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PRESENTED BY:<br />
TOUR MAGAZINE<br />
THE WORLD’S BEST MOUNTAIN FILMS | EDITION 13
In pursuit of<br />
LASTING<br />
ADVENTURE<br />
We’re coming together to bring you more adventure<br />
than ever. We don’t just share passion and expertise but<br />
also a duty to protect the outdoors. Together we walk,<br />
run and camp but we can also learn, change and make<br />
a difference. We’re here to find you the right kit and<br />
help you make it last, for adventure, for the planet.<br />
Enter our prize draw for a chance to win £500<br />
to spend in-store or online.<br />
cotswoldoutdoor.com/banff<br />
Entrants also get 20% off full price items when they use one<br />
of our Recycle My Gear or Repair & Care services in-store.<br />
T&Cs apply, discount valid on purchases over £50.<br />
Make the right choice with our experts.
CONTENTS<br />
WELCOME 9<br />
RED FILM PROGRAMME 12<br />
BLUE FILM PROGRAMME 14<br />
LEARNING TO DROWN 18<br />
WEST HIGHLAND WAY:<br />
RECORD ATTEMPT 22<br />
MARKUS EDER'S<br />
ULTIMATE SKI RUN 25<br />
EXIT THE NORTH POLE 28<br />
BANFF ON DEMAND 32<br />
PRESENTED BY<br />
WHERE ARE THEY NOW? 34<br />
PRINCIPAL PARTNERS<br />
ASSOCIATE PARTNERS<br />
WWW.BANFF-<strong>UK</strong>.COM<br />
®<br />
FOLLOW<br />
US ON:<br />
<strong>UK</strong><strong>Banff</strong>FilmFest<br />
#<strong>Banff</strong><strong>2022</strong><br />
COVER PHOTO © Basecamp, Denali National Park Christian Pondella
[ Innovate ] AGAIN<br />
In Thought | In Creation | In Action<br />
Osprey’s passion for relentless innovation and progress in materials,<br />
sustainability and performance extends the realms of possiblity<br />
and ensures we tread lightly on the planet.<br />
[ Innovate ] In Thought<br />
[ Innovate ] In Creation<br />
[ Innovate ] In Action<br />
ospreyeurope.com | @ospreyeurope
WELCOME!<br />
Buckle up for a night of thrilling adventure! Welcome to the <strong>2022</strong><br />
<strong>UK</strong> & <strong>Ireland</strong> <strong>Banff</strong> Mountain Film Festival <strong>Tour</strong>. We’re delighted to<br />
deliver two new collections of extreme adventure films into your living<br />
room!<br />
Films in the tour include a winter expedition across the Arctic in Exit<br />
the North Pole, starring explorers Børge Ousland and Mike Horn<br />
who face minus 40-degree temperatures and 24-hour darkness in<br />
what’s been described as the boldest polar expedition of modern times.<br />
In warmer climates, Melissa Le Nevé quits the pro climbing circuit to<br />
attempt to become the first woman to climb the most revered sport<br />
route on earth – the 5.14d Action Directe in Germany. And we’re always<br />
delighted to welcome Scottish mountain biking legend Danny MacAskill<br />
back to our screens – he’s on the isle of Skye to descend a 500m rock<br />
face usually reserved for climbers in the hair-raising film The Slabs.<br />
Films in the <strong>UK</strong> & <strong>Ireland</strong> tour are chosen from the best entries into<br />
the <strong>Banff</strong> Mountain Film and Book Festival, a nine-day celebration of<br />
all aspects of mountain culture that takes place every November in<br />
Canada. Despite the pandemic, adventure filmmakers have continued<br />
to produce outstanding films – making our decisions about which films<br />
to choose for the tour as difficult as ever! It also goes to show that, in an<br />
ever-changing world, determination, inspiration and creativity always<br />
prevail.<br />
We would like to thank our tour partners for making the tour possible,<br />
and providing excellent prizes for the prize draws. We’d also like to<br />
thank our exceptional gang of Trail Team volunteers, who help out with<br />
their local shows. And we’d mostly like to thank you, the audience, for<br />
your support of the <strong>Banff</strong> tour, particularly over the last difficult couple<br />
of years for live events. It is your endless passion for adventure – in any<br />
circumstances – that keeps us coming back for more.<br />
Happy adventuring and thank you for coming!<br />
The <strong>Banff</strong> Film Festival Team<br />
9
YOUR<br />
VERY OWN<br />
