Banff at Nat Geo: Ski, dive, climb, don't walk
A group of us from work went last night to National Geographic to see a night of top films from the Banff Mountain Film Festival. Amazing stuff.
Each of the Banff films, short and short-ish, took a high-definition leap into adventure sports and activities. You had extreme skiers, remote kayakers, scuba-diving Arctic researchers, ice climbers, river journalists, trail bikers, desert climbers, and avalanche rescuers. Not bad for only one night of the five nights the festival selection was in town, right?
Above is the trailer from my favorite of last night's films. We saw the 10-minute short-cut of the 90-minute film, which won for Best Feature-Length Mountain Film. The judges apparently said it was the best film about skiing they'd ever seen. After just 10 minutes, I believed them. Watch a trailer above. Blow the video up to full-screen. Be impressed.
Other favorite moments from last night: hearing climbers talk about ice climbing as "a medium," avalanche rescuers creating a comedy (even people in ultra-serious jobs need to laugh sometimes), the pioneer-like team skills of the Arctic scuba group, and the vast range of storytelling techniques at work. Seeing the methods would burst you from any rut.
If you don't have tickets at Nat Geo this year, you should go next year. The festival has been touring to D.C. longer than any other city. If you don't live in Washington, check the tour schedule. After the festival and award selection, the films head to all seven continents. After going last year and this week, I can recommend going without any reservations.
February 6th, 2012 at 11:04 PM
I'm thinking of biking near the Columbia Icefields this summer and having fun around there. Care to join?
February 11th, 2012 at 7:07 AM
Sounds fun! But I don't think I'm quite there yet. One of my 2012 goals ("goals") is to learn how to ride a bike again. I intend to do so on surfaces not made of ice.