EMFF 2012 - Sunday Evening

THE FILMS

EYE OF THE STORM

A reflective ski film with some amazing footage of heli-drops in the mountains. Very nice shot and put together.

DAVE

A lovely short film by Lukasz Warzecha that looks at Dave MacLeod and his attitude to climbing and hard projects. The film features Dave climbing in Averstal (AKA: Magic Wood), Switzerland and repeating New Base Line F8b+**. One of the best short films so far.

COLD
A brilliant film by Cory Richards that documents his suffering in the bitterly cold winter with fellow mountaineers Simone Moro and Denis Urubko as they successfully climb Gasherbrum II. Some stunning footage and a lucky escape from a devastating avalanche on their descent.

MY OWN HANDS
A short artistic-style film about climbing trees. Not really my thing but very nicely put together.

THE LECTURE

ALAN HINKES - SURVIVING THE DEATH ZONE

Alan was a very interesting and funny chap. He had great videos and pictures from his ascents of all the 8000m peaks (although he didn't touch on the dispute about his summit of Cho Oyu). It's fair to say that Alan is certainly a true Yorkshireman - a very interesting guy.

A great end to EMFF 2012 and what a weekend it's been. Herbie certainly enjoyed it and said it was well worth the trip over from the Isle of Man. Many thanks to Stevie Christie and the rest of the volunteers for organising and running a great weekend - roll on next year!

EMFF 2012 - Sunday Afternoon

THE FILMS

WHY

This beautifully-shot film by Corey Rich was one of my favourite short films that I have seen this year. It features climber Alex Honnold, kayaker Dane Jackson and biker Rebecca Rusch talking about why they continue to push the boundaries and do what they love the most. A brilliant short film.

DOUGIE DOWN THE PET

This film follows the journey of a father taking his 4-year-old son on a canoe trip down the Petawawa river in Canada. Dougie is certainly the star of the show and the film is full of cute and funny moments - certainly a feel-good film.

IN SEARCH OF SNOW - HELEN RENNIE'S STORY
This rather short film tells the brief story of Helen Rennie's quest to ski on snow for 25 consecutive months. A truly amazing achievement... if not a tat mental!

OF WET AND WILDNESS
Another chance to see this fine artistic piece from Paul Diffley.

FEEL THE HILL
The longest film of the day followed a group of French long boarders and their pursuit of bigger, faster hills and pushing the limits of what you can do with a skateboard. A very nice piece indeed. 

THE LECTURE

SIMON WILLIS - THE ACCIDENTAL SEA KAYAKER

I didn't know much about Simon Willis but I had read that he was the author of the Scottish Sea Kayak Trail guidebook so I was quite interested to hear about his tails from the Western Isles. Emily and I have visited many of the Western Isles of Scotland but we still have many to explore and I've always fancied a sea kayaking trip around some of them. Unfortunately, Simon's main focus of his lecture was talking about how he and Gordon Brown had made their instructional sea kayaking films. I felt that this lasted a little too long and may not have suited the audience that was present. However, he finished with some amazing tales, pictures and footage of a trip he made to St. Kilda a few years ago that was very inspiring - the highlight for me.

EMFF 2012 - Saturday Evening

THE FILMS

STRENGTH IN NUMBERS

A nice short film about mountain biking featuring the world cup from Fort William. Some great footage  of the downhill and good interviews with various pro riders.

SMITTEN

Believe it or not, this film follows Australian climber/BASE-jumper Lucky Chance (yes, that is his real name!) and some of his crazy stunts. The film is very very funny and Lucky comes across as a real character - especially when he talks about his narrow escape on a jump where his canopy fails to open! A must see.

DARK SIDE OF THE LENS
A very artistic short film featuring surf photographer Mickey Smith and what he puts himself through to get the perfect shot. Not much surfing in this one, but a very nice poetic short film by Mickey.