GRAND<br />
CANYON<br />
This isn’t hiking as you know it. It’s flying<br />
via heli into a bucket list location to amble<br />
among ancient glaciers and scale the Zillmer<br />
Canyon Via Ferrata. Free from crowds, roads<br />
and limitations, CMH Cariboos delivers an<br />
unforgettable adventure that inspires a new<br />
point of view.<br />
START EXPLORING | CMHSUMMER.COM
RED FILM PROGRAMME<br />
FOLLOW THE LIGHT<br />
Boasting narrow canyons, dramatic sunsets and<br />
illuminated hot air balloons, the unique landforms of<br />
Cappadocia in Turkey are the dream setting for a mountain<br />
biking spectacular. Immerse yourself in this colourful<br />
adventure with top riders Kilian Bron, Pierre Henni, Pierre<br />
Dupont and JB Liautard.<br />
REEL ROCK - ACTION DIRECTE<br />
French climber and powerhouse Melissa Le Nevé spends<br />
seven years battling insane moves, inner doubt and the<br />
burden of history to become the first woman to climb<br />
the most revered sport route on earth – the 5.14d Action<br />
Directe in Frankenjura, Germany.<br />
Filmmakers: Zachary Barr and Josh Lowell, 16 minutes<br />
DEEP ROOTS<br />
Professional snowboarder and climber Lonnie Kauk<br />
embarks on a journey to honour his indigenous Yosemite<br />
roots and to connect with his legendary father, Ron, by<br />
repeating some of his groundbreaking iconic climbs…<br />
including a second ascent of the route Magic Line,<br />
considered to be one of the world’s hardest climbs.<br />
THE FARMER<br />
Filmmaker: Pierre Henni, 4 minutes<br />
Filmmaker: Josh Lowell, 35 minutes<br />
Dave Van Dame, aka the Farmer, spent his winters<br />
harvesting one of the most precious crops on earth:<br />
powder snow. A local legend in the Wasatch Mountains<br />
of Utah, Dave retired at the age of 39, using his passion<br />
for efficiency and sustainability to keep him skiing powder<br />
turns from his favourite chairlift all the way into his 70s.<br />
Filmmaker: Sweetgrass Productions, 5 minutes<br />
WEST HIGHLAND WAY: RAB<br />
WARDELL'S RECORD ATTEMPT<br />
Stretching from Scotland’s largest city to the iconic<br />
highland town of Fort William, the 95-mile West Highland<br />
Way is a long-distance path loved by walkers. It’s also<br />
the subject of fierce competition between elite mountain<br />
bikers, all vying to set a fastest known time record on the<br />
challenging route. Enter former pro rider Rab Wardell,<br />
who’ll need all of his bike handling skills and endurance<br />
to make history in his beloved homeland.<br />
FROM MY WINDOW<br />
Filmmaker: Cut Media, 22 minutes<br />
From her bedroom window, Melissa Simpson has gazed<br />
at the highest peaks in Colorado for her whole life. They<br />
stand as a symbol of her greatest dream and her biggest<br />
obstacle, because Melissa has cerebral palsy. With the<br />
help of her friend and mentor, blind adventurer Erik<br />
Weihenmayer, she sets out to conquer something far<br />
greater than a summit.<br />
Filmmaker: Frank Pickell, 19 minutes<br />
MARKUS EDER: ULTIMATE SKI RUN<br />
Italian freeskier Markus Eder set his sights on a seemingly<br />
impossible goal – to push the boundaries of three freeski<br />
disciplines in one ultimate top-to-bottom run. The result<br />
is a near-perfect ride, where the former Freeride World<br />
<strong>Tour</strong> champ takes us from the high peaks of Zermatt,<br />
Switzerland, to the valley bottom of Luttach, Italy, in a<br />
display of mind-blowing tricks and cinematic excellence.<br />
Filmmaker: Christoph Thorensen, 10 minutes<br />
12 <strong>UK</strong> & IRELAND BANFF MOUNTAIN FILM FESTIVAL TOUR<br />
13
BLUE FILM PROGRAMME<br />
INSIDE: A HOLE NEW<br />
SKI EXPERIENCE<br />
Most people ski tour across mountains. Fewer people<br />
ski tour inside them… but Austrian skiers Andreas<br />
Gumpenberger and Stefan Ager are not normal people.<br />
Always on the lookout for an unusual adventure, the<br />
team embark on a ski tour of a huge cave in Slovenia’s<br />
Julian Alps. Damp, steep and technical, the expedition<br />
exceeds all expectations.<br />
Filmmakers: Stefan Ager and Andreas Gumpenberger,<br />
11 minutes<br />
A DOG'S TALE<br />
