The special guest of Challenge Days 2011 - Daniel Andrada
This year, the opening of the Challenge Days was with the world-famous Spanish climber Dani Andrada on 29 November in the Aula Maxima of VIAS!
"For me, climbing is more than a hobby, it's an art" to the magazine. Desnivel
One thing is certain, Daniel Andrada will not leave anyone indifferent. Athletic and handsome, at 36 he is a true artist on the rock. A great to many, a controversial figure to others, this Catalan, wandering like a nomad around the world, has been at the centre of many of the hottest premiere climbs of the last 15 years.
At the peak of his career, supported by companies like Petzl and Boreal, he is a classic antistar : he continues to climb with gusto 8 months a year! One of the few members of the elite 9b club (those who have passed the highest difficulty category in climbing at the moment).
Danny today identifies himself this way:
- Climbing is his absolute priority in life;
- Yes to the Internet, blogs and social networks - because of the sponsors, although they are rather detrimental to the spirit of climbing
- No to politicians, police corruption and those who love war
- The natural environment must be respected
- He always looks for personal motivation in climbing on natural rock and with friends
Meeting with Danny Andrada on BTV
"I've been climbing for 20 years, as a professional for 14 years. I started because I watched people climbing near where I lived and tried it. Since then I enjoyed it and this passion was born in me." This is what climber Daniel Andrada, who has 5,000 climbs on very difficult terrain, said in the studio of "This Morning". He is one of six people in the world who are recognised as being able to practice the extreme sport.
"It's a very dangerous sport, but it's much safer than what meets the eye because we're usually secured with ropes," he added. He said he climbs five days a week. "It is difficult to measure the difficulty - you start from the fourth category and go up to 9B and you have to have a lot of experience and start climbing gradually in the different categories," he stressed.
He has fallen badly a few times - one time from 8 metres. However, he is adamant that climbing is a profession and a hobby for him. Andrada is in the country to take part in this year's edition of "Challenge Days".
"This festival is for people who live actively. People who are lawyers and computer specialists, for example, but do extreme sports in their free time. For the seventh year now, each of them is showing what they have achieved in the past year," said organiser Gavril Dimitrov. According to him, it's not fashion, but passion.
La Obsesión - short film about Danny Andrada
The highlight films of the festival 2011
Expedition Radoina 2011
The documentary "Dreams of Stone - Underground Curse" reflects the trials and tribulations that the participants of the 2011 Radoina expedition went through.
