The team had to undertake an extensive Google search to find our destination, based on my rough memories. Yet the ‘mountain’ I find myself staring up at is etched in my memory as the backdrop to the most profound and influential experiences of life.
This is where the outdoors was infused into my DNA, forging a passion for exploring that will stay with me forever. And when American Express asked me to make a short film for their Centurion members sharing a family adventure personal to me, it was the first place I thought of.
My late father brought me here, to Blaenau Ffestiniog, for what was most likely a regular hike. For me, at 12, it was a remote mountain wilderness. I will always remember the weather was wild that day. I felt we were heading for a relentless assent into clouds.
The rain was pouring down our faces, the wind battering our bodies. When we eventually made the summit I was exhausted and cold…but proud. We had concurred our own Everest that day. As a family.
I will forever be grateful to my father and for the many life lessons he taught me. That day, the lesson was that if I never give up, I could achieve anything.
