Act fast, the discounted passes for our 32nd annual Telluride Mountainfilm Festival are available online until May 1st. After that, our two most popular passes, the Wilson and Sunshine, go up $50 each. The Wilson pass provides admission to all Festival programs and events, including...
2009 Mountainfilm
Clint Viebrock photo
The 32nd annual Mountainfilm in Telluride Festival is scheduled this year May 28 – 31. The event will feature a rich mix of special guest presenters drawn from a wide spectrum of experience and expertise: adventurers, artists, activists and an ambassador.
“Mountainfilm is about so many things: climbing, mountaineering, world cultures, the environment, art, extreme sports, social justice and foreign policy,” said Festival director David Holbrooke. “One of the things that makes Mountainfilm so unique and exciting is that we attract interesting people from all of those worlds. And the chemistry between them, and with our audiences, is just amazing. Despite the range of their fields and backgrounds, they all seem to complement and inspire one another. Our films are great. But our guests are what really set us apart.”
The list of this year’s special guests includes:
by Tracy Shaffer
Brian Jacobson
Spring fever hit Colorado, creating the perfect opportunity to stroll away a sunny afternoon with virtuoso chef and Foodswings owner, Brian T. Jacobson. First stop, coffee at Paris on the Platte; Brian swinging in with his energy as fresh and delicious as the food he cooks. Dipping biscotti into double espresso, we talk food, spices and the five essentials I must have in my kitchen. Brian leads me down the spice trade routes and into my very own culinary Age of Discovery. We speak of Dutch West Indies Trading Company, talk of blends, balance and the culture of cardamom. Trading the secrets of pepper and hanging on his every word, and armed with my vintage parasol, I’m restless to sojourn in the sunshine. Under the umbrella of a turquoise floral print, I link my arm in Brian’s and saunter up Little Raven to the Savory Spice Shop.
Editor's note: For eight years, Telluride local Ben Clark and a few friends/professional colleagues have made Spring treks to the majestic mountains of the Himalayas. Follow his adventures on Telluride Inside... and Out, including links to his regular podcasts. If you have missed any of Ben's posts, just type "Ben Clark" into Lijit Search to find them all.
"Dispatch 7: 17,600'/So we wait
By D. Dion
Telluride Snowkiting Instructor Mark Worth is a wind junkie. After spending winters here teaching people how to snowkite, he blows out of town and spends summers in Hood River Gorge in Oregon, where he teaches people how to kite surf. He owns his own businesses in both towns, Telluride Snowkite School and Gorge Kiteboard School, and leads something of a double life.
“The migration thing’s just become part of the deal. It’s really a challenge to deal with the logistics,” says Worth, “but the upside is that in the Gorge, in the summertime, it’s really sunny and dry; but in the winter, it’s cloudy and rainy, so it’s nice to be in Telluride where the sun is shining and the snow is falling.”
Editor's note: For eight years, Telluride local Ben Clark and a few friends/business colleagues have made Spring treks to the majestic mountains of the Himalayas. Follow his adventures on Telluride Inside...and Out, including links to his regular podcasts. If you have missed any of Ben's posts, just type "Ben Clark" into Lijit Search to find them all.
"Buffalo Soldier, Bryan Adams and Mera La pass...What do they have in common? The cell phone of one of our porters, Nema. He swears that the Bryan Adams song (one I regretfully learned with all other 7th graders when the Kevin Costner Robin Hood film came out) was loaded on his cell phone when he got it. Priceless and yeah...busted, in the dizzying heights of 17,600' Mera La pass we sung it with him while his phone rang That was after Buffalo Soldier. The world loves Marley.
"We are now settled on a beach, sands blowing against our tent and sun shining overhead. The backdrop is not exactly coconuts and grass skirts, but five star nonetheless...Everest, Lhotse and Baruntse stand vigil over our site erupting early season plumes like an unbridled mare. This was definitely the most enchanting and rewarding day of this year's trek into the mountains for our climbing and skiing expedition. We have two and a half hours left before we will build a semi-permanent site at the base of 23,390' Baruntse and begin our ascent to become the first climbers to ski Baruntse's white frigid flanks.
Editor's note: For eight years, Telluride local Ben Clark and a few friends/business colleagues have made Spring treks to the majestic mountains of the Himalayas. Follow his adventures on Telluride Inside... and Out, including links to his regular podcasts. If you have missed any of Ben's posts, just type "Ben Clark" into Lijit Search to find them all.
"Dispatch 4: Khare/16,000'/Day 5
"Sweeping buttresses of untouched granite glimmer overhead as our team moves through the alpine zone again en route to Baruntse basecamp. The temperatures are mild, the weather is predictable and the trail winding and spectacular. This is a trek worth doing for those who wish to experience the Himalayas from the valley floor and only sample the heights.
"The last two days have brought us out of the lower juniper forests and the many sherpa dance parties that drive late through the evening. Yeah, that's right, for all the Buddhist oh mani padme hum soundtracks that fill our ears, there is an equal amount of chang 'a special Nepali beverage' and pop tunes flowing through each misty night. It's cool, I've traveled these regions for eight years with several of the cooks and porters we have on this trip and every morning they are bright eyed and bushy tailed...but we exchange smiles.
The Taurus zodiac month began here in the San Juans with gentle rain, rumbling thunder and magnificent lightning, but this morning I awoke to a world of white. Overnight, the rain had turned to snow. It wasn’t long before bright green popped out beneath Mother Nature’s soft, nurturing blanket - the next few days will paint the pastures shades of brilliant emerald and shimmering jade. There’s nothing like the snows of spring, followed by dazzling sun and blossoming life. For me, this time of year is a time of memories, emotion and nostalgia. As the Sun enters my 12th House of the numinous and divine, I drift back to those halcyon days of childhood, when the world sparkled, fairies danced and the lands of magic, mystery and intrigue lived in and all around me. My imagination saw witches in babushka-clad old ladies, Indians riding ponies along Cherry Creek and dinosaurs traveling across far distant horizons.
Thought "Avatar" was out of this world? This film is over the moon.