A celebration of the joy of mountain biking, as seen<br />
through the eyes of our four-legged friends. Join pups<br />
of all sizes as they take on gnarly jumps, sweeping<br />
corners and berms… with a belly rub at the end.<br />
These feisty and loveable trail dogs enjoy being in the<br />
outdoors as much as us humans – and often outclass<br />
their pro-rider owners.<br />
Filmmaker: Darren McCullough, 5 minutes<br />
DREAM MOUNTAIN<br />
Elite climber Pasang Lhamu Sherpa Akita has had a<br />
trailblazing career, summiting K2, Everest and other<br />
world-class peaks. Life changed with the birth of her<br />
son, but Pasang decides that to be the best mother she<br />
can, she needs to follow her dreams again. Defying<br />
expectations and returning to her life-long passion,<br />
Pasang attempts her dream mountain: the spectacular<br />
6,000m Nepalese peak Cholatse.<br />
LEARNING TO DROWN<br />
Filmmaker: Cira Crowell, 18 minutes<br />
One of the most influential female snowboarders in the<br />
world, Jess Kimura was at the top of her career when<br />
she lost her partner in a tragic accident. Her grief led<br />
her in a direction she could have never anticipated.<br />
Raw, honest and often laugh-out-loud funny, Learning<br />
to Drown is a story for anyone who needs to hear that<br />
things can get better.<br />
Filmmaker: Ben Knight, 39 minutes<br />
EXIT THE NORTH POLE<br />
In 24-hour darkness and with temperatures down to<br />
-40, polar explorers Børge Ousland and Mike Horn<br />
attempt the unimaginable: a 1,500km ski expedition<br />
across the frozen Arctic Ocean, via the North Pole. With<br />
drifting ice and the threat of polar bears, this gruelling<br />
journey has been described as the boldest polar<br />
expedition of modern times.<br />
Filmmaker: Ole-André Lagmandokk, 50 minutes<br />
THE SLABS<br />
Legendary Scottish trials rider Danny MacAskill is<br />
back. Lockdown saw the <strong>Banff</strong> favourite return to his<br />
homeland of the isle of Skye to tackle the Dubh Slabs<br />
– a 500m drop down an exposed rock face usually<br />
reserved for climbers and mountaineers. A nail-biting<br />
watch, this film shows rider and bike at their absolute<br />
limits, where any mistake could leave Danny on the<br />
slab.<br />
Filmmaker: Robbie Meade, 6 minutes<br />
14<br />
16<br />
<strong>UK</strong> & IRELAND BANFF MOUNTAIN FILM FESTIVAL TOUR<br />
15
MEET THE CHALLENGES OF ICE AND SNOW<br />
At last, the first freeze. The landscape changed. Obscured. But the restless see new<br />
routes revealed. The possibilities of winter, fresh footprints, and untouched lines.<br />
Demanding, fickle and often fleeting, nothing offers challenge like the winter season.<br />
We’ve designed our range to help you thrive in this hostility, to embrace<br />
the opportunities of winter head on.<br />
WWW.RAB.EQUIPMENT
LEARNING<br />
TO DROWN<br />
An intimate<br />
portrait of pro<br />
snowboarder<br />
Jess Kimura’s<br />
life before and<br />
after tragedy<br />
the early stages of her snowboarding career,<br />
Jess didn’t see herself represented in the<br />
athletes she saw in the spotlight. Fighting<br />
hard for recognition, she earned it with parts<br />
in male-dominated snowboard movies and<br />
suddenly found herself a role model to female<br />
snowboarders. She now gives back by funding,<br />
producing and editing all-women film projects,<br />
2018’s The Uninvited and 2020’s The Uninvited<br />
2, and is currently working hard on The<br />
Uninvited 3 to be released later this year. “I’m<br />
really excited to see it come together,” she says.<br />
“I’m so inspired and impressed by the level of<br />
progression the girls are pushing these days. I<br />
want to make sure I put just as much effort and<br />
passion into presenting them in the best way<br />
possible.”<br />
Approached with telling Jess’s story in<br />
what would end up being Learning to Drown,<br />
FEATURE - LEARNING TO DROWN<br />
director Ben Knight was on board from the<br />
beginning. “I went and had coffee with her,<br />
and I knew from that point on that it was a go.<br />
Jess gave us the most incredible energy that<br />
I’ve seen in 18 years, and I wanted to give that<br />
