Kendal Mountain Fest Trailer & Santa Cruz Bike Session
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Sit back, relax and get a taste of what’s coming your way at this year’s Kendal Mountain Festival, taking place from November 16-19th. Featuring a legendary Bike Session presented by Santa Cruz and hosted by Lee Craigie and Rob Warner, this new format promises to make ‘Bike Night’ the place to be for MTBers.
One of the world’s largest and most diverse gatherings of outdoor enthusiasts, Kendal Mountain Festival has been a prominent fixture on the UK & international outdoors calendar since the 1980s. The festival’s vision is to inspire more people to explore, enjoy and represent mountain culture with over 15,000 visitors heading to the historic Lake District town each November.
Presented by Columbia Sportswear, at the heart of the festival is the critically acclaimed ‘International Film Festival’ with a 4-day programme of film-screenings and talks celebrating both the well-documented and lesser-known feats of adventure, endurance and exploration.
This year’s star-studded list of guest speakers includes renowned climber Tommy Caldwell, world-record endurance cyclist Mark Beaumont, adventurer / presenter Steve Backshall and Jenny Tough, who recently a ran a world first 1000km, solo and unsupported across the High Atlas Mountains.
With a broad range of events, sure to appeal not only to climbers and mountaineers but also new audiences, families and young adventurers, here’s what not to miss at Kendal 2017:
Basecamp Village
Located inside a huge marquee stationed outside the Brewery Arts Centre, Kendal’s basecamp village is the social hub of the Festival -crafted out of reclaimed wood and dressed with prayer flags. The world’s top outdoor brands will be in attendance to offer creative insights and demonstrations alongside a FREE programme of incredible speakers and a Cotswold Outdoor basecamp store selling the latest kit.
Petzl Underground Session
Rebooted and re-invigorated, this is going to be one big night! Martyn Farr, undoubtedly one of the world’s best-known cave divers, will kick off the session followed by Matt Kirby & Frank Pearson who’ll present ‘Under the Borneo Rainforest – 30 years exploring one of the world’s longest caves’. Journalist David Rose then presents three of Britain’s best cave photographers: Mark Burkey, Stu Gardiner & Nicky Bayley – with an opportunity to view their other-worldly work and filmmaker Paul Diffley will share exclusive excerpts from his film ‘The Ario Dream’.
Into Twin Galaxies
Meet the filmmaker Jochen and one of the star adventurers, Ben, of this amazing film which is sure to take your breath away. In 2016 three National Geographic “Adventurers of the Year“ – Ben Stookesberry, Sarah McNair-Landry and Erik Boomer embarked on an unreal ski and kayak mission across Greenland. Using kite skis, they tow their white-water kayaks over 1000km of the Greenland Ice Cap to reach the most northern river ever paddled. Racing the clock and snow melt, dealing with a broken back and frozen clothes – this adventure really pushes the limits.
Wild Adventures with Steve Backshall and Aldo Kane
Steve Backshall is the adventurer who explores parts of the world others just can’t reach. He’s travelled to over 100 countries making first ascents of remote jungle mountains or descending into sinkholes in search of new species. Steve will be joined on stage by Aldo Kane to share their latest adventure; ‘Down the Mighty River’. A chance to hear wild stories of interactions with ancient tribes, exploration into unknown caves and to discover the dangerous animals lurking in the river and surrounding jungle.
Findra – Women in Adventure Session
Elite Scottish rider and all round bike adventurer, Lee Craigie and round the world explorer, Jenny Tough will share their insights into how being a female can be an advantage to adventure and how they deal with the reality that sometimes it is not. Sharing stories from their experiences as part of women’s only groups and also as solo explorers, both athletes want to inspire others to have the confidence to explore wild beautiful places.
Kendal Mountain Literature Festival
We are delighted to announce that we will be launching the all new Kendal Mountain Literature Festival as part of the main Festival weekend this November, celebrating a diverse mix of literature, arts and new thinking covering the wide genre of ‘Outdoor’. We believe that Kendal has a responsibility to provide a platform for new thinking, adventurous imagination and creativity, which can change perceptions and inspire people. Something for all tastes and ages speakers include Tommy Caldwell and Sir Chris Bonington.
Britain’s Abandoned Playgrounds
Come and watch a freerunner, highliner, BMX rider and skateboarder on stage as they do what they do best; backflipping, bar-spinning and vaulting! A unique opportunity to go behind-the-scenes with Salt Street Productions and the athletes of All 4’s latest commission Britain’s Abandoned Playgrounds. This one-hour event includes a screening of one episode and is followed by a Q&A with the Abandoned Playgrounds team.
