Banff Tour Magazine - WINTER SERIES

TOUR MAGAZINE
PRESENTED BY:
THE WORLD’S BEST MOUNTAIN FILMS | EDITION 12

HIKE HAPPY
RIDGE FLEX / BUILT TO FLEX EASIER
KEENFOOTWEAR.COM

CONTENTS
WELCOME 9
GREEN FILMS 12
YELLOW FILMS 14
BEST OF BANFF #1 FILMS 16
BEST OF BANFF #2 FILMS 18
THE GHOSTS ABOVE 22
RUNNING THE ROOF 26
PHOTO © Jacob Cook
PRESENTED BY
K2: THE IMPOSSIBLE
DESCENT 29
RETURN TO EL GUAYAS 32
BEST OF BANFF #1 34
BEST OF BANFF #2 36
OCEAN TO ASGARD 39
PRINCIPAL PARTNERS
FKT 40
THE CHAIRLIFT 42
ASSOCIATE PARTNERS
FOLLOW
US ON:
® UKBanffFilmFest
#Banff2021
COVER PHOTO © Christian Pondella
WHERE ARE THEY NOW? 44
WWW.BANFF-UK.COM

Nimsdai Purja
/ Everest / April 2021
The outdoors is a sanctuary, a playground,
a place of wonder, it can be a place of solace
for quiet reflection or an adrenaline-packed
adventure. It fuels the wanderlust in all of us,
whoever you are and wherever you are,
The Outdoors Beckons – Discover It!
The Outdoors Beckons
Discover It
Dispatches from the field / 2021
Directly from the field, our ambassadors share
their experiences of the people and places
which inspire them – to view these stories
scan the QR code.
Where will your
adventure take you?
Sofia Jin & Aslan Steel
/ Oban Scotland
/ May 2021
Aldo Kane
/ South West UK / April 2021

WELCOME!
Get set for a night of nail-biting adventure! Thank you so much
for joining us for the Winter Series of virtual Banff events – we’re
delighted to be back in living rooms across the UK and Ireland
with four different virtual Banff shows to choose from this winter!
Film programmes in the Winter Series are the 2021 Banff
Mountain Film Festival Yellow and Green Film Programmes,
featuring two collections of the latest Banff films. Highlights
include an investigative expedition up Everest in The Ghosts
Above, to captivating journeys through lesser-known parts of the
world, such as trail running though Tajikistan in Running the Roof,
and more. The Yellow and Green Film Programmes were shown in
some theatres in autumn 2021, and we’re delighted to offer them
virtually for anyone that the tour didn’t reach.
We’re also thrilled to introduce two Best of Banff film
programmes, with audience favourites and Banff classics from the
last decade of the Banff tour. Starring Banff legends such as Alex
Honnold, Hazel Findlay and Simone Moro, witness outrageous
adventure, stunning cinematography and Banff nostalgia in these
epic adventure throwbacks!
The outdoors is for everyone and it’s what we make it.
But it’s not just about where we go or what we do.
What makes an adventure great is finding the right
kit and the right fit. We’ll help you find kit made for
adventure, not for landfill and help you care for it,
so together we can reduce our impact and protect
the places we love.
The Banff Tour and virtual events are made possible thanks to
our brilliant partners, who are once again providing fantastic
prizes for our live virtual prize draws – don’t forget to enter in the
virtual foyer to be in with a chance of winning.
The Winter Series also includes the 2021 Ocean Film Festival (7-
10 January and 28-31 January), with a collection of the latest films
about seafaring adventure and mind-blowing marine life. And
for inspirational film evenings on-demand, check out the Encore
Channel for a choice of film programmes from the Banff, Ocean
and Top Dog Film Festivals.
Szabi & Magda, in-store experts, London
#maketherightchoice
Thank you again for joining us and we hope to see you in
person at a Banff event soon. We are enormously grateful for all
the positive feedback about our virtual shows, and the feeling is
mutual: staying connected with such an inspirational community
of adventure lovers has been a huge boost. Thank you for your
continued support of the Banff Mountain Film Festival during
uncertain times, and happy adventuring.
The Banff Film Festival Team
9
PHOTO © Alex Mundt

L I V E M O R E
OUTDOOR MOMENTS
BUFF ® is a registered trademark property of Original Buff, S.A. (Spain)

