coming around banff mountain

i haven't formed many traditions in my (albeit brief) adulthood, but one thing i have done without fail, every year since moving to salt lake, is attend the banff mountain film festival world tour, which was back in town tonight and in top form.

it was an evening of amateur adventure films took us all over the world, and inside passions and experiences we (or at least, i) will probably never have. (i might be underestimating myself here, but i don't think extreme ice climbing is in my near, if ever, future.) i do have to say there seems to be an increasing number of heavy-handed eco-conscious films in the festival, which is sort of obnoxious (sorry greenland, but there's a time and a place. you know?), but this year's festival still had some egdy adventure gems.

free solo rock climbing in the czech republic with no chalk, hardware or shoes? check.

a first time ascent up a gnarly jagged mountain in patagonia in the winter? check.

back country skiing down sheer rock faces? in the dark? check. check.

and, i am pleased to report, i also have a new lady-crush: bettina, who traversed the arctic ocean from russia to canada via the north pole. that's right. though, i am sorry to report her trip was cut short by that pesky global warming. or, "global melting," as her pony-tailed husband called it. they were stuck in the middle of melting and shifting ice floes for days before finally finding a place where a plane could land and take them to safety.

"we are alive," the husband concluded, "but the arctic is dying."

not to worry, though, al and leo are on the case. or so i hear.