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Author: Susan Viebrock

Editor's note: For eight years, Telluride local/mountaineer 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.

Benbioshotlr-254x300 "Dispatch 8: 20'600' and man it's awesome up here!

You have to be crazy to explore high altitude. Not conventionally crazy, like constantly repeating the same thing and expecting a different result. You have to be comfortable with getting a result that is punishing and optimistically believing the opposite will happen next time. Crazy thing is...it does, every time. That's why flatlanders label it extreme. I guess it defines risk as well.

Jon and I traveled light and high to 20,600' yesterday on our objective, 23,390' Baruntse, it was hard on us. We climbed half our expected five-day route in a little over 24 hours, just three days after arriving in base camp. As much as we enjoyed the scenery and the awkward sensation of oxygenless stupor, we also descended fully to base camp in time for supper. FAST. Today we rest in anticipation of a summit strike in a couple of days. Weather is moving in as the sky is swarming moisture in from the Northwest, a testy condition I have sat through before in a less comfortable position testing my patience.

01 May, 2010 /

Featuring presenters drawn from science, industry, arts and the media, and in keeping with the International Year of Biodiversity, Mountainfilm launches its 32nd annual Festival on Friday, May 28, with an in-depth look at species extinction.

“We are living in the sixth major extinction on this planet and the first one to be caused by humans,” says Festival Director David Holbrooke. “The statistics are staggering. We’re currently experiencing the worst spate of species die-off since the loss of dinosaurs 65 million years ago. It’s estimated that a species dies off every 20 minutes. Some scientists predict that between 30 and 50 percent of all species will be extinct by mid-century. E.O. Wilson says that biodiversity is the key to life on this planet and that its collapse is the biggest threat we are facing.”

Noting he is still waiting to confirm several symposium presenters, Holbrooke says he is delighted with the depth of expertise he has already locked in.

30 April, 2010 /
Poster The Sheridan Arts Foundation's Young People's Theater in Telluride, under the direction of Jen Julia, presents its third full-length musical, performed by a cast of 27 young locals, grades 3 – 5. Performances are April 30 – May 2, 6 p.m. ( one hour with intermission).

Hansel & Gretel is a fairy tale of German origins, made famous by the Brothers Grimm. The story follows a young brother and sister, who discover a Gingerbread house filled with candy in the forest, the home of a child-eating wicked old witch. The Grimm version differs from the original in one fundamental plot twist: there was no evil stepmother. It was the children's own mother who convinced the father to abandon his offspring in the woods, a not unknown practice during crisis such as famine, war, plague, pestilence of the late Middle Ages. The change was to smooth feathers in a society not able to conceive of a mother forsaking her own babes.
29 April, 2010 /

180south
180 South

From over 600 submissions, Mountainfilm has whittled its 2010 official film selections down to roughly 75, a process that Festival Director David Holbrooke says was a "particular challenge" because there were so many strong films. 
 
“As always, we have a wide range of films on a dizzying array of subjects from exploration to environmentalism to ecstasy (the drug). Having to pick and choose what makes the most sense for us, what best connects or contrasts with our themes and sub-themes, is really tough. Saying ‘no’ to strong films and talented filmmakers is just hard, no two ways about it.”
 
However difficult the decision-making process, Holbrooke says he is excited by the quality and diversity of this year’s picks.

28 April, 2010 /
Renate.suction The American Academy of Bookbinding and the Ah Haa School present a talk by Renate Mesmer of the Folger Shakespeare Library: “The Folger Shakespeare Library and the Preservation of Books.” The talk with accompanying slides is scheduled for Thursday, April 29, 6:30 p.m. in the East Room of the Ah Haa School’s Depot Building.

Renate Mesmer is in Telluride teaching book conservation classes at the American Academy of Bookbinding. She works at the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, DC, where she is Assistant Head of Conservation.
28 April, 2010 /
[click "Play" to hear Elaine Fischer talk about Mark]

Photo 1
Mark & Elaine

April is the month for uniquely talented people throughout the country and in Telluride, people who tend to think outside the box, march to their own drum, and find unique modes of self-expression.

April is National Autism Month and National Poetry Month.

Telluride's Autism Behavioral and  Consultation Team (now a state-mentored Model Autism Team) headed my Occupational Therapist/Yoga instructor Annie Clark has been busy muscling up its protocols and programs. And Telluride Council for the Arts & Humanities and Talking Gourds are pleased to announce the 13th annual Mark Fischer Poetry Prize Award Ceremony and Poetry Reading. The event takes place Tuesday, April 27, at Telluride's award-winning Wilkinson Public Library.
27 April, 2010 /
[click "Play" to hear Susan's conversation with Michael Freeman]

IMG_2121 Telluride Yoga Center instructor Anne Roemer welcomes her dear friend and spiritual mentor Michael Freeman to town. His visit includes a gift to our community: a spiritual practice including a guided meditation on Friday, April 30, 7 – 8:30 p.m. and on Saturday, May 1, 1:30– 4:30 p.m., in the basement of Christ Presbyterian Church. (On Columbia, across the street from the Telluride Elementary School.)

Although people come to Yoga for a variety of reasons – to learn to bend like a pretzel, develop strength and focus, distraction from physical aches and pains – the refinement of awareness is what the practice is really all about. The process which begins with just showing up and being present, can end with personal transformation.
27 April, 2010 /

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...

27 April, 2010 /

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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:

26 April, 2010 /

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.

Benbioshotlr-254x300 "Dispatch 7: 17,600'/So we wait

Gray clouds build overhead as high winds stream and batter our position. Boy are we lucky to be landlocked today rather than our initial plan of ascending to camp one at 20'000'. We set out in clean clothes under sunny skies this morning only to be turned back with an equipment failure. The mountain is now being blasted hard. Fighting upward would have resulted in dodging rockfall and hunkering into a stormy night. Bad luck is good luck sometimes, no?


26 April, 2010 /