back on my end in editing and make something<br />
really special to show my respect to her as a<br />
human being.”<br />
Asked about the filmmaking process and<br />
sharing her story in such an authentic way,<br />
Jess doesn’t seem too phased. “I feel like<br />
in general I really can’t help being raw and<br />
honest. And it’s got me into trouble at times.<br />
But I feel compelled to say things like they<br />
are and not sugar-coat anything. It’s definitely<br />
scary to put it all out there and just leave myself<br />
open to people’s judgements or criticism. But<br />
I’m taking the same approach as I have in<br />
snowboarding… close my eyes and drop in<br />
before I can talk myself out of it.”<br />
Considered one of the most influential<br />
snowboarders of her generation, Jess<br />
Kimura has been turning heads in the sport<br />
since being featured in the opening spot of the<br />
iconic 2010 snowboarding film Right Brain, Left<br />
Brain. Having earned almost every accolade<br />
possible, Jess was at the top of her game when<br />
tragedy struck. Learning to Drown, directed<br />
by Ben Knight, is an intimate portrait of her life<br />
before and after tragedy.<br />
In 2014, Jess’s partner Mark Dickson died<br />
unexpectedly in an accident. Years later, Jess<br />
knew she wanted to make a piece on grief,<br />
fear and the journey through that. “Hearing<br />
other people’s stories who had gone through<br />
something similar… that helped me so much”.<br />
The film offers an intimate look into her career,<br />
her path through grief and mental health<br />
struggles. Thinking about how she might now<br />
be a source of comfort for others struggling,<br />
Jess says, “It’s hard to feel like a role model<br />
when I’m going through another rough patch or<br />
feeling like I haven’t got my own shit figured<br />
out still. And this sounds kinda funny but<br />
there have been times when I’m feeling really<br />
hopeless and then I watch the film [Learning to<br />
Drown] and it reminds me that things can get<br />
better. So if I am a role model, it’s more just<br />
to be open and vulnerable about the stuff I’ve<br />
gone through and that in itself can make other<br />
people feel less alone.”<br />
Jess is used to going all in, whether putting<br />
herself out there in Learning to Drown or giving<br />
her all for projects she’s passionate about. In<br />
18<br />
<strong>UK</strong> & IRELAND BANFF MOUNTAIN FILM FESTIVAL TOUR<br />
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WEST HIGHLAND<br />
WAY<br />
A speed attempt on Scotland’s<br />
most iconic long-distance trail<br />
Stretching from the outskirts of Glasgow to Fort William, the<br />
West Highland Way is Scotland’s best loved long-distance<br />
trail: thousands of people travel from around the world to tackle<br />
its 96 miles of challenging hiking and exceptional scenery. And<br />
it isn’t just for walkers. Over the last 10 years, the route has<br />
been the subject of fierce competition in the mountain biking<br />
community, with elite riders vying to set fastest known time<br />
records on the iconic path. Enter our challenger, GB rider Rab<br />
Wardell…<br />
“The West Highland Way is a true Scottish adventure. You<br />
almost feel like a hobbit making your way to Mordor,” says<br />
Rab, who’s from Dunfermline in Fife. “Every step or every pedal<br />
stroke, it gets more and more gnarly.”<br />
The route usually takes hikers six or seven days; coming into<br />
the challenge, Rab had been aiming for sub 10 hours. As well as<br />
extreme endurance and fitness for 96 miles of riding, including<br />
10,000ft of ascent, riders need top bike handling skills for the<br />
rough terrain: with sharp rocks the whole way, one puncture or<br />
technical issue could threaten a bid for the title.<br />
And just before Rab’s record attempt, a new contender set the<br />
bar even higher:<br />
“Four or six weeks before I planned to do it, Gary MacDonald<br />
from Fort William rode it in 9 hours and 28 minutes,” says<br />
36-year-old Rab. “It was kind of scary that he had set such a fast<br />
time. I realised I needed to give it everything.”<br />
