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review – The Beckoning Silence – Joe Simpson

The last movie I watched at the Banff Mountain Film Festival was a fitting finale: The Beckoning Silence.

Joe Simpson gives his perspective on the 1936 disaster on the North Face of the Eiger when four young climbers died in public view of Eiger Bird tourists below.

The last, Kurz, perished after hanging on the end of a rope all night with 2 dead partners. Died within metres of the rescue party next morning. A tragedy in every respect.

Simpson’s Touching the Void is my favourite documentary of all time — so I kept my expectations as … realistic as possible.

But The Beckoning Silence is no sequel to Touching the Void. Though it explores similar themes, and is a remarkably parallel story, this is a made-for-TV presentation, not a feature film release.

My review …

The Beckoning Silence is excellent. It’s a must see for anyone interested in the history of mountaineering.

Joe Simpson is the best possible narrator. Articulate, compelling, flawed. He is the highlight.

Joe cannot understand why he lived, and these young men died.

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photo – Film and Mountain

I cannot find a trailer for the movie on-line. Leave a comment below with a link if you’ve seen one.

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best film – Banff Mountain Film Festival 2007

by Rick McCharles

OK, this is MY best film out of those I’ve seen.

A World Premiere.

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20 Seconds of Joy

Germany, 2007, 60 minutes
Directed by Jens Hoffmann

“I don’t want to die, I want to live. I’m pretty good at running away, and this is my escape!” This is how Karina Hollekim describes her dedication to BASE jumping. Documentary filmmaker Jens Hoffman first met the now 30-year-old Norwegian in 2002. He immediately started to film, accompanying her through many stages of her BASE-jumping career, until it comes to a sudden stop, changing all aspects of her life.

Banff Mountain Film Festival

Karina was mad for BASE jumping the first moment she saw it. This movie documents her addiction to extreme sport and the many costs of that addiction.

It explains why extreme athletes are driven step-by-step to more dangerous stunts. She was one of the first 3 women to fly the new wing suits allowing more daring manoeuvres.

In the film she makes one mistake. And walks away. Later she crashes through equipment failure — and miraculously survives.

BASE jumping to most of us is tiny YouTube video highlight clips. This movie is essential if you really want to understand the sport.

Over 110 BASE jumpers have been killed to date. Pro jumpers last an average of 6 years.

I don’t want to do it. But this film makes me much more understanding of those that do.

Click PLAY or watch the trailer on MySpace.

BASE jumping is a sport involving the use of a parachute to jump from fixed objects. “BASE” is an acronym that stands for the four categories of fixed objects from which one can jump:

* Building
* Antenna (an uninhabited tower such as an aerial mast)
* Span (a bridge or arch)
* Earth (a cliff or other natural formation)

Wikipedia

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Skurka QUITS last day of 6,875 mile adventure

Just kidding.

His is the greatest hike of all time, all things considered.

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CONGRATULATIONS!

Andy will finish his hike on November 3rd at the Grandview Point in the Grand Canyon. He will be coming out of the canyon between noon and 3:00. Probably closer to 3:00. Please come and join us for the celebration. We will be getting together some place in Flagstaff on Saturday evening. Come join the party.

Andrew Skurka: Enlightened Outdoor Adventurer

(via The Adventure Blog)

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The Endless Knot – surviving the death of Alex Lowe

Half way through the Banff Film Festival 2007, by far the best I’ve seen is The Endless Knot.

No special effects. No “extreme” footage.

Just an emotional true story, simply told. I highly recommend you see it.

endless_knot_dvd.jpgIn October of 1999 best friends Alex Lowe and Conrad Anker were overcome by an avalanche in the Tibetan Himalaya. Conrad barely survived the avalanche and soon began to suffer form Survivor’s Guilt. In the months following the tragedy, Conrad and Alex’s widow, Jennifer tried to comfort each other and unexpectedly found love. Now their bond is tested as Alex’s three boys try to accept Conrad as a father.

Alex’s death was but one of many tragedies that unfold when families lose loved ones in the mountains. The celebrated high altitude Sherpa families suffer this same fate more than any other group as they work at extreme altitude for Western expeditions. In honor of Alex’s legacy Jennifer and Conrad seek meaning beyond tragedy with a mountaineering school for Sherpas and high altitude workers.

The Endless Knot – Serac Films

To see the trailer click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

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Banff Mountain Book Festival WINNERS

How would you like to be responsible to read all 113 festival entries?

Major winners were announced:

Higher Than the Eagle Soars: A Path to Everest, by Stephen Venables.

Yosemite in the Sixties, by Glen Denny.

Deep Water (Rockfax Climbing Guide), by Mike Robertson.

Wild Places, Wild Hearts: Nomads of the Himalaya, by Allen Smutylo.

The Eiger Obsession: Facing the Mountain that Killed My Father, by John Harlin III.

Dead Lucky: Life After Death on Mount Everest, by Lincoln Hall

Glen Boles: My Mountain Album; Art and Photography of the Canadian Rockies and Columbia Mountains, by Glen Boles.

Read more on the Awards; Banff Mountain Book Festival Award Winners

All of these books are great and recommended. But I have a gut feeling this was not one of the best years ever for outdoor adventure books. Most of the winners are predictable.

The best bet at being a new “classic” is this extensively researched investigation into the 1967 Mt. McKinley expedition. Only five of the 12-man team survived.