SKETCHY ANDY
I had seen this excellent short film about the 'Slacklife' of Andy Lewis once before but I was really looking forward to seeing it again. Andy has, almost singlehandedly, pushed the development of slack lining and trick lining. Andy is an amazing character and this film really captures his personality. The film was just as enjoyable as the first time I saw it and I'd encourage everyone to check it out - even if you're not into BASE-jumping or slack lining, you can't help but appreciate Andy's talents... and his craziness! Randomly I remember seeing Andy performing with Madonna at the Superbowl 2012 halftime show - what a guy!

ALL I CAN
Emily and I had already seen this short skiing film but we didn't mind watching it again, as it is very different from any other skiing films we've seen. It focuses on uban skiing tricks and is beautifully shot and edited. A must see. 

THE LECTURE

LEO HOLDING - AUTANA - THE YOPO WALL

This is what I had been looking forward to the most in the EMFF line-up. Leo is a climber who I have been following for a number of years now and I have been extremely inspired by his adventures and achievements. Leo started off his talk by talking about his early like in The Lakes and his early climbing achievements on the Hold Man of Hoy and El Capitan amongst many other things! He then talked a bit about his climbing accident in Patagonia and his recovery. Leo then talked briefly about his expedition to Everest and The Asgard Project before moving on to the main event: Cerro Autana. Recently, Leo had led an expedition to Venezuela to climb the East Face of Cerro Autana (along with Stanley Leary, Jason Pickles and Alastair Lee). He told some amazing tales of the tribes, the jungle, the journey, the climb, and the logistics involved in such an expedition. It was quite fascinating to hear about all the logistics involved in adventure film-making and all the political obstacles that had to be overcome to make such a trip possible. Can't wait for the full film!

EMFF 2012 - Saturday Afternoon

THE FILMS

PUSH IT

A film by Jen Randall about female climbers pushing their limits. This film had a couple of interviews with elite female climbers, including Natalie Berry, talking about their climbing projects and achievements. However, the film's main focus seemed to tell the story of Jen's attempt, and success, to climb El Capitan with her friend. There were some amusing moments in their practice attempts, particularly involving hauling. I was hoping for more of an insight into the top female climbers, but this seemed to be the secondary point of the film. Nevertheless, very well done to Jen for putting together a great short film... and for climbing El Cap!

BONGO BAR

This short film documented a unique and privileged opportunity to a couple of competition winners run by Gore. Two lucky women travelled to Norway to climb a new route on a (mini) big-wall with Dave MacLeod. A very well put together short film by Paul Diffley and what an amazing prize!

ICE REVOLUTION
I've been lucky enough to see this excellent short film about Tim Emmett and Will Gadd's quest to climb the overhanging ice of Helmcken Falls once before. Even if you're not that into ice climbing, you can't help but be touched by the enthusiasm and entertainment value provided by Tim Emmett - what a guy!

THE LECTURE

ZOE HART - THE ALPINE PRINCESS

I must be honest here and admit that I hadn't heard of Zoe before, but I had Googled her before the show and was quite looking forward to hearing what she had to say. She didn't disappoint and told her story about how she became a guide in the Alps. She had some good video clips of some of the situations and epics that she and her husband had been involved in. It certainly looked like she is living the dream, guiding from Chamonix and getting to grips with motherhood.

EMFF 2012 - Saturday Morning

THE FILMS

THE LONG HOPE

I have seen this epic film once before in Sheffield, and I couldn't pass up the chance to see it again. Another great film made by Paul Diffley that tells the story of Dave MacLeod's quest to free the Longhope Route. The film portrays the great history of the huge adventure in Hoy that was first climbed in 1970 by Ed Drummond and Oliver Hill. There are also interviews with Dave Turnbull & John Arran who talk about the route, the history and their first free-ascent in 1997. Dave's goal was to free the headwall crack that Turnbull and Arran avoided - he thought a more direct line was possible. The film and the story is fantastic and features some amazing climbing by Dave and Andy Turner to complete the climb in only 10 hours! There is also a very emotional journey that sees Ed Drummond return to St. John's Head to the route. Well worth the DVD purchase, I would say.

