– Featuring First Ascent, the full-length feature film from the 2006 Barry Corbet Film Festival Grand Prize Winner, Peter Mortimer, and Dosage Volume IV, the new film by award-winning cinematographer Josh Lowell –
– Alpinist and Jackson Hole Mountain Resort to raffle off exclusive Jackson Hole Mountain Resort Forty-Day Ruby Ski Pass at event; raffle to benefit 1% for the Tetons –
Jackson, Wyo – September 8, 2006 – Alpinist Magazine announced today that it will host a special screening of The Alpinist Film Festival (formerly The Barry Corbet Film Festival) on September 14, 2006, in the Mainstage Theater in downtown Jackson, Wyoming. During the evening, Alpinist will present the full-length feature film from The 2006 Barry Corbet Film Festival Grand Prize winner, First Ascent, as well as Dosage, Volume IV, the new release from award-winning cinematographer Josh Lowell.
On January 21, 2006, The Obscurist, a twelve-minute short by Peter Mortimer, won both The Barry Corbet Film Festival’s People’s Choice Award and the Grand Prize in front of a capacity audience of 900 at the Walk Festival Hall in Teton Village, Wyoming. The short was part of a feature-length film, First Ascent, the creation of which is documented in an eight-page article, “Verite Bites,” in Alpinist Issue 17. First Ascent will be presented on September 14.
Preceeding First Ascent will be Dosage, Volume IV, the new release from award-winning cinematographer Josh Lowell. Highlights from that film include Tommy Caldwell’s marathon El Capitan linkup, free climbing both The Nose (5.14a) and Freerider (5.12d) in under 24 hours (featured in a ten-page article, “Long Time Coming,” in Alpinist Issue 15).
All Film Festival ticket holders will be able to buy raffle tickets for the forty-day Ruby Pass, the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort’s exclusive fortieth-year anniversary pass. The Ruby Pass cannot be purchased; four such passes will be given away at the start of the season to Jackson Hole Mountain Resort season-pass holders. The fifth will be raffled off at the conclusion of the The Alpinist Film Festival Special Screening, with all proceeds from the raffle going to the non-profit organization, 1% for the Tetons. The Special Screening will be the only opportunity to win the Pass for non-season pass holders.
Doors open at 7 p.m. for pre-film cocktails. Films begin at 8. An afterhours party at Trio Restaurant in downtown Jackson, Wyoming, is included with tickets. Tickets ($12) are available at Teton Mountaineering, Skinny Skis and Tobacco Row, or by calling Alpinist at 307-734-0600.
The Alpinist Film Festival is supported by Patagonia, Jackson Hole Mountain Resort and a number of Valley businesses and individuals. It is powered by Base Camp Communications.
About The Alpinist Film Festival:
The Alpinist Film Festival, founded in March 2005 by Alpinist Magazine as The Barry Corbet Film Festival, honors Barry Corbet’s athletic and artistic spirit with films that celebrate the adventure lifestyle across disciplines and generations. The Film Festival’s mission is to advance the art of cinematographic storytelling as we underscore the unity among the adventure lifestyle communities. Profits from every Festival are donated to charity to foster well-being in the places of our inspiration.
Barry Corbet, who died December 18, 2004, was an American skiing, climbing and filmmaking legend. Among his many accomplishments, Corbet helped put the first American team on Everest in 1963, and his recognition of the possibilities of skiing resulted in the naming of Corbet’s Couloir at the Jackson Hole Ski Area in 1963.
Corbet’s movies, especially Ski the Outer Limits, set a new standard in mountain sports cinematography. In 1968, at age 32, a helicopter crash left him partially paralyzed. For the next thirty-six years, he used his filmmaking and writing skills to become a leading spokesperson for the disabled. His perseverance in the face of adversity, his poetic appreciation for both the physical and intellectual challenges of life and the artistry he displayed in his work left the world a radiant example of human potential.
About the Films:
First Ascent is the latest release from Sender Films (http://www.senderfilms.com) and director/producer Peter Mortimer, creators of the multi-award winning Return2Sender and Front Range Freaks.
First Ascent features today’s top rock climbers as they lay siege to steep faces and soaring alpine walls in pursuit of climbing’s pinnacle achievement – the First Ascent. Mortimer brings us on this globe-trotting journey to capture the hopes, fears and radical feats of men and women on climbing’s cutting edge. The creation of the film is documented in an eight-page article, “Verite Bites,” in issue 17 of Alpinist Magazine (on-sale date: September 1, 2006).
The film takes us from Himalayan summits to deep-water soloing on the coast of Thailand, and from the sobering heights of the Black Canyon to Timmy “Urban Ape” O’Neill’s monkey business on the buildings of Hollywood. A preview segment from First Ascent premiered in January, 2006, at The Barry Corbet Film Festival in front of a capacity crowd of 900 people at the Walk Festival Hall in Teton Village, Wyoming, and won the festival’s People’s Choice Award and its Grand Prize.
Dosage Volume IV:
Big Up’s Dosage series is the definitive annual portrait of climbing’s state-of-the-art. Volume IV follows the biggest names in trad climbing, sport climbing and bouldering as they make historic ascents at spectacular locations around the world. Highlights include Tommy Caldwell’s marathon El Capitan linkup, free climbing both The Nose (5.14a) and Freerider (5.12d) in under 24 hours (featured in a ten-page article, “Long Time Coming,” in Alpinist issue 15); Chris Sharma’s first ascent of Dreamcatcher (5.14d) in Squamish, BC; Lisa Rands’ first female ascents of scary grit routes in England’s Peak District; and much more.
Director Josh Lowell is a leading creator of climbing films. His company, Big Up Productions (http://www.bigUPproductions.com), has released seven films, including the top-selling titles in the industry. Lowell has worked extensively with the legendary climber Chris Sharma for years. His Dosage Volume II was the winner of six international film festival awards and was featured in Sports Illustrated and National Public Radio.
About Alpinist Magazine:
Hailed by Italian climbing legend Reinhold Messner as “The best climbing magazine in the world today,” Alpinist Magazine is an archival-quality, quarterly publication dedicated to world alpinism and adventure climbing. The pages of Alpinist capture the art of ascent in its most powerful manifestations, presenting an articulation of climbing and its lifestyle that matches the intensity of the pursuit itself. Alpinist has been awarded three Maggie Awards, for Best Quarterly/Consumer Division, Best Overall Design, and Best Electronic Newsletter, and was featured in a seven-page article in Outside Magazine (“The Purists”) in March 2005. The magazine’s editorial and publishing offices are based in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and online at www.alpinist.com.