GREEN FILM PROGRAMME
MY LAST DAY OF SUMMER
It’s the last day of summer and 13-year-old Julia is at the
local bike shop hoping that her bike can be fixed. While
checking out the flashy displays of new bikes and shiny
components, a comic book catches her eye and she finds
herself on a ride like no other. A dynamic and fresh vision
of riding and the freedom it brings to an amazing young
rider, My Last Day of Summer won the award for Creative
Excellence at the Banff Festival.
Filmmakers: Kristina Wayte & Luke Humphrey, 9 minutes
THE GHOSTS ABOVE
It’s one of the greatest mysteries in exploration: did George
Mallory reach the summit of Everest? National Geographic
photographer Renan Ozturk joins an expedition on a quest
to find out. Turning stereotypes on end, The Ghosts Above
also reflects on commercialisation of this sacred peak, the
relationship between Sherpas and expeditioners, and the
rigors of climbing in the death zone.
Filmmakers: Renan Ozturk, Taylor Rees & Jay Macmillan,
36 minutes
THE LONG TODAY
Not many people celebrate turning 70 with a remote river
trip, but after some ‘gentle’ persuading from his sons,
Jamie Thompson and his family embark on an expedition
deep into the Canadian wilderness. Navigating a notorious
river in an antique, hand-built wooden canoe, the
Thompsons tackle technical rapids and extreme portages
through dense forest – and the journey reminds them of
the importance of living in the moment, and of the bonds
formed in the great outdoors
NATURAL MYSTIC
Filmmaker: Niobe Thompson, 17 minutes
Jump aboard for three minutes of thundering skiing with
Sam Favret through the Aiguilles Rouges of Chamonix. With
no gimmicks, tricks or music, the sound of the elements
immerse you into the tracks of this legendary local
Chamonix rider. Big mountain skiing at its finest.
Filmmakers: Maxime Moulin & Sam Favret, 3 minutes
THE CHAIRLIFT
The humble chairlift is often over-looked, but it could be
the single greatest invention in the history of modern
skiing. A celebration of the under-appreciated device
that brings skiers together, The Chairlift shares stories of
connections forged while passing the time back to the top
of the slopes. An ode to the creation that enabled a sport
and acts as a central pillar of ski culture.
Filmmakers: Mike Douglas & Mike Gamble, 12 minutes
OCEAN TO ASGARD
Four friends (three Canadians and a rogue Brit) travel
to Baffin Island in the Arctic Circle on a human-powered
adventure, featuring big wall first ascents, white-water
paddle descents and a surprising number of Arctic
flamingos. The 40-day expedition sees the team pioneer
a new climb on the legendary Mount Asgard, capsize
packrafts in glacial waters and more, in a true grassroots
expedition.
Filmmaker: Heather Mosher, 34 minutes
12
UK & IRELAND BANFF MOUNTAIN FILM FESTIVAL TOUR
13

YELLOW FILM PROGRAMME
FKT
At 1,788 metres, Mount Brunswick is the highest peak of
the North Shore Mountains in British Columbia – a rugged,
spectacular climb that takes regular hikers seven to eight
hours complete. Enter trail runner Jeanelle Hazlett, who’s
attempting to set a Fastest Known Time (FKT) record on
the mountain. This is not only an almighty challenge, but
on the knife-edge ridge, one wrong step could mean
serious injury or death.
Filmmaker: Brice Ferré, 11 minutes
CHARGE 2
Team Charge are back – and more charged than ever! Five
top freeskiers and one world champion drone pilot have a
week in British Columbia with the instructions: charge as
hard as you can every day. With unique angles, high flying
trickery and impressive jumps between tight treelines,
Charge 2 ups the level of difficulty on the original film…
high energy and epic powder guaranteed.
Filmmakers: Anthony Bonello, Mike Douglas, Mike
Gamble, 4 minutes
RETURN TO EL GUAYAS
Ben Stookesberry, Rafa Ortiz and Lane Jacobs attempt
the first descent of one of Colombia’s wildest rivers: El Rio
Guayas. Paddling into the unknown, the team face rumours
of armed groups in an unstable security situation, and
raging rapids from torrential rain. Navigating by satellite
imagery, this is an expedition deep into the South American
jungle, with roadless beauty, powerful white-water and
extreme adventure.
Filmmaker: Ben Stookesberry, 32 minutes
RUNNING THE ROOF
Bonded by a love of running, three friends from the UK
and Canada are desperate to ditch their desks and go on
an adventure. One night, after a few too many drinks, they
place a bet. They spin a globe and wherever their finger
lands, they will run. Tajikistan. This is not a story about
finish lines or medals, but about what happens when you
trust in nothing but your own two feet to carry you across
one of the last truly wild landscapes on earth.
Filmmakers: Alexis Tymon & Ben Crocker, 45 minutes
K2: THE IMPOSSIBLE DESCENT
K2, the Savage Mountain, holds a mythical place in the
hearts of climbers – one in four do not return from it. On
22 July 2018, Polish ski-mountaineer Andrzej Bargiel
makes ‘the impossible descent’ from its summit. He does
it solo, and without supplemental oxygen. Join Andrzej
across knife-edge ridges, above 1,000m cliffs and down
75-degree slopes in a nail-biting accomplishment of one of
mountaineering’s most coveted firsts.
Filmmakers: Slawomir Batyra, Michal Zamencki, Sławomir
Richert & Tom Fish, 23 minutes
1416
UK & IRELAND BANFF MOUNTAIN FILM FESTIVAL TOUR
15