BEN

I have had the pleasure of seeing this short film online prior to this screening. A lovely piece by Kate Owen that looks at a few individuals who make use of Ben Nevis and Glen Nevis everyday. It features a local farmer, fell-runner, photographer and climbers Dave MacLeod and Kevin Shields.

WHITE SILK ROAD
This film followed a group of Australian snowboarders to the slightly unusual ski destination of Afghanistan. I found the film, journey and story very enjoyable and quite different to many of the other snowboarding/skiing films I have seen over the years. There was a huge contrast between the war-torn city and the poor villagers who live in the snowy mountains. Some great footage of first descents and of the group teaching the locals to snowboard and build jumps.

EMFF 2012 - Friday Night

It's that time again: The 10th Edinburgh Mountain Film Festival.

This year, the lineup was looking amazing and with a rare completely free weekend, Emily and I went all in and bought full weekend tickets. My Dad was also keen to come over and check it out as we had told him so much about it.

Last year, the Friday night session was at the EICA but this year every session was to be held at the George Square Lecture Theatre; a large venue with great facilities. Herbie's flight was delayed from the Isle of Man so he had a bit of a mad dash from the airport but only missed a couple of minutes of the first film that was changed due to some 'technical difficulties'.

THE FILMS

OF WET AND WILDNESS

A short film by Paul Diffley that follows a group of kayakers exploring some rapids in Spain. The film is short but highly atmospheric and poetic; featuring dramatic narration and stunning HD slow-motion images of kayaking tricks.

ECHOES

A brief portrait of the current life and routine of Nick Bullock. Now a professional climber, Nick left his full-time job in the prison service to focus solely on climbing and adventures. I had already seen the film online and his latest book (also called Echoes) is next on my reading list. But I was more than happy to see the film on the big screen as it is one of the most inspiring short films I have seen this year and has matched up with my own thinking and direction of late. A brilliant short film.

HIDDEN GULLY

This short film was made by a couple of Scottish skiers who made a ski ascent of Hidden Gully, a grade II climb on Aonach Mor. It was clear that these guys were quite accomplished skiers and they had some great footage of scottish skiing as well as some of their runs in the Alps earlier in the year. Their message was: sometimes the best adventures are in your own back yard!

I BELIEVE I CAN FLY (FLIGHT OF THE FRENCHIES)

This was only a small portion of this full-length film that follows a group of French folk who travel to Norway for some BASE-jumping and high-lining. This film had some stunning footage and was also very amusing, with the personalities of the individual characters really shining through. The highlight was a clip of one chap free-soloing on a high-line - crazy stuff but very entertaining.

THE LECTURE

BORGE OUSLAND - AGAINST ALL ODDS
I must say: I was really looking forward to hearing about Borge's adventures to both the North and South poles and I didn't really know much about the guy. He didn't disappoint. Borge came across as a very interesting and humble chap, who I could have listened to all night. He spoke of various adventures that he had embarked upon including: successfully reaching the North pole in winter and walking across the Arctic Circle solo. The highlight for me was his story about arriving at the North pole and seeing a helicopter land in front of him and out stepped an Arab Sheikh who had also decided to visit the North pole that day! A riveting talk - certainly one of the best speakers I have heard.

Bynack More

Bynack More - Oct 2012 from Chris McMorris on Vimeo.

Ready for the off at Glenmore Lodge

An Lochan Uaine, Ryvoan Pass, Glen More

With the October holidays upon us, Emily and I headed to Nakiska for the week - I was hoping for an early cold snap for the Scotswinter! The weather was looking like it would be best today, with a fresh dump of snow last night. There hasn't been any cold spells to speak of so far so it looked like an early winter climb was out of the question. Instead, we set our sights on Bynack More - the most Northern Munro of the Cairngorms.