Dodging Highland Cattle and with a support team including<br />
his nervous parents, West Highland Way: Rab Wardell’s Record<br />
Attempt captures Rab’s attempt at this legendary feat, through<br />
the spellbinding scenery of his homeland.<br />
22<br />
"<br />
FEATURE - WEST HIGHLAND WAY<br />
Every step or every<br />
pedal stroke, it gets<br />
more and more gnarly<br />
WEST HIGHLAND WAY<br />
FUN FACTS<br />
The now-famous statue at the end of the<br />
route was erected in 2010, and is simply<br />
called Man with Sore Feet.<br />
Rob Sinclair from Aberdeen holds the<br />
record for the fastest time to run the<br />
route: an impressive 13 hours 41 minutes.<br />
Completing the West Highland Way on<br />
foot, you’ll do about 192,000 steps. Take<br />
that fitness apps!<br />
23<br />
"
FEATURE - MARKUS EDER'S ULTIMATE SKI RUN<br />
MARKUS EDER'S<br />
ULTIMATE SKI RUN<br />
Pushing the boundaries of three ski disciplines in<br />
one ultimate top-to-bottom run<br />
sually I only come home in between<br />
“Ucompetitions, or between film trips, so<br />
I knew I wanted to do something at home,” says<br />
top Italian freeskier Markus Eder. His seemingly<br />
impossible goal was to push the boundaries<br />
of three freeski disciplines in one ultimate ski<br />
run… and over 80% of the action takes place in<br />
his home region of Luttach in Italy.<br />
In a display of cinematic excellence and<br />
ski mastery, The Ultimate Run sees Markus<br />
embark on spectacular big mountain skiing in<br />
the high peaks above Zermatt in Switzerland,<br />
before dropping in to Klausberg, the resort<br />
where he learnt to ski, to catch impressive air in<br />
the snowpark. The route then flows through an<br />
abandoned mining town and an atmospheric<br />
medieval castle, spitting him out in a deserted<br />
snowfield after the ride of a lifetime.<br />
Markus first attempted the project in 2015,<br />
when he dislocated his shoulder filming the<br />
first shot. The successful attempt we see began<br />
in late 2019 and was slowed by the pandemic:<br />
many of the jumps and features the team spent<br />
days building had to be abandoned when ski<br />
resorts closed in 2020. But filming during covid<br />
had its perks too.<br />
“The scene where you see Klausberg for the<br />
first time – it was the only ski day for many<br />
people in my home valley,” says Red Bull<br />
athlete Markus. “That was quite special.”<br />
<strong>UK</strong> & IRELAND BANFF MOUNTAIN FILM FESTIVAL TOUR<br />
25
FEATURE - MARKUS EDER'S ULTIMATE SKI RUN<br />
The run features many ludicrous tricks and<br />
sequences; the most memorable are perhaps<br />
skiing through a perfect glacier cave, and a<br />
flip from a moving truck. How did they pull<br />
it off?<br />
“One special thing about Markus is that if he<br />
really wants to do something, he will not let<br />
go of it,” says Christoph Thoresen, the film’s<br />
director. “The truck was a good example. I<br />
thought it was way too crazy. It was a day of a<br />
lot of tries and a lot of dangerous situations,<br />
and he crashed really hard. But in the end it<br />
worked, so I guess he wasn’t that crazy.”<br />
The Ultimate Run is a masterpiece of<br />
modern freeskiing and cinematography. “It’s<br />
a dream come true,” says Markus.<br />
Picture credits: © Red Bull Media House<br />
26<br />
<strong>UK</strong> & IRELAND BANFF MOUNTAIN FILM FESTIVAL TOUR
FEATURE - EXIT THE NORTH POLE<br />
EXIT THE<br />
NORTH POLE<br />
A gruelling expedition across the Arctic Ocean in<br />
the dark of the polar night<br />
have dreamt of undertaking a classic polar<br />
“I expedition for ages,” says Norwegian<br />
explorer Borge Ousland. “Doing it the old way. My<br />
two great heroes are Fridtjof Nansen and Hjalmar<br />
Johansen. What they did in the 19th century is<br />
the greatest feat in polar history, at least in the<br />
northern hemisphere. To experience a bit of the<br />
same, in this day and age, is a big dream.”<br />
Last attempted by Nansen and Johansen in<br />
1895, Borge and fellow explorer Mike Horn are<br />
attempting to cross the Arctic Ocean via the North<br />