BEST OF BANFF #1 FILMS
SHOWDOWN AT HORSESHOE HELL
24 Hours of Horseshoe Hell is the wildest event in the
climbing world. Picture an ultramarathon crossed with
a rave, where elite climbers and wannabes alike go for
broke in a sunrise-to-sunrise mash-up of lactic acid and
beer. But all fun aside, the competition is real. Can the
team of Nik Berry and Mason Earle stand up against the
all-powerful Alex Honnold?
20 minutes
DOING IT SCARED
Eighteen years after an accident left him partially
paralysed, climber Paul Pritchard returns to the Totem Pole
in Tasmania to find out if he has recovered enough to finish
the climb. Doing it Scared documents Paul’s continuing
recovery and his never-waning desire for adventure. It’s
a film about determination and acceptance, patience and
humility, grace, and ultimately, freedom. A reminder that
disabled never means unable.
9 minutes
EDGES
Yvonne Dowlen has been ice skating for as long as she
can remember – and she insists that, at 90, it’s easier to
skate than it is to walk! Skating helped her recover from
the most challenging times of her life, and the message
here is simple: keep doing what you love. Edges is a
celebration of a life lived well.
9 minutes
ECLIPSE
It was a ridiculous idea from the start. Photographer
Reuben Krabbe’s grand vision is to capture an image of
a skier against a total solar eclipse in the high arctic. The
weather is bad, the pressure is on – and to add to the
difficulties, the guide is sketchy, the polar bears are out,
and the skiers just want to ski…
31 minutes
NORTH OF THE SUN
Tucked between the cold Atlantic Ocean and the rocky
slopes of a remote, arctic island, two young Norwegian
adventurers discover their own private playground. They
build a cabin out of flotsam while clearing the beach of
debris, then spend the long winter skiing and surfing in
the haunting low light. This captivating film won both the
Banff Grand Prize and People's Choice Award.
46 minutes
IMAGINATION
Imagination taps into the beauty of a child’s daydreams.
Sitting in the back of his parents’ car, he imagines being
a skier doing all sorts of crazy tricks down the snow-filled
urban landscape drifting past the car, when suddenly, his
imagination comes to life! A beautiful, heart-warming and
nostalgic film with some mind-blowing skiing, made in
memory of Canadian freeskier JP Auclair.
5 minutes
16 16
UK & IRELAND BANFF MOUNTAIN FILM FESTIVAL TOUR
17

BEST OF BANFF #2 FILMS
SPICE GIRL
The first woman to climb grade E9, British climber Hazel
Findlay is a connoisseur of loose rock, dodgy gear and
big runouts. At just 5’2” and with a philosophy degree
from the University of Bristol, she’s busting stereotypes
of the UK trad climbing scene being dominated by
machismo men… and heading to Morocco to tackle a
2,800ft big wall called Babel.
24 minutes
WILDWATER
When ordinary people share a singular passion, the
extraordinary emerges. WildWater is a journey into the
mind and soul of white-water river runners, and the
wild places their obsession takes them, which are often
places of discovery, solitude and risk. Visually stunning
and an expedition into new ideas, WildWater is a classic
adventure film that captures the soul of adventure sports.
24 minutes
METRONOMIC
High above the dramatic Gorges du Verdon, a group
of daredevils known as the Flying Frenchies recruit
musicians and aerial dancers to perform a symphony
devoted to risk. The artists are perhaps not accustomed
to such hair-raising exposure, but dive into the most
extreme situations that the Frenchies can dream up...
and the result is a high-adrenaline treat for the senses.
6 minutes
COLD
Simone Moro, Denis Urubko and Cory Richards attempt
to become the first people to make a winter ascent of
Gasherbrum II, one of Pakistan’s 8,000m peaks. Cold
is a frank and personal portrayal of the risks of highaltitude
mountaineering, with chilling first-hand footage
of the harrowing descent that amplifies their isolation and
exposure to extreme cold… and then avalanche strikes.
19 minutes
ON THE TRAIL OF GENGHIS KHAN:
THE LAST FRONTIER
Australian adventurer Tim Cope, his dog Tigon and a band
of horses take on a 10,000km journey from Mongolia to
Hungary, following in the footsteps of legendary warrior
and nomad Genghis Khan. Having travelled through
remote communities on the cusp of modernity yet proud
of nomadic traditions, The Last Frontier captures the
culmination of Tim’s stunning three-year journey: the
crossing of the Carpathian Mountains.
45 minutes
ALL I CAN
A special Banff edit of a legendary ski film that combines
thought-provoking issues with mind-blowing snow sports
action. Highlights include stunning timelapse sequences,
deep powder and an incredible urban downhill skiing
scene, plus world-class skiers delivering inspirational
performances to a cracking soundtrack.
7 minutes
1816
UK & IRELAND BANFF MOUNTAIN FILM FESTIVAL TOUR
19