The Truth Behind One of Mountaineering's Most Controversial and Mysterious Disasters

Forever on the Mountain: The Truth Behind One of Mountaineering’s Most Controversial and Mysterious Disasters

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Krzysztof Wielicki – climbing legend

I saw Wielicki present during the Book Festival. And just now he launched the Banff Mountain Film Festival.

He’s old school. Tough. Thinks nothing of losing the odd finger or toe. Says you must learn to enjoy suffering to be a real climber. (That’s why I’m a hiker.)

The Polish climbers are the world’s best (most would say, craziest) at Himalayan Winter Ascents.

A contemporary of Reinhold Messner, Wielicki’s controversial. And very entertaining.

wielicki_190.jpgPolish mountaineer Krzysztof Wielicki’s accomplishments place him among the world’s greatest mountaineers. In more than three decades of climbing, he has concentrated his efforts on difficult new routes and Himalayan winter climbs.

Wielicki became the fifth person in the world to climb all fourteen 8000 metre peaks and the manner in which he accomplished this astonished the climbing community: almost half of them were solo expeditions and Everest, Lhotse, and Kangchenjunga were first winter ascents. He has since led two Polish winter expeditions including an attempt of K2 via the North Pillar in 2003 and of Nanga Parbat via the Schell Route in 2007.

Banff Mountain Festivals 2007

Wielicki and the interviewer finished off most of a bottle of “Rescue Drink” (Vodka) during the performance where he screened some never before seen footage of classic winter climbs. (The “official photographers” rarely ever made it even to Base Camp.)

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Ed Viesturs – No Shortcuts to the Top

Just walked out of Ed’s presentation. His is the first book (of many) from the Banff Mountain Book Festival I’ll be buying. (As an audio book, actually, on Audible.com)

Viesturs decided to write his autobiography after finishing the 14 8000m peaks, on Annapurna.

Growing up in the flatlands of Rockford, Illinois, where the highest objects on the horizon were water towers, Viesturs became interested in climbing only after reading and being captivated by Annapurna, French climber Maurice Herzog’s famous account of the 1950 first ascent of an 8,000-meter peak. “What I liked was that these guys had a goal and they just wouldn’t give up. They spent months and months finding the mountain; then they climbed it. So simple, so basic. I’m a very goal-oriented person, and I like things that take a tremendous effort and time to accomplish,” explains Viesturs.

When taking on these remarkable feats, Viesturs prefers to experience the mountain without reducing it to his level — climbing without the aid of supplemental oxygen. On May 12, 2005, he realized an 18-year goal to climb all 14 of the world’s 8000-metre peaks under these conditions. He is one of only a handful of international climbers to complete this goal, and the only American in history to climb the world’s six highest peaks without supplemental oxygen.

Viesturs’s success can be directly linked to his technique. He is known for his sensible approach to dangerous undertakings, and remains true to his motto, “Getting to the top is optional. Getting down is mandatory.” With the belief that the mountain determines his success, Viesturs will turn around if the conditions do not meet his exacting standards, as he did in 1988, 180 metres from the top of Everest.

Viesturs has documented his journeys in Himalayan Quest: Ed Viesturs on the 8,000-Meter Giants, co-written with Peter Potterfield, and in his autobiography No Shortcuts to the Top: Climbing the World’s 14 Highest Peaks, co-written with David Roberts and released in 2006.

Climbing the World's 14 Highest Peaks

Banff Mountain Festivals 2007

No Shortcuts to the Top: Climbing the World’s 14 Highest Peaks

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Ian McAllister – wildlife photographer

At the Banff Mountain Book Festival we were treated to one of the most amazing slideshows I’ve ever seen.

Ian McAllister gave an overview of his life story vis-a-vis bears and wolves.

He’s very angry about big game trophy hunting. (And Ian’s a hunter who kills deer to feed his family.) There’s no reason to tag bear or wolf.

Ghosts of the Rain Forest

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Ian McAllister is a nature photographer, writer, and conservationist who has dedicated his life to exploring the remote wilds of the British Columbia coast. Born in Vancouver, his exploration and adventures in the province’s rugged West Coast began at a young age, and inspired in him a passion for conservation which led him to become one of Canada’s leading advocates for rainforest protection.

With a keen interest in wildlife behaviour, ecology, and sailing, McAllister has spent much of the last 20 years travelling along the north coastline of British Columbia, observing the behaviour of coastal wolves and grizzly bears. For the last 17 years, McAllister has lived in the heart of the Great Bear Rainforest, one of the last places on earth where wolves live relatively undisturbed by humans. In his latest book, The Last Wild Wolves, he documents the behaviour of two packs, one in the extreme outer coastal islands and another farther inland.

McAllister’s first book, The Great Bear Rainforest (1997), was instrumental in helping Greenpeace, the Sierra Club, Ian and Karen McAllister’s Raincoast Preservation Society, and other environmental groups to successfully lobby British Columbia’s provincial government to impose a moratorium on grizzly bear hunting and to designate a large portion of the province’s mainland coast as parkland in 2001.

McAllister is a founding member of the Raincoast Conservation Society, and his images have appeared in numerous publications including International Wildlife, BBC Wildlife, Audubon, Sierra, and Beautiful British Columbia. Also a filmmaker, his footage has been used by National Geographic TV, Discovery Channel, and the BBC.

Mountain Festivals at The Banff Centre

His two books:

The Great Bear Rainforest: Canada’s Forgotten Coast

The Last Wild Wolves: Ghosts of the Rain Forest