Ben Nevis

Trekkit Expedition 2016 to the Highlands of Scotland and the Northumbria Coast

Ben_Nevis2016patch
Photo By: David Crocker [CC BY-SA 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons
 
 

The day I am writing this is April 25th, 2016 and it is exactly one month before the Trekkit crew heads out for another adventure. In four weeks we travel to the United Kingdom to climb its highest point and then off to a castle tour on the Northumbria Coast.

This trek has two major purposes:

1. We are filming a documentary about climbing Ben Nevis and using it as a metaphor to inspire people to climb their own mountain, be it physical, mental, financial, spiritual, etc. Many people automatically come back and say, “When are you climbing Mount Everest?” I can safely say never. You don’t have to climb the biggest, baddest item on the list. Conquering any mountain can bring success and fulfilment; and Ben Nevis is just the right challenge for me.

2. We will be filming all the behind the scenes events while roaming around the UK creating the content (the Road Trip) for Season 5 of Trekkit TV on Bell Aliant TV1.

There are two new Trekkit faces on the crew this year.

Alex Vietinghoff: Alex was a guest in Season 2 and also co-hosted Season 4 but never has been on one of the European film shoots with us so we are excited to have him along. This is the first time taking a dedicated/professional camera person on location. Don’t get me wrong, Rodney and I will still have a camera close by for the impromptu opportunities but the epic shots will be the work of Alex. We are excited to see what this guy can do!

 

David Ian MathesonDavid Matheson: David is joining us from the Greater Toronto Area, but was born in St. Stephen, New Brunswick so he qualifies in our “Atlantic Canadian” only group. David has been around professional TV/Movie production for most of his life so he will help add production value to the documentary plus add to the comradery of the group. I used to watch David in plays when I was in elementary school, oh yeah I forget to mention — he is also my uncle. I am looking forward to sharing this epic trip with him.

The Trekkit veterans:

UK (80 of 130)Peter Groom: Peter is alumni from previous Trekkit episodes including Mount Katahdin and Iceland. Peter is joining us on the eat/drink part of the tour as we visit the Northumbria Coast. Peter works in the UK from time to time so he is researching the best places to visit while in softer parts of the UK.

 
 

Rodney McAffeeRodney McAffee: Anyone who has seen any Trekkit TV has seen Rodney’s face and heard his geological wisdom on the show. Rodney is looking forward to the climb to the top of Ben Nevis and leaning/experiencing the history and geology on the Isle of Skye.

 
 

Ryan GroomMe (Ryan Groom): Yes I am going to! They can’t go without the director! This trip is going to be different for me. Filming the road trip for TV is one task but the spiritual guide for this trip is to create a film that will inspire people to identify with and then climb their own personal mountain. I have never attempted a scripted, planned film production so this is a growth area for me (my mountain) and I hope it is one you will find inspiring and entertaining.

 

Our Support Network

None of this could happen without the support of our families and partners. Taking off for 2 full weeks to the UK could not happen without the support of home base. So Kristy, Pam, Monica, Shauna, and Janel; thanks for your support as we lace up our hiking boots, charge the batteries, and take off to film at 4.4k feet above sea level and meet the challenge of a new “knife edge”.

 

tv1Bell Aliant TV1, (especially Csaba Domokos) and their continued support of Trekkit TV and enabling us to go into the homes of Atlantic Canadians and online world wide to help inspire the viewers to go on a trek of their own.

 

Microsoft SurfaceMicrosoft Canada. The Microsoft Band and Microsoft Surface teams have both graciously supported this trip and is our technology partner for the climb. We will be using the new Microsoft Band 2’s to keep track of health metrics as we climb Ben Nevis (comparing a computer geek’s (Me) vitals to those in shape; Alex, David and Rodney). We will be using the Surface for a ton a computer related tasks but especially checking the footage we just shot. We plan to take the Surface to the top of Ben Nevis to be able to check the footage, especially the aerial shots.

 

Orange SprocketOrange Sprocket has always made us look as good as they can (we need lots of help!). These folks are the designer of the 2016 expedition badge. Thanks to Bill, Jeff, and the creative team at Orange Sprocket.

We hope you stay tuned to our blog, the Bell Aliant TV1 website, and our social media channels as we will be posting lots of updates as we visit places in the UK starting May 25, 2016 until June 8th 2016.

Please subscribe to our Newsletter to keep up to date on all things Trekkit related. Thanks!

Safe and Happy Trekks,

RyanSig3