From the hardcore alpinists to the armchair adventurers, everyone in the sold-out crowd at the Chaba Theatre had something to enjoy Monday night (December 12) when the Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour came to Jasper. From gritting out a gruelling mixed climb to soaring majestically over the Grand Canyon, from the remote, arid valleys of Ladakh to the over developed sprawl of Mountain Village, the audience took a thrilling three-hour journey thanks to the transportative power of mountain film.

If you missed it, you’ll have to wait until September of next year before Banff’s Radical Reels tour holds a screening at the Chaba. Of course, there are other ways to gorge yourself then on the best of Banff and beyond. Below, we’ve reviewed several of the films that were shown Monday, including info on how to get your hands on these precious pieces of mountain mastery.

Cavewoman

During the last frames of the film “Cavewoman,” Scottish climber Fiona Murray sits blushing in disbelief after accomplishing her goal. To the audience the journey only lasted 14 minutes, but in real time it was an entire winter season.

Murray, a dedicated climber, decided to take a career break from her office job in Scotland to climb full-time and conquer a classic, hard mixed climb in the Canadian Rockies. Moving to Canmore, she spent several months obsessed with a route called “Caveman,” the most difficult she had ever attempted.

The film looks at her journey from a humorous angle showing how hard she worked mentally and physically to achieve her goal. The film was definitely an inspirational tale for every female who has ever felt intimidated in the often testosterone-dominated mountain sports.

A highlight of the piece is the “Bloke-o-Cam”, a spotlight on how male mixed climbers enjoy falling, often in very uncomfortable ways.

The film is easy to watch for people who aren’t climbers themselves as the narration describes the basic terms of climbing.

“Cavewoman” is excerpted from “All Mixed Up” a forty minute compilation DVD that chronicles the entire winter’s adventures of Murray and her climbing partner Flo Babolat on the rock and ice in this area.

Produced in Scotland by Hot Aches, the film is available online at www.cordee.co.uk  

J.G.

Grand Canyon Dreams

When you hold the world record for long distance paragliding and were the first to fly across the U.S., a desire to glide across the Grand Canyon seems positively understandable, rather than the insanity that it actually is.

Will Gadd knows what he’s doing though, and his comfort level while floating thousands of feet above the ground in changing, dangerous conditions is remarkable.

Flying with a helmet camera on to record his trip, Gadd at one point nonchalantly mentions that he seems destined to slam into some very large trees, some of which are ablaze.

“That’s kind of sporting,” he says. I would have cursed. A lot. 

A more recent project Gadd was involved in could provide mountain film lovers with another great flick soon, —  he’s been climbing icebergs off the coast of Labrador.  

D.M.

Balancing Point

This little nugget of Zen clocks in at six minutes and consists of director Danny Brown appearing to create awesome rock sculptures in the mountains around Boulder, Colorado. Sometimes, slick editing is just a gimmick, but not in this case. The film reversal technique combines with the setting and a contemplative soundtrack to reflect the beauty of balance in nature back to us through digital media.

Brown’s ballet-like maneuvers and rehearsed movements allow him to appear as less of a manipulator of the rocks and logs he sculpts, and more of an organic part of the natural environment.

Balancing Point can be seen online at www.senseistudios.com, along with several other short pieces created by Brown and editor/graphic designer Aaron Knapp. “Lucid” is a fantastic clip which showcases Brown’s skill on a slackline — a piece of webbing tied between two trees that requires a serious amount of balance to move around on.  

D.M.