MEET THE CHALLENGES OF ICE AND SNOW
At last, the first freeze. The landscape changed. Obscured. But the restless see new
routes revealed. The possibilities of winter, fresh footprints, and untouched lines.
Demanding, fickle and often fleeting, nothing offers challenge like the winter season.
We’ve designed our range to help you thrive in this hostility, to embrace
the opportunities of winter head on.
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FEATURE - THE GHOSTS ABOVE | GREEN FILMS
THE GHOSTS
ABOVE
It’s the greatest mystery in mountaineering. On 8 June 1924,
renowned climber George Mallory and his young apprentice
Sandy Irvine were spotted as tiny specks ascending Everest’s
Northeast Ridge, just a few hundred metres from the summit.
The mist closed in and they were never seen alive again, with
Mallory’s frozen body finally discovered on the north face of
the peak in 1999. Did one or both of the pair reach the summit
before they died? If they had, it would rewrite the history of the
Roof of the World – and the film The Ghosts Above is about an
expedition to try and find out.
“A lot of folks in our team had conflicting feelings about the
mountain. But at the end of it all, I think those feelings changed
and we experienced a lot,” says Renan Ozturk, one of the film’s
directors who joined the expedition up Everest.
The team were hoping to find the body of Sandy Irvine, who
might have been carrying a camera that could hold the key
to the mystery. They were aiming for ‘Holzel’s spot’ – GPS
coordinates pinpointed by American Everest historian Tom
Holzel, who believed that he had found the location of Irvine’s
remains by using high-resolution photography. But filmed in
2019, described as the ‘year that Everest broke,’ with bottleneck
queues of climbers on the Hillary Step and 11 deaths, The Ghosts
Above is about more than the search for Sandy Irvine. There are
reflections on the history of Everest expeditions, the fraught
relationship between indigenous guides and expeditioners, the
rigors of high-alpine mountaineering and the commercialisation
of this sacred mountain.
“The 1920s British expeditions were inventing not only highaltitude
climbing as we know it, but also the art of sharing these
high-mountain cultures with the world,” says Renan. “Their
efforts to conquer Everest were also the beginning of a complex
cultural relationship with the Himalayan people.
“And after 20 years of telling Himalayan stories and thinking
that I knew what this mountain was all about, this was the climb
that changed everything,” he adds.
"
The 1920s British
expeditions were
inventing not only highaltitude
climbing as we
know it, but also the art
of sharing these highmountain
cultures with
the world
"
Who were Mallory and Irvine?
An expedition to solve one of the
greatest mysteries in exploration –
and a brutally honest investigation
into the controversies surrounding
world’s highest peak
Born in 1886, George Mallory was the only climber to take part in all three
of the British expeditions to Everest in the 1920s. He was a schoolmaster
by profession, and had also served as a gunner during World War I. He was
reportedly unsure whether to join the final expedition to Everest as he had
settled in Cambridge with his wife, Ruth, and their three young children.
Andrew ‘Sandy’ Irvine was the youngest member of the 1924 Everest team,
aged just 22. He was a gifted rower, but had limited climbing experience,
having scaled modest peaks in Wales, the Alps and Spitsbergen in the Arctic
Circle. A talented engineer and tinkerer, he had earnt the nickname ‘Superman’
from his teammates by redesigning their new-fangled oxygen gear, to
make it lighter and less prone to breaking.
22 UK & IRELAND BANFF MOUNTAIN FILM FESTIVAL TOUR
23 21

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FEATURE - RUNNING THE ROOF | YELLOW FILMS
RUNNING
THE ROOF
An extreme
running
expedition across
the ‘roof of the
world’
People make drunken bets all the time,
but once the pint glasses are drained
and the hangover sets in, these wagers can
become a foggy memory. There are few who
would follow through on a bet that involves
spinning a globe and travelling thousands of
kilometres to wherever their finger lands –
particularly when that destination ends up
being Tajikistan, a part of the world that is
unfamiliar to many. Even fewer would commit
to running ultramarathon distances in remote,
high altitude terrain, with extreme temperature
swings – but Jody Bragger (JB) and his friends
Gabriel (Gabe) Ghiglione and Jodie Gauld
are not like most people. Running the Roof
chronicles just what amazing adventures can
occur when people turn their drunken ideas
into reality.
Though the bet was initially made between
JB and Gabe, the pair quickly realised they
couldn’t do it alone. “We needed a tribe to
bring this dream to life,” says Gabe. “So we
reached out to our friends that live for the ‘outthere’
ideas: Jodie, our badass ultra runner
friend from London and, of course, Ben and
Alexis – a pair of mega-talented filmmakers
who have the ability to make just about every
situation more fun. Together, we became this
crazy little team who weren't going to be
stopped.”
“Because this bar bet was so ridiculous, I
felt like it needed more attention,” says JB.
“It kind of encapsulated my mantra: if it’s not
epic, it’s not worth doing.” All of the group
agree that without JB, the trip wouldn’t have
happened. In the weeks following their bet, he
obsessively pored over maps of Tajikistan and
ultimately plotted their border-to-border route,
which followed the Bartang River through the
stunning Pamir mountain range, ending at Lake
Karakul. This challenge was not for the faint of
heart – it covered roughly 400km in just seven
days, with elevation gains of nearly 4,500m.
Though JB and Jodie were seasoned longdistance
runners, Gabe only had a handful of
short distance races and one marathon under
his belt prior to this expedition.
Going into the trip Jodie knew very little
about their destination. “Like the others, I want
to see the world and, embarrassingly, I hadn't
even heard of Tajikistan, so what better way
is there to educate myself than exploring this
place on two feet with friends?” Once there she
was “warmed by locals who were always very
friendly, interested in what we were doing and
clearly so proud and passionate about their
country.” She reminisces, “I was also surprised
at how delicious their homemade breads and
jam were – I could have that every day for the
rest of my life and be happy.”
"
If it's not epic,
it's not worth
doing
"
26 UK & IRELAND BANFF MOUNTAIN FILM FESTIVAL TOUR
27