Pole, in polar winter, sailing to and from the ice<br />
cap. The pair are among the most experienced<br />
living polar explorers, but this expedition tests<br />
them more than ever before.<br />
“When it’s dark 24 hours a day, everything<br />
becomes much more difficult,” says Borge. “You<br />
can only see the small beam from your headtorch.<br />
A polar bear can sneak up on you without you<br />
even noticing.”<br />
Polar bears and 24-hour-darkness are just two<br />
of the challenges. Towing all of their equipment<br />
in sledges weighing 185kg, the explorers<br />
battle drifting ice taking them away from their<br />
destination, powerful storms and temperatures<br />
of down to minus 40 degrees. Gaps in the ice<br />
cause problems too: these open-water ‘leads’<br />
"<br />
When it's dark<br />
24 hours a day,<br />
everything<br />
becomes more<br />
difficult<br />
"<br />
must be navigated by inflatable dingy, where<br />
capsizing could be fatal.<br />
With frostbite and dwindling supplies of food<br />
and fuel, Borge and Mike resist pressures to<br />
accept a rescue in an attempt to achieve their<br />
goal. Exit the North Pole is an insight into a<br />
journey described by the National Geographic<br />
as ‘the boldest polar expedition of modern<br />
times’. >><br />
28<br />
<strong>UK</strong> & IRELAND BANFF MOUNTAIN FILM FESTIVAL TOUR<br />
29
FEATURE - EXIT THE NORTH POLE<br />
MEET THE EXPLORERS<br />
Mike Horn<br />
Born: 1966, South Africa<br />
Top expeditions: Travelling the length of<br />
the Amazon river on a hydrospeed (similar<br />
to a body board); summiting Makalu<br />
(8,463m) in Nepal with no supplementary<br />
oxygen; a two-year circumnavigation of<br />
the globe via and the North and South<br />
Poles, and many more.<br />
Motto: ‘The impossible only exists until we<br />
find a way to make it possible.’<br />
Børge Ousland<br />
Born: 1962, Norway<br />
Top expeditions: Børge and fellow<br />
explorer Erling Kagge became the<br />
first people to reach the North Pole<br />
unsupported, following a 58-day ski trek<br />
in 1990. Børge was also the first person<br />
to do a solo, unsupported crossing of<br />
Antarctica, covering 1,800 miles.<br />
Polar wedding: Børge wed his wife<br />
Hege at the North Pole in 2012 – the first<br />
couple to get married there.<br />
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<strong>Banff</strong> <strong>Tour</strong> films<br />
at home!<br />
TO<br />
TO<br />
In need of <strong>Banff</strong> escapism when the festival<br />
isn’t in town? Check out Encore Channel,<br />
where you can watch inspirational <strong>Banff</strong> films<br />
– on demand!<br />
Featuring film programmes from previous<br />
editions of the <strong>Banff</strong> tour; exclusive <strong>Banff</strong><br />
collections only availably virtually, and shows<br />
from our sister events the Ocean Film Festival<br />
32<br />
and the Top Dog Film Festival, Encore Channel<br />
offers thrilling adventure delivered to the living<br />
room. All you need to do is provide the snacks!<br />
Film programmes on the Encore Channel are<br />
presented by the <strong>Banff</strong> team, and come with<br />
bonus behind-the-scenes features too.<br />
See www.banff-uk.com/virtual<br />
<strong>UK</strong> & IRELAND BANFF MOUNTAIN FILM FESTIVAL TOUR
WHERE<br />
ARE<br />
THEY<br />
NOW?<br />
W<br />
e are delighted to support the <strong>Banff</strong> Mountain<br />
Film Festival <strong>2022</strong>. If you’d like to know more<br />
about how our investment professionals could track<br />
down Profits for you, please contact your financial<br />
adviser, call 0800 092 2051 or visit artemisfunds.com.<br />
Catch up with adventurers who starred in<br />
recent <strong>Banff</strong> Mountain Film Festival <strong>Tour</strong>s<br />
ANDRZEJ BARGIEL | K2: THE IMPOSSIBLE DESCENT<br />
How do you top a first ski descent down the<br />
notoriously treacherous K2? By skiing down<br />
more peaks in more remote areas – which is<br />
just what Andrzej Bargiel did after his worldrenowned<br />
descent of K2, as seen in the 2021<br />
<strong>Banff</strong> film K2: The Impossible Descent.<br />
Andrzej’s Karakoram Ski Expedition left<br />
