MOUNTAIN FESTIVAL
What to do in Banff Friday
Epic adventure, life after adversity and remembering the past all come alive at the Banff Mountain Film and Book Festival, running through Sunday, Nov. 6.
MAIN EVENTS FRIDAY
Accidents Happen: Paul Pritchard’s story is a really good test of the idea outdoor adventurers have that their outdoor skills “will get them through the tough times in their lives,” says Geoff Powter, who will interview Paul at 10 a.m. in the Max Bell Auditorium in a session called Voices of Adventure. The core of the person who is injured is still intact after the accident. Listen as Paul explains how his life improved after a massive brain injury and how he became a father and why he returned to a life of adventure, including rock climbing — the activity that nearly cost him his life.
10-11:30 a.m. Max Bell Auditorium Walking is Good Exercise: But 16,000 kilometres across Asia and Australia is quite a hike. Sarah Marquis, 2016 National Geographic Adventurer of the Year, entertains in her new book Wild by Nature: From Siberia to Australia, Three Years Alone in the Wilderness on Foot. “Those little moments surprise me — the light, a bird, a glimpse of a wild animal.” She tells stories well, and her presentation promises to entertain.
12:30-1:45 p.m. Max Bell Auditorium Adversity and Friendship: Simon McCartney quit climbing, cold turkey and forever, after the events described in The Bond: Two epic climbs in Alaska and a lifetime’s connection between climbers. Thirty years later Simon woke up as from a deep sleep and used journals, photographs, recollections and research from others involved with the climbs to create a fascinating read. “Every day I found out something new,” Simon recalls of the process of writing about his distant past. “Joyously I discovered I have 20 close friends that I would never have had in my life.” 2-3:30 p.m. Max Bell Auditorium ■
FREE STUFF
Shop for gift books, crafts, art and adventures at many festival booths.
HAVE YOU GOT A STORY?
National Geographic is hosting three workshops Saturday and Sunday — see page 39 in the program guide — where you can learn how to pitch ideas for books, films and expeditions.
BOOK COMPETITION AWARD WINNERS
The Phyllis and Don Munday Award: Grand Prize of $4000, sponsored by the Alpine Club of Canada Ice Diaries: An Antarctic Memoir Jean McNeil, ECW Press (CAN, 2016)
Adventure Travel
$2000, sponsored by Banff Gondola Ice Diaries: An Antarctic Memoir Jean McNeil, ECW Press (CAN, 2016)
Mountain Fiction & Poetry
$2000, sponsored by Fjällräven Martin Maten: A Novel. Brian Doyle, Thomas Dunne Books & St. Martin’s Press (USA, 2015)
Mountain & Wilderness Literature — Non-Fiction
$2000, sponsored by the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies The Bond. Simon McCartney, Vertebrate Publishing (U.K., 2016)
Mountain Image
$2000, sponsored by Lake O’Hara Lodge Yosemite in the Fifties. Dean Fidelman, Patagonia Books (U.S.A., 2015)
Guidebook
$2000, sponsored by the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides 1001 Climbing Tips. Andy Kirkpatrick, Vertebrate Publishing (UK, 2016)
Mountaineering Article
$2000, sponsored by Canadian Mountain Studies Initiative, University of Alberta and the Alpine Club of Canada Searching for Superman. Jeff Long, Ascent (USA, May 2016)
Mountaineering History
$2000, sponsored by Sherpa Adventure Gear Rock Queen. Catherine Destivelle, Hayloft Publishing Ltd. (UK, 2015)
Special Jury Mentions:
Across the Arctic Ocean: Original ■ Photographs from the Last Great Polar Journey — Sir Wally Herbert & Huw Lewis-Jones, Thames & Hudson (USA, 2015)
The Bold and Cold: A History ■ of 25 Classic Climbs in the Canadian Rockies — Brandon Pullan, Rocky Mountain Books Ltd. (CAN, 2016)