Ever wondered what it's like to freedive into Icelandic waters, kick crampons into towering Greenland icebergs, and surf and paddle through Arctic waves?
On July 7, folks will get a taste of all those experiences, as four Squamish adventurers tell tales of their trips to Iceland and Greenland, as well as some of their adventures in Howe Sound.
It will be at Valhalla Pure's Squamish location at 8:30 p.m. Admission will be $20.
Filmmaker Brian Hockenstein documented himself and Tim Emmett, Jimmy Martinello and Luca Malaguti, all of whom are accomplished adventure sports athletes, as they took on new challenges and explored beautiful Arctic scenery.
The quartet visited Iceland in the fall and have recently come back from a trip to Greenland.
Hockenstein describes the experience of freediving during the group's travels as something that at once both overwhelms and silences the senses.
Plummeting into frigid blue-turquoise waters with little but a wetsuit is something you don't forget.
"If you're like a meditator, if you've experience with some psychedelic drugs, it's kind of like some of that kind of stuff," said Hockenstein.
"Simultaneously, all your nerves and senses are firing on all counts, but, at the same time, somehow, talking in those terms, it all disappears, and you're just there. And, you know, everything's quiet and silent and time slows or stops."
He likened it to travelling to a distant planet.
"You have this cold water, and then you're in this literally alien land, and you're holding your breath underwater the whole time," he continued. "We've all seen pictures of icebergs and stuff, but once you're there, you know, touching the ice and the ridges and the different shapes and different types of ice that's in there…but what I think it is like being in space, you know, completely foreign, completely alien."
And the documentation will be proving the point. The four adventurers will be presenting slides and a film giving Squamish residents a glimpse into what that world is like.
Emmett, a professional climber, will be showcasing the crystalline peaks of icebergs and other glacial formations that he summitted, among other things.
Martinello, a climber, photographer and surfer, will be offering snapshots of the experience, and Malaguti, a renowned freediver, will show the audience what it's like to experience the aquatic depths of the Arctic in its purest form — with no supplemental oxygen.
Hockenstein, who filmed the adventures, said he got sucked into the trips after befriending Malaguti, who was instructing him in a freediving course.
One thing led to another and he became friends with Emmett and Martinello. Then, the adventures began.
He said he'd done a lot of travelling, but this was definitely a trip for the books.
"Everything you hear about Iceland is true," said Hockenstein. "I mean, the landscape is just absolutely spectacular. Tim loves the cheesy dad joke that you know — you drop a camera on the ground and it takes a world-class photo, and it's absolutely true."
