Get friendly with the Rossland Range at the Backcountry Film Festival this weekend

This Sunday brings the return of the Backcountry Film Fest to Rossland. Held at the Miners' Hall each year, the popular event has been a sell out the last two times it's been held.

This year's festival features a wide range of films, with subjects that include backcountry riding, winter kayaking, hutkeeping, and a solo journey through the mountains of South America.

Of local interest are films like "Ski Bums Never Die" about the seniors who ski each day at Whitewater as well as "Rest in Powder" by Nelson's Jason Mannings.

And it's not just seniors and twenty-somethings. "Kokanee Glacier Adventure 2011" features two twelve-year-old girls, Rossland's Sarah Mosher and Sage Robine, and their experiences on a family ski touring trip.

This is an all ages event. Sunday, February 26 at 7pm at the Miners' Hall. The doors open at 6:30pm. Advance tickets are available from Butch Boutry and the cost is $5 per adult. Kids 12 and under are free! Organizers advise people to buy in advance as the show tends to sell out.

FILM PROGRAM

Breaking Trail (13:00) Powderwhore Productions

Utah, Washington, Spitsbergen, Colorado and Idaho backcountry riding and skiing.  Breaking Trail is honored with the Winter Wildlands Alliance “Best of the Backcountry” award.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5G52UjNmzmM

Ski Bums Never Die (4:07) Switchback Entertainment

Baggin’ Whitewater’s peaks of the Kootenays at 75 years old and lovin’ every minute!  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYM8tLJLryU

Seasons:  Winter (6:25)Skip Armstrong

An avid kayaker shares his own take on winter adventure with a boat.  http://unofficialnetworks.com/tag/seasons-winter-kayaking

Kokanee Glacier Adventure 2011 (8:00) S. S. Ski Bum Productions, Rossland, BC

Filmed at Kokanee Glacier Park in March, 2011, and edited and directed by 13 year olds Sarah Mosher and Sage Robine, this film also stars Emily Mosher (16) and Natasha Robine (10), filmed by Jim Mosher. The film shares this first family ski touring trip from the eyes of two 12 years olds:  fresh powder, sledding, and more.

Rest in Powder (3:11) Jason Mannings, Nelson, BC

This short is a celebration of Kootenay winters, skiing and snowboarding in the Kootenays 2010/2011.  http://vimeo.com/32952177

BOOM (3:06) Steve Crowe, Briefly 7 Productions, Golden, BC

Synchronized to the tune of the Overture of 1812, this short is an interesting angle of Steve Crowe’s ski patrol bombing activities at Kicking Horse.  http://www.powdermag.com/stories/boom-bombs-avis-kicking-horse-the-overture-of-1812

INTERMISSION

Winters of My Life (3:30) Jonathon Burhop

A portrait of Howard Weamer who has spent the past 35 winters as a hutkeeper in Yosemite's backcountry. He fills his days writing, reading, photographing, and being an ambassador to mountain culture. This is a brief look into his world and why he chooses to stay.  http://vimeo.com/13972943

Berber Turns (7:30) Switchback Entertainment

A ski adventure about a crew who set out to ski the six highest peaks in the Central High Atlas Mountains in Northern Africa, Morocco.  http://unofficialnetworks.com/2011/05/11/2011-telluride-mountainfilm-selection-berber-turnsskiing-central-high-atlas-mountains-morocco

Solitaire (35:00) Sweetgrass Productions

This short version of the feature length film, winner of the Winter Wildlands Alliance “Best of Festival” award, presents beautiful cinematography of this lonely two-year journey in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile and Peru.  The film begins in Las Leñas, wandering from Peru's Cordillera Blanca to Chilean Patagonia.   http://sweetgrass-productions.com/solitaire.html