FEATURE - K2: THE IMPOSSIBLE DESCENT | YELLOW FILMS
K2:
EMBARK ON AN
ALPINE ODYSSEY
THE WAY YOU
WANT IT.
Explore British Columbia, Canada with the
ultimate escape of guided heli-access hikes,
family-friendly adventures, glacier treks,
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Whether you’re an easy-going explorer or
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THE IMPOSSIBLE
DESCENT
Achieving the unthinkable on the Savage Mountain
Start planning your adventure
and visit cmhsummer.com/bmff
or phone +44 (0)20 7736 8191.
or many climbers, getting to the peak
“Fof K2 would be their goal. But for me, it
was where the real challenge began,” says Polish
ski mountaineer Andrzej Bargiel. “The moment I
clicked into my skis, I realised that the worst part
was ahead.”
At 8,611m, the world’s second highest peak is
justifiably known as the Savage Mountain: while
Everest is higher, K2 is far more dangerous. One
in four climbers do not return from an attempt on
the summit, and at the time of Andrzej’s expedition,
only 367 had ever made it to the top (for Everest,
the number is over 10,000). And Andrzej’s goal
was more extreme than summiting: he planned
to not only climb the treacherous peak without
any supplementary oxygen, but to ski down from
the summit – a feat that would redefine modern
mountaineering. So what’s the story behind this
extraordinary mountaineer?
Born in 1988, Andrzej grew up in the Polish village
of Łętownia, helping out on his parents’ farm with
his 10 brothers and sisters (his siblings and his
parents had all signed their initials on the skis he
used on K2). Andrzej’s older brother Grzegorz was
a keen mountaineer and took the eager Andrzej
with him on skiing and climbing trips – and it
wasn’t long before Andrzej was taking his passion
to the next level. He went on to become a threetime
Polish ski mountaineering champion and
holds numerous records and firsts from the world’s
highest peaks, although his achievement on K2 will
surely be his most stunning.
“This movie is my personal journey and my dream
that came true,” Andrzej says. >>
29

Find the
adventure
you’re
seeking
BANFF AND LAKE LOUISE CANADA: THE HOME OF THE FESTIVAL
"
Technology played a part in the expedition’s
success: Andrzej and his team used drones to
assess terrain to see if it was ski-able, and to
monitor Andrzej’s progress. “There have been
expeditions that have used drones before. But
nobody has succeeded in getting a drone above
an 8,000er,” says Andrzej’s younger brother
Bartek, who was drone operator on the trip. “I
changed the drone's software to remove the height
restrictions and increased its speed. You want to
use everything in your advantage to achieve your
goal.”
The moment I clicked into
my skis, I realised that the
worst part was ahead
After 67 hours on the mountain above base
camp, including more than 20 in the death zone
above 8,000m, Andrzej achieved a goal that many
30
"
thought impossible – the first solo ski descent of
K2, entering mountaineering history books and
pushing the boundaries of human potential. What
does he think of his astonishing achievement?
“My mum gave birth to 11 children,” laughs
Andrzej. “That challenge can't be compared to
skiing down K2!”
DRONES TO THE RESCUE
As well as helping Andrzej succeed with his challenge,
the team used their drone to locate and help rescue
Scottish climber Rick Allen, who had become lost and
injured on K2’s perilous slopes. They were also able
to send a drone carrying a small package of medical
supplies to their own team member Janusz Gołąb,
who got stuck at a high camp with significant back
pain.
UK & IRELAND BANFF MOUNTAIN FILM FESTIVAL TOUR
BANFFLAKELOUISE.COM

FEATURE - RETURN TO EL GUAYAS | YELLOW FILMS
RETURN
TO EL
GUAYAS
10%
10%
10%
10% OFF OFF
10% OFF
YOUR 2021
ADVENTURE
OFF
OFF
OFF
YOUR YOUR 2021
2021
ADVENTURE
ADVENTURE
YOUR 2021
ADVENTURE
Three kayakers attempt a first descent of one of Colombia’s
wildest rivers – El Guayas
o one can give us a straight answer on
“Nthe security situation – we’ve had a 50/50
response about it being safe and dangerous. And
that’s the deal breaker for me – I need better odds
than 50/50."
film-maker Ben Stookesberry. “Huge amounts of
natural habitat is disturbed, not to mention tracks
of forest and other previously undisturbed land that
is trammelled by transmissions lines. These dams in
remote places are especially detrimental because
their construction most often is intended to power
WORLDWIDE
TREKKING,
CYCLING & ,
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WORLDWIDE
Colombia should be a white-water kayaker’s
mining activities in mineral-rich mountainous terrain.
paradise. With the Andes funnelling rainfall in three
directions – west into the Pacific, north into the “I want to show the world the value of the
Caribbean and east into the Amazon – the country environment of these rivers, in order to preserve
WORLDWIDE
TREKKING,
has an abundance of spectacular rivers, packed them for the generation of the future,” he continues.
with rapids and canyons. But as well as remote,
CYCLING & ,
& ,
TREKKING,
After attempting a first descent of El Guayas in
technical paddling, there are other challenges for
2017, abandoned because of extreme rainfall, Ben
MOUNTAINEERING
explorers. Until recently the majority of Colombia
CYCLING & TR
is back with teammates Rafa Ortiz and Lane Jacobs
was unsafe because of armed rebels, paramilitaries
to tackle this daunting but beautiful river once again.
MOUNTAINEERING
CY
and government fighters. With that threat easing, it’s
With the rain pouring down and miles from the
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been replaced by a new one: hydroelectric dams.
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MOUNTAINEERING
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WO
MOU

