Banff Mountain Film Festival

Oh it was soooo cool!

The First Film was about Rock climbing and it was called "If Your Not Falling" . It was very thrilling and suspenseful. You felt your muscles strain and felt the bite of the rock into your fingers and then the sinking of your heart as see the climbers fall after fall. And finally the whole crowd cheers as the climber gets past that one impossible hold to get to the top, you feel so relieved and you can finally feel safe to breath.

There was another film about the leading woman rock climber (sorry I cant remember here name) and she boulders which is climbing really big boulders with out ropes and such. ( This is my favorite sport even though I have not done it for years). She climbs this overhang and you just can't believe the little niches she finds to hold onto. While watching you come to really respect the well trained body as you see her hanging on with one hand and turning her body horizontal to get her balance and bring her feet back to the rock. You can see that her whole body is active in keeping her hold. It really makes me want to get in shape and feel that kind of freedom on the rock.

The film called "99 Days On The Ice" is about a woman attempting to cross the Arctic Ocean from Russia to Canada through the North Pole.

I was not excited about watching a 52 minute film of cold and ice but the woman was no ordinary woman and in spite of the danger and cold she was happy and fully of joy and peppy and positive. I could have watched her do anything for any length of time. It was very interesting and entertaining film. I'm convinced that I would not want to do that but to know that it is possible and to see the footage of that desolate land touching the sky brings a sense of wonderment and gratitude to God for our capabilities and for this wonderful world.

I don't quite remember the titles of the other films but there was an Avalanche training film that was jaw dropping, hang on to the seat for dear life. It was neat and had some really beautiful time laps but all the risks that these people were takeing just made me think they were really dumb. Grrr! It was exciting but I would not want do what they did for anything.

Mountain Biking or rather Inner City biking was another subject of a film where you saw these professional mountain bikers hopping off and on and twirling on everything in the city: chains, tailor beds, hand railings, walls, fences, picnic tables, etc.

I really felt that I could start to understand that being a rock climber or mountain biker gives you a whole new sense or a new way to look at everything around you. Buildings are no longer just buildings but staircase, and all those city railings and cubs are not meant as a border to keep you in but yet another way to travel, the path less traveled.

What I saw in all these films was Freedom.

Freedom earned by experience, learning, and hard training.

Freedom to make the impossible possible.