In what promises to be a journey through the evolution of climbing in B.C. and Canada, a special evening at the Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival (VIMFF) will show Squamish as a major player in the past, present and future of the climbing world.
The B.C./Canada evening at the VIMFF will feature Ivan Hughes's award-winning documentary In the Shadow of the Chief, as well as a multi-media presentation from Squamish climbing star Matt Maddaloni.
The doors open and the mountain-speak starts flying at 7 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 27 at the Centennial Theatre in North Vancouver.
Maddaloni's presentation on modern free routes in Squamish will be in juxtaposition to Hughes' documentation of the groundbreaking first ascent of the then-"unclimbable" Stawamus Chief.
The title of Maddaloni's offering, Squamish Long Free Routes, will cover his recent breakthrough ascents in Squamish as well as some epic big-wall routes on Baffin Island and Himalayan expeditions.
"Our route in Baffin was big! I'm talking about eight- to 10-hour leads of hard and scary aid, while living on the wall for 25 days in a row," said Maddaloni. "That's enough time for the 9-5 world to completely cease to exist. You eat, breathe and sleep climbing, something I've never seemed to attain even from a week-long El Capitan route."
Maddaloni is an accomplished all round climber at the age of 26 with V11 boulder problems, 5.13 crack and sport routes and A5 nailups on his impressive resume.
Maddaloni has been living in Squamish for the past 10 years, and has accomplished several first ascents on the long cracks of the Chief and surrounding granite walls.
In the summer of 2002 Maddaloni had finished two new long routes. The "Black Dyke" with 12 pitches and its crux at 5.13b had become Squamish's first all-bolt protected multi pitch to the summit of the Chief. His "Warriors of the Wasteland" with eight pitches was climbed completely ground up and included a 45-metre 5.12a finger crack and a 5.12c sport pitch all bolted while on lead.
In commenting on these two very different styles of climbs Maddaloni says: "I'm interested in all adventures and first ascents are guaranteed adventures because what lies ahead is all but a mystery. To me this sounds like the most fun!"
For Ivan Hughes, the evening will present another opportunity to show his critically acclaimed documentary, which has been getting rave reviews since the world premiere at the Whistler Film Festival in November.
Using never-before-seen archival footage and photographs, In the Shadow of the Chief takes a unique look at a part of climbing history and the spirit of the community that rallied behind them.
"Hopefully this film will serve as a reminder of how far Squamish has come since it was a quiet logging town to being the centre of outdoor recreation that it is today," said Hughes. "While it shows just how far the sport of climbing has evolved from those early days, most importantly I hope this film begins to honour the efforts of the early pioneers of the sport of climbing."
Hughes has been enjoying the accolades as of late, and is pleased with being able to share the film with the full support of the climbing community.
"It's been fantastic. A lot of people involved in the climb and who lived in that era can come out and re-live the adventure, and a lot of the local climbers now can get a chance to see what it was like back then."
The evening will also feature North Face athlete Abby Watkins, who will share a woman's perspective on climbing.
Tickets are $15 in advance, $17 at the door and are available at Mountain Equipment Co-op or by calling 604-984-4484.
