simply not tough enough for how it was marketed. Let's hope the 'Spartan Beast' has a bit more in store for us!

 I have ordered an extra battery for the GoPro, so you can expect to see us suffering in a video soon!

In between other things, I've started a park edit from the various skate missions recently. It's looking good and has some consecutive bangers from Ash and Danny and the rest of the crew. The full lengther is looking good too and footage is slowly but surely accumulating.

It's been a while

"It's been a while since I've set some time aside to write a blog post, and since then a few things have changed."

My career has taken a more direct approach into filming with a role in a local PR company - I am running the video and producing work for corporate clients local and beyond. It is really exiting to be developing my skills and achieving better and better results through work, not to mention the more convenient office hours!

Of course, I am still filming a few freelance jobs. At the moment it is a music video for a local reggae artist, Jack Curtis - the song is really catchy and we've put some good ideas to work so watch this space. As I settle into my full-time job I will be finding more and more freelance to develop the all important portfolio. 

Five years ago I didn't really know where my life was going. I wanted to be an airline pilot but found out being colourblind the chances of ever putting the dream into practice were slim at best. I saved some money and hit the road. For the last three years I have been developing something I have been doing since my early teens - video production. Although it has evolved from skateboarding into weddings, music videos, events and last week a boat party - the core interest is still there and I am really chuffed with some of the footage we've been producing locally for a full length blu-ray skate video I'm working on. It's great fun going on filming missions and there's always interesting stories to be heard. Whether its Ash having a mare with an electricity box or Luke feeling disappointed in a car park in Tonbridge, we'll always have a laugh. Head over to crabface.co.uk for more on this and watch this space for a few trailers in the coming months.

I have a week off in August. Millie (princess) and I are heading to Switzerland for some camping and relaxing, I want to try and get some time lapses of the Bernese Alps and the surrounding peaks. Let's hope we're greeted with some of the great weather we've been blessed with here!

I won't be doing any climbing in Switzerland as I will be with Millie so I'll leave you with some photos taken in April whilst on a trip to a snow covered Snowdon in North Wales. Sam Evans and I loaded the car up and took base at some shelter he'd found near Capel Curig. It was a good find and we had incredible fun climbing in the ice and snow for the first time - the exposure got the better of me at times but man it was beautiful.

 Summit

In a true mountaineering style,
Sam approaches Crib Goch - that s**t was gnarly!

South

Dinner

The A4086 to Snowdon

BBC Kent Interviews

Another year older - 24 seconds quicker??

I didn't end up doing a lot of training for the half marathon this year as i spent most of January with a cold, i wasn't ill and certainly not making a fuss, but i just didn't really feel like running in the cold after a hard days work! Nevertheless i managed to somehow beat last years time, albeit by just 24 seconds! I was quite pleased as doing it in a slower time would have been bad for morale! The next challenge comes in June with the Tough Mudder challenge which i am quite looking forward to as it's more of a team effort getting yourselves through it together rather than the every man for himself struggle up Fordcombe hill that is the Tunbridge Wells Half!

I've been very busy this week editing a short video for BBC Kent Introducing. You can find a trailer below with an edit of Florrie's 'Experimenting With Rugs' from the night. A lot more coming soon with band interviews and more footage. It was an amazing evening of young local talent, listen up on the BBC Iplayer for more tracks from the evening on Jacob's program.

That's all for now,
Santiago.

New car, new edit...same old s**t weather

I've not written much on the blog recently, mostly due to being lazy but partly due to being busy with work and doing a few things that needed doing. I sold my Fiesta and bought a Golf, just drove it back from Croydon today. It's in lovely shape and will hopefully bring many miles of joy throughout the next few years! I'll be going to North wales in April to climb Snowdon, Tryfan and some other hills around the area. I've not been to Wales for over a year, mostly due to car troubles. I'm really looking forward to hitting the rock again and camping out by the fire again. We're (Millie and I) also planning a 2 week roadtrip to the South of France in the summer which is going to be incredible.

As some of you also know, it's that dreaded time of year for the Tunbridge Wells Half Marathon. I say 'dreaded' because it's not something that i am overly looking forward to, partly because i've not done much training this year but also because these things are a hell of a lot better when you're actually doing them and find that it's not that bad after all. I am going to see how i feel on the day but i will hopefully try to beat my time for last year's run which was 1h46mins. I'll let you know how that goes on Sunday.

That's all for now, below is another edit we made a few weeks back when we hit Revolution skatepark in Broadstairs. We went to avoid the rain but it was sunny there and full of those damned scooter things... nevertheless it was a fun day out!

The new wheels.

 Thanks for reading, Santiago.