Autumn Trees, Ryvoan Pass, Glen More

Emily on the cycle in towards the River Nethy, Cairngorms

Looking at the route in from Glenmore Lodge, it looked like quite a way in so we opted to take the bikes. Some good organisation and an early breakfast, saw us getting on our bikes just after 9am. It was a chilly morning and the cloud was low and rain was threatening. Sure enough, a few minutes into our cycle, the heavens opened and we reached for our waterproofs. The track was pretty much a road through the forest and we made swift progress through the trees and arrived at An Lochan Uaine in no time at all. The rain had stopped but still threatened and there was now a fair breeze. We headed down the steps to admire the water, but were halted by a film crew who were busy making a Norwegian dance video. We weren't too put out, as the water was rather 'choppy'.

Looking South down Strath Nethy from the River Nethy, Cairngorms

Heading into winter in the Cairngorms, Bynack More

Heading on, the track quality degraded and became undulating as we rode through the Ryvoan Pass. We took the right branch of the fork and headed around the corner and up a rather steep incline - much to Emily's disgust. I think it's safe to say that she isn't the biggest fan of cycling up-hill!

Loving winter in the Cairngorms, Bynack More

Emily heading into winter in the Cairngorms, Bynack More

After working hard, our reward was a gentle run down to the footbridge across the River Nethy where we left the bikes. Looking South through Strath Nethy, the cloud base was down to around 700 metres but the air was still and the rain still absent. Now on foot, we made quick progress on the good path and gained height quickly. Into the cloud, we stepped into winter and a fair amount of snow and frost. It was interesting to see the vegetation that was all around - it appeared as though everything had been frozen in the state of spring or possibly summer. Due to the return of winter in May this year, many of the new shoots of the plants have been late in emerging; now frozen once again.

Wintery Tors on Bynack More, Cairngorms

Emily enjoying the winter in the Cairngorms, Bynack More

We made swift progress in the cloud along the flat and the snow was a little deeper - possibly two inches. Randomly a woman and young boy appeared in front of us, out of the mist, and walked by. The boy looked frozen and seemed to lack any kind of appropriate clothing; only an anorak. The path then started to climb up the North ridge of the main event: Bynack More. Emily and I were commenting on how new the path looked and how good it was, when I spotted two bright orange jackets in the mist just up ahead. These two guys were braving the weather and hard at work building the rest of the path we were actually walking! We stopped to shake their hands and to thank them for all their hard work - we also commented on the frozen boy we had passed and they agreed that they had also been concerned by his unsuitable clothing - some people...

Emily on the summit of Bynack More, Cairngorms

On the summit of Bynack More, Cairngorms

The path disappeared, visibility decreased and the snow got deeper. I lead the way up the ridge and we passed some interesting (and rather wintery!) granite tors - a welcome sight in the limited visibility. The West side of the ridge was rather blustery so we traversed left to gain shelter and continued up the East side out of the wind. At the the top, we spent a few minutes hunting in the clag for the summit cairn - which we soon found a triumphantly climbed to the top. There was a large amount of fresh snow at the top, but no sign of any ice - much to my dismay! We descended back down the ridge and found a sheltered spot for some lunch. As we set, the cloud started to thin and the sun tried hard to make an appearance... but didn't.

Looking West to Stac na h-lolaire after descending Bynack More, Cairngorms

Looking up towards the North ridge of Bynack More, Cairngorms

We headed down the same way we had ascended the ridge. The path builders had long gone, and as we walked down onto the flat once again, the clouds lifted, the sky turned blue and the sun shone down on us. We had stunning views to the West towards the crags of Stac na h-looaire - stunning. The way back down to the footbridge was extremely enjoyable and we were soon preparing to jump on the bikes. It had been tough going on the way in, but now I was reminded why I had insisted we bike into the bridge; the descent was now fast and exhilarating - much to our delight. In what seemed like a matter of moments, we were standing on the banks of An Lochan Uaine. Its turquoise waters were now completely still and we had it all to ourselves. Now we could see what all the fuss was about in the various guides and literature - this is truly a special place indeed. After snapping numerous photos, we sped back down the remainder of the track to Glenmore Lodge.

