The North Face will travel to 21 cities across North America, starting in Boulder, CO at the Boulder Theater on August 19, 2014, featuring personal athlete stories of adventure, perseverance, and triumph through film and live narration from the athletes’ perspective. Tickets for the tour are now available at www.thenorthface.com/speakerseries
“The Speaker Series offers a unique opportunity to listen to and interact with some of the most accomplished runners, climbers, skiers and snowboarders in the industry,” said Katie Ramage, The North Face director of sports marketing. “Their stories are inspiring and make being a part of the live audience a thrill.”
The North Face athletes will use film and live narration as mediums to share their thoughts on the ethos of Never Stop Exploring. Each film will encompass the quest for adventure, cultural exploration and the balance between hardship and reward. A live discussion and Q&A session will follow each film showing, providing the audience with the unique opportunity to hear directly from the athletes. The shows and athletes in this year’s Never Stop Exploring Speaker Series include:
- Relativity of Risk – Described as fearless, masterful, and inspiring, Alex Honnold has become one of the most recognizable icons in modern rock climbing. Honnold is best known for his free-solo ascents, in which he scales big wall climbing routes without a harness or rope of any kind. Sender Films and Big Up Productions bring you up close as Honnold climbs some of his most extraordinary routes to date and examines his philosophy of uncertainty and risk. Boulder, CO, Aug 19; Minneapolis, MN, Aug 21; Austin, TX, Aug 23.
- A Light Dose – When he isn’t skiing powder, Sage Cattabriga-Alosa turns his focus to art and music. A Light Dose is the tale of what happens when those two worlds collide. Teton Gravity Research and Adam Clark join Sage on an incredible voyage where Sage’s artistic ideas are brought to life and intertwine with his skiing. Breckenridge, CO, Oct 4; Burlington, VT, Oct 7; Montreal, QC, Oct 9; New York, NY, Oct 14.
- The Nutcracker – To honor their late friend Alex Lowe, alpinists Conrad Anker and Kris Erickson set out to create a new mixed climbing route on Winterdance, a legendary ice formation in Hyalite Canyon, MT, that Lowe made the first ascent of in 1998. Watch as Sherpas Cinema captures the sentimental climb of the new route – The Nutcracker, and hear the story behind the film. Calgary, AB; Toronto, ON; Bozeman, MT; Ouray, CO. (Dates TBA)
- Ultra Anthem – Since 2003, the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc ultramarathon has drawn in tens of thousands of runners and spectators from all over the world. Camp 4 Collective follows elite ultrarunners Timothy Olson, Rory Bosio, Hal Koerner, Mike Foote, and Ashley Arnold through preparation, build-up, and their journey through 103 miles around the Mont Blanc. Chicago, IL, Sept 25; San Francisco, CA (Dates TBA).
- The Greenland Project – Inspired by one small, pixelated photo of an unknown peak in Greenland, Lucas Debari has made it his mission to plan the perfect expedition to this unidentified glacier, but not before warming up by shredding powder in the backcountry of Mica, British Columbia. Sherpa Cinema captures Lucas and his friends, including Kaitlyn Farrington, recent Olympic gold medalist at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, as they embark on an extraordinary experience rife with laughter, festivity and triumph. Tour stops will feature Lucas, Johnny Collinson, Ralph Backstrom and Hilaree O’Neil in Seattle, WA; Berkeley, CA; Costa Mesa, CA; Vancouver, BC; Whistler, BC. (Dates TBA)
- Sufferfest 2 – Climbers Alex Honnold and Cedar Wright set out with a lofty goal: to climb over twenty iconic desert towers in the “four corners” of Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona by their most formidable routes, all the while traveling exclusively on bike. Along the way, they raise money for a solar project to assist in providing energy to 18,000 Native Americans who live in areas without power. In addition, the team assists in installing solar energy at schools, hospitals, and the homes of the elderly who live without electricity on Navajo reservations. Watch as Alex and Cedar appear live recant their trials and tribulations in Washington, D.C.; Raleigh, NC; Louisville, KY. (Dates TBA)
To find out more information about additional tour dates and athlete appearances, please visit www.thenorthface.com/speakerseries. Follow the conversation with #TNFSpeakerSeries.
