Sean Isaac is on the cutting edge of climbing. His passion is mixed climbing—scaling rock, ice and snow in demanding combination. On Wednesday, May 23 he will talk about that passion when the Banff Centre for Mountain Culture presents "All Mixed Up". Using slides and videos, Isaac will explore some of the world's toughest mixed climbs—all of them in the Canadian Rockies. The presentation takes place at 7:30 p.m. in the Max Bell Auditorium.

Sean Isaac is one of Canada's leading young alpinists and mixed climbers. He has forged new big wall routes up remote and obscure alpine spires in all corners of the globe, including Kyrghyzstan, Northwest Territories, Peru, Pakistan and Patagonia. His most impressive achievement was the first ascent of the often tried, 800-meter east pillar of the Mummer in Torres del Paine, Chile with fellow Canadian Conny Amelunxen. This ascent required 19 days of climbing with 14 of these days spent living on the wall, enduring constant storms.

Closer to his home in Canmore, Alberta, Isaac has been one of a handful of motivated climbers pushing mixed standards in the Canadian Rockies. Articles and photos of his expeditions and local climbs have been published in numerous international periodicals including Climbing, Rock & Ice, Gripped, Explore, High, Desnivel, Su Alto, Canadian Alpine Journal and American Alpine Journal. He also frequently presents slide shows of his adventures and climbs.

Isaac is the author of the mixed climbing guide book, Mixed Climbs in the Canadian Rockies, published by Rocky Mountain Books. The book is available from the Banff Book and Art Den (762-3919, or email: banffbks@telusplanet.net) or through Rocky Mountain Books at www.rmbooks.com.