Looking Northwest towards Meall a' Bhuachaille, Cairngorms

An Lochan Uaine, Ryvoan Pass, Glen More

Before heading back to Nakiska, we stopped at Loch Morlich to enjoy the last of the day's light (and I also wanted to see what the Northern Corries were like!). The loch was lovely and still, as the sun disappeared behind the trees on the faraway bank. Looking up at Coire an t-Sneachda and Coire an Lochain, I could see that there had been a considerable dump of snow, but it looked like it was all melting and things were looking rather black. Nothing looked like it was in condition, so I was happy that we had made the most of the winter day. Things were now feeling rather mild, and I was pretty sure most of the snow would be gone by tomorrow.

An Lochan Uaine, Ryvoan Pass, Glen More

Sunset over Loch Morlich, Cairngorms

We headed back to the car and reflected on what a great day it had been. It had certainly been a day filled with everything that Scotland in winter has to offer.

Cairngorm and the Northern Corries from Loch Morlich

Book Review: No Way Down: Life and Death on K2 by Graham Bowley

After reading, and greatly enjoying, Psychovertical by Andy Kirkpatrick, I was keen to see what other gems of mountaineering literature were out there. A quick look along the bottom shelf of my bookcase revealed yet another book that I had been leant by a family member but never got around to reading: No Way Down.

I can remember Herbie going on about it a few months back and saying how 'nuts' the story was and how so many people had died. Intrigued, I decided to make it my next read - and I very glad that I did.

The book starts with a brief history of the K2 and some of the (very!) early attempts to conquer its mighty summit. Some crazy tales of how vast royal entourages made an assault on the mighty peak. This, I must say, was the most enjoyable part of the book for me personally; as I am extremely fond of mountaineering history. The main story then starts by setting the scene in early August back in 2008 by introducing the reader to each of the mountaineers who were planning a summit bid. Bowley has clearly researched each individual's history and personal story and it is clear that even in high altitude mountaineering: there are folk who come from many different backgrounds and from all walks of life - but on the mountain, everyone is equal. It was interesting to read about each of the mountaineers; their previous success and near-misses. What is clear from the background of these mountaineers, is that no-one stood out as being 'under qualified' to be on that mountain and all deserved to be there and making a push to claim the top.

The tale of the cerac collapse then begins by describing the mass approach to the summit, the long train of climbers, how slow the progress was, and how late in the day events were unfolding. It is at this point that I was thinking that some sort of human error or mistake would lead to accidental death or a multitude of tragedies, as Bowley builds up the suspense. After most parties summit, the real tale of death and survival unfolds before the reader's eyes and we are given an account from many of the mountaineers' perspective - a truly fascinating read. It is at this point that Bowley inserts minor elements of speculative fiction (e.g. some of the final thoughts of those that perished, and some small elements of what actually happened at the very end), but without this, the story would not flow as well and the reader may well feel a little 'cheated' and wanting more answers. Where fact is unsure, Bowley offers opinions of others that were actually there and other possibilities in an attempt to answer most questions and doubts that the reader may have.

Picturing the tragic events that unfolded that day and imagining oneself in that position is a difficult thing to do and the reader wonders what they could have done differently or if there were any other alternatives to the decisions that were made. A brilliantly well-written and fascinating story that will strike fear into the heart and soul of anyone, whether they are a mountaineers or not.

I think I found this book so enjoyable because it focused on the facts about what actually happened and not on the minor details or the 'nuts and bolts' of mountaineering. The focus of the story is very much on the individuals who where there and those that lost their lives on K2 over those eventful few days. The result is a text that many folk will be able to relate to and appreciate the fear and hardship that these brave souls endured.

I would be interested to know if anyone who has read this book has gone on to summit K2, because I can tell you right now that it has certainly put me right off!