Mountains on film

Lisa and I shivered in the queue waiting for the doors to open into Union Chapel, which has been taken over by the Banff Mountain Film Festival crew for a couple of weeks. An usher walked down the queue's length to tell us that there was hot food, hot drinks and, indeed, heaters in the foyer. We were grateful for the reassurance. Lisa pointed out that she was only one of a very few ladies that wasn't in gear that you could trek in. It would be unusual to spot a hillwalker wearing dangly gold earrings, a dress and gold-studded shoes. Lisa was colder than most of us.

We headed straight for the hot food and red wine and the carbs and alcohol generated enough heat to be comfortable. Once finished, we gave up our seats for two handsome, tall gentlemen - the Banff Mountain Film Festival crowd is easy on the eye. With mugs of hot tea in hand, we climbed to the top tier of seats and settled in to watch Programme A (we're seeing Programme B next week). I lent Lisa my coat to cover her knees. I was prepared with woolly tights, socks, jeans, boots, jumper, fleece and scarf. Churches aren't known for warmth. I'm guessing Lisa will wear several duvets next week.

The films were superb. My favourite was Lily, for obvious reasons (small, excited wonder dog), but each film had charms. Here are some clips (and the full Lily film):

Being There
Honnold 3-0 - so difficult to watch without feeling the fear
Wide Boyz
Crossing the Ice - this clip shows a low point, but there were some very funny parts to the film
Flow Hunters
Strength in Numbers
Ernest - the star is an octogenarian who lives at home alone, surviving in the wilderness. He can build snow caves, has his own taxidermy business and just gets by. A note at the end of the film said that he'd broken his hip and he was in a nursing home with his wife, to which the audience gave a collective "awwww". Then another note said that he'd recovered and was back in his cabin on the mountains doing what he does best. The audience cheered.

Last but not least:
Lily Shreds Trailside