The front tire hinges on a precipice, rolling valleys sprawl a mile below. A second later the bike is over the ledge and zooming along a narrow mountain ridge.
Danny Macaskill speeds just inches away from a 3,000-foot drop on Cuillin Ridge in Scotland, unfettered by the drone camera catching his every move. The trip was a childhood dream fulfilled that claimed a spot in this year’s Banff Mountain Film Festival.
Macaskill’s death-defying jaunt, The Ridge, was screened this weekend at Fredericton’s Playhouse. Chris Burkard’s Arctic Swell, surfing in sub-zero Antarctica waters, and Alastair Humphrey’s and Leon McCarron’s Into the Empty Quarter – a 1,000 mile trek across the world’s largest sand desert were just some of the 19 films shown.
“It really instills a sense of adventure in everyone – you see it every time,” says Terry Melanson, vice president external for the University of New Brunswick’s Rock & Ice Club.
He’s been rock climbing for seven years, and for the past two years has been in charge of organizing events like this one.
“It’s important to share the message. In each film there’s a good message about getting outdoors and doing something and having a good attitude towards nature and conservation,” something Melanson says is a big part of the climbing lifestyle – and also why he loves what he does.
The Banff Mountain Film Festival has been running since 1976 and screened in Banff in November. The world tour kicked off after that, making its way to every Canadian province and international destinations like Chile, Ireland and Austria.
Not all the films were adrenaline-fuelled. Andrew Hinton’s Tashi and The Monk were centered on the unbreakable pillars of human compassion as he documented Lobsang, a Buddhist Monk who runs an orphanage in the foothills of the Himalayas. The film is a thoughtful tear-jerker as it centres around Tashi, a spirited yet misunderstood little girl who eventually finds her groove thanks to Lobsang’s care and guidance.
“Before we used to have it at MacLaggan Hall at University of New Brunswick, you could fit maybe 360 people in there, but we’d sell out year after year after year,” he says. “It’s good to have it at the Playhouse because we can fit twice the amount of people.”
The more people exposed to adventure, the better. Melanson attended an after-screening event on Friday and says the room was abuzz with excitement – climbers, explorers and average joes were giddy with the night’s events. Adventure war stories were shared and new trip ideas were born. As for starring in one of next year’s films, Melanson says he’s no filmmaker but would fully support a film coming out of Fredericton.
“There’s a stoke factor for sure. You don’t have to go on these massive adventures. I think the message is just to get out there and do something and have fun outdoors.”