Poland in April 2021, aiming to climb and ski<br />
down two 6,000m mountains on the border<br />
of Pakistan, India and China, without using<br />
supplementary oxygen. Both peaks, Yawash<br />
Sar II (6,178m) and Laila Peak (6,096m), are in<br />
the Pakistani Karakoram, the second-largest<br />
mountain range on earth after the Himalaya.<br />
The trek to Yawash Sar II took Andrzej and<br />
his team four days in difficult winter conditions.<br />
After just a day’s rest at base camp, Andrzej<br />
was on his way alpine style to the summit,<br />
making the first ever ascent of the peak. He<br />
then tackled the difficult ski descent, saying:<br />
“There was a lot of ice in the summit cone, and<br />
it surprised me. I couldn’t descend freely. I had<br />
to slide down the ropes.”<br />
Situated in the Hushe Valley, with a daggerlike<br />
shape, Laila Peak is considered one of the<br />
most beautiful mountains in the world. During<br />
the descent, Andrzej made the difficult decision<br />
to leave his skis 150m below the summit as<br />
conditions were too sketchy for a direct ski off<br />
the sharp peak. The mountain’s northwest face<br />
has a 45-degree slope for more than 1,500<br />
vertical metres, and it’s hard to imagine skiing<br />
any portion of the mountain!<br />
Once again, Andrzej proved his aptitude for<br />
skiing the impossible. His ascents not only<br />
involve incredible skiing skills but also wellhoned<br />
technical alpine climbing skills – where<br />
getting to the top, often solo, is just as risky as<br />
skiing down.<br />
34 <strong>UK</strong> & IRELAND BANFF MOUNTAIN FILM FESTIVAL TOUR<br />
Capital at risk.<br />
Issued by Artemis Fund Managers Limited which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.<br />
For your protection calls are usually recorded.
TOURING AUTUMN 2023<br />
The World's Most<br />
Amazing Ocean Films<br />
we believe the closer we are to nature<br />
www.oceanfilmfestival.co.uk<br />
the more likely we are to care for it<br />
underwear and tees made from trees<br />
sueme.com • @wearesueme<br />
144 145<br />
Photography: Martin Hartley | Locations & Production: Good Spaces
WHERE ARE THEY NOW?<br />
33 MILLION<br />
PLASTIC BOTTLES REUSED BASED ON SALES UP TO 2021<br />
PLASTIC RECYCLED<br />
BOTTLES<br />
Toss your plastic bottles in<br />
the recycle bin and be part<br />
of the cycle.<br />
MORE THAN<br />
REPREVE ® CHIPS IN<br />
Recycled bottles are cleaned,<br />
chopped, melted and turned into<br />
little plastic chips.<br />
CHIPS TO YARN<br />
Chips are transformed into Repreve<br />
recycled fiber, and then into fabrics.<br />
THE SMART CHOICE<br />
Look for brands that are made with<br />
recycled or natural materials when<br />
you shop.<br />
BRONWYN HODGINS | OCEAN TO ASGARD<br />
Professional climber Bronwyn Hodgins may be<br />
known on screen for floating down the Weasel<br />
River on a pink flamingo in the film Ocean to<br />
Asgard, but she has since written her name in<br />
the history books by becoming the third woman<br />
to free climb Golden Gate, a 34-pitch route on El<br />
Capitan, in May 2021. The ascent took her eight<br />
days and was the culmination of nearly a decade<br />
of climbing and six months of specific training and<br />
preparation.<br />
Leading up to Golden Gate, Bronwyn joined<br />
a group of women on a sport climbing trip to<br />
Potrero Chico in Mexico. “We rented a large villa<br />
with a pool and called it Tequila Villa.” There<br />
she dedicated a few weeks to cleaning a 900ft<br />
overhanging, orange limestone wall called El<br />
Gavilan (Spanish for The Hawk) with Savannah<br />
Cummins. They plan to finish the route, but<br />
Bronwyn is first hoping to complete her full Rock<br />
Guide Exam before returning to her home in<br />
Squamish, British Columbia.<br />
BUFF ® is a registered trademark property of Original Buff, S.A. (Spain)<br />
Making every bottle count.<br />
Day after day, year after year, this initiative<br />
is growing, putting the planet at the heart of<br />
what we do, to Do More Now.<br />
#DO MORE NOW<br />
Wild things: Bronwyn and team<br />
in the 2021 film Ocean to Asgard<br />
39