The full programme for the 2014 Fort William Mountain Festival has been announced. Some of the best inspirational speakers made up of top climbers, and mountaineers, together with adventure film screenings, mountain bike, ski mountaineering and hill running races and mountain skills workshops will make up the Festival which runs from Wednesday 19th to Sunday 23rd February 2014.
Mike Pescod, Chairman of the Highland Mountain Culture Association, organisers of the Festival, said: “The Fort William Mountain Festival continues to get incredible support from local people, enthusiasts from across Scotland and the UK, and businesses from all sectors. It’s guaranteed to inspire, entertain and educate.
“This year’s programme celebrates mountain culture in all its forms and promotes the value of the landscape of Lochaber as the best destination in the UK to live, work and play. It includes a superb line up of top climbers and explorers, mountain films, inspirational speakers and skills workshops. It caters for a wide spectrum of enthusiasts from armchair adventurers to climbers and mountaineers to mountain bikers and budding wildlife photographers.”
The organisers have picked the following highlights from the programme:
Festival Launch Night – Wednesday 19/02/14 – The festival kicks off in action packed style at Nevis Range Mountain Experience, near Fort William. The evening will begin with a torchlight descent spectacular as a range of local outdoor athletes on skis, bike and foot weave their way down Aonach Mor. This will be followed by a locally sourced and inspired four course meal, a preview screening of the festival competition films and live musical entertainment.
Red Bull Media House Presents – Thursday 20/02/14 – Top level action films presented by Red Bull Media House, giving wings to people and ideas. Red Bull athletes are given the opportunity to open their wings and achieve their dreams. We’ll enjoy some of the best and most recent films from the Red Bull Media House.
New Scottish winter routes in out of the way places – Simon Yearsley – Thursday 20/02/14 – Simon describes his passion for putting up new winter routes in Scotland, and talks about partners, research, effort, and dealing with failure… all key components in his love for new route adventures. This talk will include some choice stories from our very own Glencoe and will be presented in The Clachaig, the warmest welcome in the heart of Glen Coe.
Hill Running Highs – Friday 21/02/14 – Findlay Wild, current record holder of the Cuillin Ridge Traverse and four times winner of the Ben Nevis Race opens the night with a short film. “The Dragons Back” by Shane Ohly will then be shown with a talk by legendary runner Manny Gorman who completed the Corbetts in a continuous round. Plus, a ridge running Question and Answer session, with an amazing panel of elite athletes; Shane Ohly, Manny Gorman, Findlay Wild and Guy Steven.
Climbing Night with Piolet d’Or Winners Sandy Allan and Mick Fowler – Saturday 22/02/14
The complete Mazeno Ridge of Nanga Parbat was undoubtedly one of the most famous unclimbed lines on the great peaks of the Karakorak/Himalaya, having been attempted many times, and by some of the world’s greatest mountaineers … Sandy Allan and Rick Allen with a small team crossed all eight Mazeno summits, and from a bivouac at 7,200m made an unsuccessful attempt on the unclimbed continuation of the ridge direct to the top. At this point all but Allan and Allen gave up and made a difficult descent to the south. The British pair eventually traversed the north flank to the summit and made a difficult descent of the Normal Route on the north flank, reaching the bottom after a traverse lasting 18 days. Sandy Allan will be joining us to share his experience of this fantastic mountaineering expedition.
The Dynamic Image – Nadir Khan – Sunday 23/02/14 – A multi media presentation for those that love photography and creativity in the outdoors. The presentation is a visual feast for a photography or outdoor enthusiast; with music, video, time lapse and stills. Nadir talks about his techniques for photographing adventure sports from trail running, to ice climbing to snowkiting.
The Best of Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour Film Night – Sunday 23/02/14 – Always a sell-out, this is your chance to see the best in award winning mountain films from around the world – extreme expeditions and challenges, remote cultures and the world’s last great wild places.
You can also join in or spectate as top level mountain athletes compete in events throughout the weekend. The Scottish Enduro Series Round One mountain bike event will take place at Nevis Range; Skimo Scotland will hold their ski mountaineering races at Glencoe Mountain and Nevis Range; Lochaber Athletics Club will hold a special hill race on Saturday 22nd February.
There will also be the opportunity for both novices and experts to hone their mountain skills through a series of workshops in avalanche awareness and winter walking with Abacus Mountain Guides. There will be wildlife photography workshops with Nevispix and an adventure photography workshop with acclaimed photographer Nadir Khan. Indoor climbing and ice climbing skills workshops will also be on offer at Kinlochleven’s Ice Factor Indoor Climbing Centre plus understanding our mountains through the Gaelic language workshop.
Mike Pescod added: “Celebrating the landscape that surrounds us in Fort William is the inspiration behind the Mountain Festival. Whether it is the beauty of the landscape, our engagement with it or the opportunities we find in it, celebrating our natural capital is the vision of The Outdoor Capital of the UK, which is our presenting sponsor once again.”