Banff Mountain Film Festival · November 1 to 9
Banff Mountain Book Festival · November 5 to 7
The Banff Centre · Banff, Alberta, Canada
Information: 403.762.6675 · Tickets: 800.413.8368
Peter Habeler is one of the pioneers of the fast and light ascent. Raised in Austria, he grew up tackling difficult rock and ice routes, becoming a certified mountain guide by the age of 21. In the 1960s, he forged a partnership with mountaineering legend Reinhold Messner, and the two of them developed the technology and skill to break speed records on peaks including the North Face of the Eiger, and the Matterhorn. In 1978, they were the first to summit Mount Everest without supplemental oxygen.
Habeler is one of several acclaimed mountaineers who will be headlining the 2008 Banff Mountain Festivals, speaking on expeditions past, present, and future. Running November 1 to 9, the Banff Mountain Film Festival and the Banff Mountain Book Festival present a world-class lineup of mountaineers, adventurers, outdoor athletes, filmmakers, authors, photographers, and thousands of enthusiastic audience members at one of the mountain community’s biggest events of the year.
Speakers and presenters for the 2008 Festivals include a talk on Patagonia by American Alpine Club president Jim Donini, a big wall alpinist with first ascents in Alaska and South America, including Torre Egger and the South Avellano Tower in Chile. Author and photographer Jon Waterman will present on the endangered Arctic National Wildlife Refuge — he’s spent more than 200 days in the refuge, and has traversed it as part of an expedition sponsored by National Geographic. Author of nine books, Waterman’s work has appeared in publications including National Geographic Adventure, Outside, Backpacker, and Climbing.
Many of the Festivals guests will be speaking on environmental topics in 2008. Dawa Steven Sherpa runs the world’s highest bakery, at Everest base camp. His first ascent of Everest inspired him to launch the Eco Everest Expedition 2008 to monitor the effects of climate change in the Himalayas. Governor General’s Award-winning author John Vaillant returns to the Festival with a presentation called Northern Giant. He and co-presenters, conservationist Wayne Sawchuk and photographer Michael Christopher Brown trekked across British Columbia’s six-million-hectare Muskwa-Kechika Wilderness, home to the continent’s greatest diversity of large mammals, and a revolutionary plan to balance tourism, resource extraction, and conservation.
On Thursday, November 6, award-winning nonfiction writer Maria Coffey will present her new book, Explorers of the Infinite. Known for her intimate looks into the psychology and emotion that accompanies extreme adventure, this new book investigates the personal cost of risks undertaken by mountaineers and extreme athletes, and what they encounter out on the edge.
The Book Festival will also welcome two old friends. A singer, songwriter, and champion of the wild southwestern corner of Alberta, acclaimed author Sid Marty returns to the Festival this year (he was our first presenter when the Banff Mountain Book Festival began 15 years ago). He recently published The Black Grizzly of Whiskey Creek, and will host his own Literary Mountain Café, a mix of poetry, stories, and original songs. Author and former Festival director Bernadette McDonald will also be back in Banff with her latest book, a biography of controversial alpine climber Tomaž Humar.
Created more than 30 years ago, the Banff Mountain Film Festival has become the premier event of its kind in the world. The Festival showcases the best films worldwide in mountain subjects — alpinism, culture, environment, and sport — and attracts the best in mountaineering, adventure filmmaking, and extreme sports as presenters and speakers. More than 60 films will screen during the eight-day Festival, and an international jury will award prizes for the best films in the categories of climbing, sport, environment, culture, short, and feature-length.
Each year, running concurrently with the Film Festival, the Banff Mountain Book Festival brings the spirit of outdoor adventure and the tradition of mountain literature to Banff, uniting writers, publishers, editors, photographers, and readers. Featuring guest speakers, readings, seminars, an international book competition, a book fair, and book signings and launches, the Book Festival celebrates its 15th year in 2008.
