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In March of 2005, Alpinist magazine organized the first Barry Corbet Film Festival: three nights of film screenings and parties that raised money for the Khumbu Climbing School. Each year since, Alpinist has sold out the Jackson show, now called The Alpinist Film Festival, to a salivating crowd. The unique party has become too big for such a small town like Jackson to handle on its own, and so 2008 saw the beginning of The Alpinist Film Festival Tour. Having already shown our stuff in Bend, OR and Bozeman, MT, we hope the video above (thanks to our gear editor, Christina Erb, for putting it together) and the information below will draw you to our October stopovers in Boulder, CO and Salt Lake City, UT.
The Bozeman crowd was welcomed into a pre-party ballroom full of food, beer, music and gear. [Photo] Josh Gage
Our Bozeman Show
At our most recent stop in Bozeman, Montana, over 350 enthusiastic attendees were met by New Belgium beer and a delicious spread of appetizers prepared by the Emerson Grill before the feature films. We were pleased to hear that the locals and Bozeman sponsors were still talking about it the following weekend.
“Ice climbers were intrigued by the prospect of using ice tools to climb on chalk, and Bozeman has a pretty big tele ski scene, so they really loved Mountain Town: the Grasshopper,” said Leslie Bahn, former Bozemanite and Alpinist Film Festival producer. When all was said and done, the show raised over $2,000 for the charity SurfAid International.
Intermingling during the Bozeman pre-party and intermission. [Photo] Josh Gage
Next Stop, Boulder
The Bozeman show will definitely see some competition from next-in-line tour stop, Boulder, coming up on October 8, 2008, as Alpinist is expecting a big showing from Boulder climbers, skiers and landlocked surfers.
Each tour stop has a unique local scene and set of sponsors. Boulder is a great example, as Vail Resorts has partnered with Alpinist in promoting the festival in addition to Colorado Mountain Club, the Access Fund, Bent Gate Mountaineering, Boulder Outlook Hotel,the AMGA and the American Alpine Club. With AAC’s special Layton Kor event and the Craggin’ Classic to follow the Film Festival, the Boulder stop will be the kick-off to a great week of climbing events.
Bozeman guests scan tables of gear and place their bids during the silent auction to benefit SurfAid International. [Photo] Josh Gage
Our Non-profits and the Future
One of the underlying purposes of the Alpinist Film Festival is to support charity groups that give back to the places of our inspiration as outdoors people. So, every festival year, Alpinist has selected and contributed profits to one particular non-profit organization through the Adventure Philanthropy program. The Khumbu Climbing School, The Central Asia Institute, One Percent for the Tetons and SurfAid International (this year’s recipient) have benefited from the roughly $32,000 raised. Each year, more money is contributed by sponsors and attendees than the one before, and with the introduction of the Festival Tour, Alpinist is hoping to blow our previous totals out of the water. There are so many grassroots organizations doing important work in the world–and so many of you who are excited about the films we’ve chosen–that we at Alpinist have all the incentive we need to expand the Tour. We’re looking forward to your support this season in Boulder and Salt Lake City.
The Schedule
Boulder: Boulder Theater, October 8, 6 p.m.
Salt Lake City: The Depot, October 22, 6 p.m.
Visit the Alpinist Film Festival website for more information.