BEST OF BANFF #1
WHERE
ARE
THEY
NOW?
BEST OF BANFF #1
Alex Honnold | Showdown at Horseshoe Hell
Alex Honnold was already a climbing legend
when he starred in the Banff film Showdown
at Horseshoe Hell in 2016, and he’s cemented
that status even more firmly since. Alex’s nondwindling
list of achievements includes setting
the speed record up The Nose on El Capitan (one
hour 58 minutes) with climbing partner Tommy
Caldwell in 2018, and the first free solo ascent
of El Capitan via the Freerider route in 2017. The
film of that achievement, Free Solo, plunged him
into the spotlight when it won an Oscar for best
documentary – and our loveable hero collected
his prize in a tuxedo designed by The North Face.
Class.
Away from the walls, Alex and his partner Sanni
got married during lockdown, and the couple are
expecting a baby in February 2022. And it’s not all
about the younger generation. Alex’s mum Diedre
took up climbing at the age of 60 to better relate
to her son, and it’s going quite well: now 70, she’s
34
just become the oldest woman to climb El Capitan,
celebrating with champagne and cupcakes at the
top. What a family.
UK & IRELAND BANFF MOUNTAIN FILM FESTIVAL TOUR
Inge Wegge | North Of The Sun
Nine months on a remote arctic island seemed
to suit Norwegian adventurer Inge Wegge
– after the 2013 Banff Grand Prize-winning film
North of the Sun, he spent two months on Bear
Island (between mainland Norway and Svalbard),
with his two brothers, a surfboard, a snowboard,
a paraglider and food liberated from supermarket
wheelie bins back home in Norway.
After becoming a father, Inge began to look for
marginally less-remote adventures, and the result
was Playground Lofoten, a four-part TV series
that featured adventures such as skiing with the
northern lights dancing overhead, and paragliding
and highlining with his brothers and sister above
Lofoten. Inge is now a full-time filmmaker, and is
currently working on a documentary about a beluga
whale called Hvaldimir that came to Norway two
years ago.
Paul Pritchard | Doing it Scared
S
ince the 2017 Banff film Doing
it Scared, Paul Pritchard
has continued to adventure and
climb, notably putting up his first
first ascent in 21 years, close to
his home in Hobart, Tasmania.
The two-time Boardman Tasker
mountain literature prize winner
has also continued to write, and
Paul’s new book The Mountain Path
has just been published. Described
as an exploration of a healing
brain, a journey into philosophy
and psychology, a test of will and
a triumph of hope, it’s available
from Vertebrate Publishing: www.vpublishing.co.uk.
35

BEST OF BANFF #2
Hazel Findlay | Spice Girl
Since her appearance in Spice Girl in 2014,
British climber Hazel Findlay has continued
to notch up impressive trad, sport and big wall
climbs, as well as continuing her interest in the
mental process of climbing. She has free climbed
El Capitan four times on four different routes, and
also made the third ever ascent (and first female)
of the 5.14c route Magic Line in Yosemite Valley.
Writing about this 2019 achievement in her blog
(www.hazel-findlay.com), Hazel says that the real
challenge was finding the limits of what she was
capable of, while managing to enjoy the journey.
"I watched other climbers around me collect
multiple-year projects. Problem was, none of
them seemed happy. You’d see them dragging
their heels on the way to the crag, skin sallow
from dieting and an intolerance for conversing
about anything other than ‘the proj’. This wasn’t
a reason to go climbing in my mind, this was an
advertisement to start a new hobby.”
Away from Yosemite, Hazel went to Mongolia
to search out unclimbed lines with long-term
climbing partner Maddy Cope, as documented in
their joy-filled 2020 film First Ascent / Last Ascent.
Based in North Wales, Hazel is also a climbing
coach, specialising in helping people overcome
their fears and limitations, and she runs The
Curious Climber podcast with fellow elite climber
Mina Leslie-Wujastyk.
Tim Cope | On the Trail of Genghis Khan
Since his ground-breaking journey
featured in On the Trail of Genghis
Khan, Tim Cope has continued to spend
time in Mongolia, leading remote trekking
and cultural tours in the country. The rest of
the time he’s based in Melbourne, where he
regularly works in schools, exploring topics
such as courage, curiosity and taking risks
using the Nomads’ unique approach to life
as a basis.
After 14 years of waking up together,
Tim’s beloved dog Tigon died in August
2018, and Tim said that he’d lost his friend,
companion and brother. But Tigon’s memory
lives on in Tim’s most recent book, Tim and
Tigon, telling the story of their unique fouryear
journey aimed at younger readers and
explorers (10-14 years).
Flying Frenchies | Metronomic
Our favourite group of
acrobats, wingsuit
flyers, artists and performers
are still making us smile with
their ridiculous and terrifying
antics. Since Metronomic
on the 2017 Banff tour, the
Flying Frenchies have been
wingsuit flying through
caves; slacklining between
paragliders and surfing along
a 1km long zip line, 600m
above the ground (as shown
in the 2018 Banff film Surf the
Line). We can’t wait to see
what they get up to next!
BEST OF BANFF #2
36 UK & IRELAND BANFF MOUNTAIN FILM FESTIVAL TOUR
37

