It’s that time of year, funhogs and freaky people–another bombshell from the Reel Rock folks, the latest ski porn from Sweetgrass Productions, and the Boulder Adventure Film Festival.
I scammed a couple tix to the Reel Rock 2013 binge and it didn’t disappoint. Check out a future show near you and get ready to rumble. As usual there’s a buffet of goodness, from an interesting take on the Everest dust-up between Ueli Steck, Simone Moro, Jonathan Griffith, and a band of disaffected Sherpas (High Tension); to the eye popping trad-climbing of Hazel Findlay (Spice Girl). Another fun stop on the night is The Sensei, an exploration of the relationship between Japanese rockstar, Yuji Hirayama and bouldering stud Daniel Woods. Check out Woods getting his alpine on–pretty fun and awesome to see the kid out of his element, but loving it nonetheless.
I thought the highlight of the night was Findlay and Spice Girl–the opening scenes of her pushing the game are totally inspiring. The Everest piece, High Tension, cast some light on the ongoing conflict between Western climbers and Sherpas, but I found the ample commentary from an Outside editor and New Yorker writer less effective than interviews with the climbers and Sherpas themselves. It must’ve been a tough film to make and research, however, given the events transpired over the course of a few hours and halfway around the world. And you’ll get a kick out of the Stonemasters flick–a quick preview of a longer project Sender Films is currently finishing. Too good. Find a date and get to it–you’ll dig another evening with this crew.
The latest offering from Sweetgrass Productions, Valhalla, returns to the fevered psych of our childhoods–remember the first big snows of the year? Yeah, they’re trying to get back into that mindset, but instead of building kickers in our backyards and riding saucers down roadcuts, they’re strapping on the powder boards and going huge in the most beautiful places on earth. The trailer’s awesome; last year’s film was awesome; I’m expecting awesome. Big thanks to the Dynafit folks, whose North American offices are based here in Boulder, for helping to make it happen. See you guys at the film, Thursday, September 26 at the Boulder Theater!
Lastly, the Boulder Adventure Film Festival–yes indeed, the hellion offspring of our departed brother, Jonny Copp–runs October 3-5. Click through and check out the film line up. Events are spread between the Boulder Theater, the Patagonia shop, the Bohemian Biergarten, Neptune Mountaineering, Impact Hub Boulder, and Shine. Fifty-five bucks for a pass to all of it, or individual days and solo tickets available. I’m gonna try and catch the Kilian Jornet flick (A Fine Line), and Maidentrip, the story of a 14-year-old Dutch girl’s effort to be the youngest person to sail around the world–solo. Right on.