BANFF ON DEMAND
FEATURE - OCEAN TO ASGARD | GREEN FILMS
ENCORE
CHANNEL
OCEAN TO
ASGARD
38
Inspirational Banff films – now available on-demand
What do the Banff Mountain Film Festival
team do when they can no longer
celebrate the spirit of adventure with audiences
around the country? Celebrate the spirit of
adventure with audiences around the country
(albeit in a slightly different way!).
The covid lockdowns may have ground the
Banff Mountain Film Festival van wheels to a
halt, but they didn’t stop our passion for sharing
inspirational films with our adventure-loving
audiences. With broadcasting locations ranging
from the glorious French Alps to our equally
glorious Backyard Theatre in Northamptonshire,
we went on to create Encore Channel – a virtual
platform where you can watch all of our film
festivals on demand.
Encore Channel features the 2020 Red and
Blue Film Programmes, plus a host of bonus
Banff film programmes only available virtually.
You can also catch our sister events the Ocean
Film Festival and the Top Dog Film Festival
- which celebrates the unbreakable bond
between dogs and humans. All this, available to
watch in your own time, from your own sofa.
The virtual events were a fantastic way to stay
connected with audiences throughout lockdown,
and we’re delighted to now offer shows all year
round.
If you want to catch up with a film programme
you missed, or to try one of our other
inspirational film festivals, see www.banff-uk.
com/virtual.
UK & IRELAND BANFF MOUNTAIN FILM FESTIVAL TOUR
t's a big, scary place on Baffin Island,” says
“Ipro climber Jacob Cook. “Everything is on
a huge scale.”
Off the northeastern tip of Canada, next stop
Greenland, Baffin Island is the world’s fifth
largest island, with a population of just over
13,000. With sheer cliff faces, steep fjords, 24-
hour daylight in summer and the chance to see
the Northern Lights in winter, it’s been described
as an Arctic playground for the adventurous –
and this expedition was certainly adventurous.
“Coming on this trip with our friend Thor, the
obvious goal was to climb Mount Thor with
Thor,” Jacob continues.
Jacob, his wife and fellow pro-climber
Bronwyn, plus two childhood friends Zack and
Thor, spent 40 days in Baffin Island’s immense
wilderness, on a human-powered trip to make
big-wall first ascents, travelling by inflatable
packraft. As well as hardcore climbing, the
journey captures the spirit of friendship, fun and
An extreme humanpowered
expedition
on the world’s fifth
largest island
adventure… and there are a surprising number
of wild Arctic flamingos.
“We knew we wouldn't have the highest
production value, but the main thing that I
wanted to present with this film was the human
relationships, and the feeling of being out there,
moving through a giant landscape like that in
our small team,” Jacob says.
BAFFIN ISLAND
the stats
Size: 507,451km²
Population: 13,148
People: Baffin Island Inuit (also known as
Nunatsiarmiut), who have inhabited Baffin Island
for thousands of years
Wildlife: includes polar bears, caribou, Arctic foxes
and lemmings
Mount Thor: has the greatest purely vertical drop
of any mountain on earth (1,250m)
39

FEATURE - FKT | YELLOW FILMS
FKT
An attempt at the Fastest
Known Time up spectacular
Mount Brunswick in British
Columbia, Canada
KTs have always fascinated me because
“Fthey force you to challenge yourself.
You don't have someone to chase, you don't
have someone chasing you, it's you against the
clock,” says athlete Jeanelle Hazlett.
Jeanelle is attempting a female Fastest Known
Time on Mount Brunswick, the highest peak in
the North Shore Mountains in British Columbia.
The route is a 7km trail each way, culminating
in a daunting knife-edge ridge, where one slip
could result in serious injury or death. Regular
hikers take seven to eight hours to complete to
trip: Jeanelle is aiming for under 2.5 hours.
40
“At times I was on all fours, so it took a lot of
calculated risks, but that's what this is all about,”
she says.
The concept of FKTs has been around for
years, but recording official times has taken off
in the last decade. And during the pandemic,
when races were cancelled, runners took to
racing the clock on routes all over the world:
the website www.fastestknowntime.com saw a
400% increase in the number of FKTs submitted
in 2020. FKT routes are trails that already exist,
ranging from routes up and down mountains, to
longer trails such as the Pennine Way in the UK
– but they have to be at least five miles long, or
involve at least 500ft of climbing.
“It's a mountain athlete's sport where you
confront a mountain and it's quite intense and
real out there,” finishes Jeanelle. “You're leaving
everything on the mountain and taking many
risks.”
UK & IRELAND BANFF MOUNTAIN FILM FESTIVAL TOUR

THE CHAIRLIFT | GREEN FILMS
An ode to...
THE
CHAIRLIFT
Mike Douglas’s new
film The Chairlift
celebrates the
invention that has
revolutionised modern
skiing, and cherishes
the friendships formed,
routes scouted and
memories made on
the humble lift. To
take it even further,
we’ve rounded up
some top facts about
this often-overlooked
contraption…
W
e are delighted to support the Banff Mountain
Film Festival 2021. If you’d like to know more
about how our investment professionals could track
down Profits for you, please contact your financial
adviser, call 0800 092 2051 or visit artemisfunds.com.
WORLD’S HIGHEST CHAIRLIFT: The world’s highest gondola is at Jade Dragon Snow Mountain
resort in the Yunnan province of China, reaching a dizzying altitude of 4,506m – but we’re not here to
talk about gondolas. The world’s highest chairlift proper is the majestically named Imperial Express in
Breckenridge, Colorado, unloading at 3,914m. Drink in the thin air. Both of these pale in comparison
to the world’s former highest ski resort, the 5,421m-high Chacaltaya resort in Bolivia, but this has now
been abandoned as climate change caused its glacier to disappear.
WORLD’S FIRST CHAIRLIFT: The first ever chairlifts opened in December 1936 at Sun Valley Resort
in Idaho in the USA. They were built by Union Pacific Railroad based on a design by their lead bridge
engineer, in the hope that a resort-style ski area would encourage rail travel. The first two chairlifts
have been replaced, but the world’s third ever chairlift has been preserved, and still stands among
the mansions and holes of the Sun Valley Golf Course.
WORLD’S LONGEST CHAIRLIFT: Wrap up warm and get out the thermos: the world’s longest chairlift
takes you on a 3.4km journey between the Sugarbush resort’s two ski areas – Lincoln Peak and
Mount Ellen – in Vermont. Closer to home, the longest chairlifts in Europe are both in France and each
2.8km in length: the Coulouvrier chairlift in the Grand Massif, and the Pré St Esprit chairlift in Les Arcs,
which even has heated seating to warm the derrière.
DID YOU KNOW? You can get a mix of gondolas and chairlifts all on one cableway, and this indigenous
design is known as a chondola. Found in resorts in Austria, France and Sweden, choose your ride and
travel in style.
42 UK & IRELAND BANFF MOUNTAIN FILM FESTIVAL TOUR
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For your protection calls are usually recorded.

WHERE
ARE
THEY
NOW?
Catch up with adventurers who starred in
recent Banff Mountain Film Festival tours
Kai Lightner | Young Guns
Kai Lightner is a climbing powerhouse. Banff
audiences might remember him from the
tour film Young Guns, where he tackled one of
the largest caves in Europe aged just 16; or 5.14c,
which featured in our lockdown Handpicked
Adventure collection. Kai is now aiming to use his
climbing skills to support and encourage others
in the BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of
Colour) community to explore the sport he loves
by making it more accessible.
“I decided to create a non-profit organisation
called Climbing for Change, which aims to connect
underserved communities with organisations
seeking to provide opportunities and diversify
the outdoors,” says Kai, who was also part of the
Climbing Through Barriers panel discussion at the
2019 Banff Mountain Film and Book Festival.
“After talking with my sponsors and different
organisations about their plan for DEI [Diversity,
Equity and Inclusion] initiatives, I realised that
many of them didn’t know how to facilitate the
long-term changes that society was demanding
from them. One-time donations were not going
to cut it – a sustainable model had to be created
that would establish long-term connections
between corporate businesses, grassroots DEI
organisations, and community leaders seeking
change in their areas.”
Climbing for Change aims to provide funding for
competitions and community groups, support for
climbing gyms to help lower membership rates,
and even money for climbing expeditions. “Idle
time is never good for young people,” adds Kai.
“We wanted to provide alternatives to traditional
sports like basketball and football for BIPOC
communities. We wanted them to know that there
are alternative sports that will get them outside.”
we believe the closer we are to nature
See www.climbing4change.org for more.
the more likely we are to care for it
underwear and tees made from trees
sueme.com • @wearesueme
144 145
Photography: Martin Hartley | Locations & Production: Good Spaces
44
UK & IRELAND BANFF MOUNTAIN FILM FESTIVAL TOUR

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
EMBARK ON AN
ALPINE ODYSSEY
THE WAY YOU
WANT IT.
Explore British Columbia, Canada with the
ultimate escape of guided heli-access hikes,
family-friendly adventures, glacier treks,
zip-lines and sky-high via ferrata climbing.
Whether you’re an easy-going explorer or
a seasoned adventure seeker, we know the
perfect place.
Leo Houlding | Spectre:
Mission Antarctica
Known as the face of modern British adventure,
Leo Houlding has been busy since we saw
him in the gripping Banff film Spectre: Mission
Antarctica. In late 2019 he led an expedition to free
climb a new route on Mount Roraima in Guyana,
trekking 53km through untracked jungle before
climbing the spectacular, overhanging 600m wall.
Between lockdowns in 2020 he celebrated his 40th
birthday with a four-day expedition up the iconic
alpine peak Piz Badile, joined by his wife Jessica
and their children, seven-year-old Freya and threeyear-old
Jackson – bring on the next generation
of explorers! Leo is also writing his autobiography,
Closer to the Edge, due out in September 2022, and
we can’t wait to hear his next expedition plans too.
Catch Leo’s film Spectre: Mission Antarctica as
part of the 2020 Red Film Programme, available on
demand via the Banff Encore Channel.
Start planning your adventure
and visit cmhsummer.com/bmff
or phone +44 (0)20 7736 8191.
47

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
Nouria Newman | The Ladakh Project
With big plans in store for 2020 (which
involved running a +30-metre waterfall
and doing another expedition in the Himalayas),
kayaker Nouria Newman of The Ladakh Project
had to pivot when the pandemic ground the world
to a halt. Rather than mope about her foiled plans,
Nouria started scoping out local lines and every
runnable river in the area near her father’s home
in the French Alps where she was living. After
days of bushwhacking and waiting for favourable
conditions, she said she ended up “running the
hardest rapid of my career, pretty much in my dad’s
garden!” Once strict lockdown conditions were
eased, Nouria shot a short piece of her paddling
the Verdon River and spent three weeks exploring
the amazing rivers in Norway with friends. Though
she does not know what the future holds, she is
“trying to be an opportunist, and go on every trip
possible.” The Ladakh Project filmmaker Corrina
Halloran has also been keeping busy, and has
just started her Masters in Creative Writing. She
is hoping that the future brings more adventures
with amazing athletes (hint hint Nouria!).
48 UK & IRELAND BANFF MOUNTAIN FILM FESTIVAL TOUR

The outdoors is for everyone and it’s what
we make it. But it’s not just about where
we go or what we do. What makes an
adventure great is finding the right kit and
the right fit. We’ll help you find kit made
for adventure, not for landfill and help you
care for it too, with our sustainable in-store
services. Extend the life of the kit you love
with Repair & Care and Recycle My Gear,
and together we can reduce our impact
and protect the great outdoors.