“All the funds that we’re generating from this are going into the Castleton Tower stewardship effort,” Utah Open Lands’ field agent Dave Erley said. “We did a big event there in October to rebuild the trail, and also start a revegetation effort. In July we lost the trail, pretty much, to two inches of rain in 45 minutes. It was an Adopt-a-Crag event for the Access Fund.”
The Access Fund sponsors numerous Adopt-a-Crag events around the country, volunteer efforts designed to support their work toward keeping climbing areas open and conserving the climbing resource.
Erley’s work on the Utah Open Lands property at the base of Castleton Tower stood out – the Access Fund awarded him their 2008 Conservation Award for organizing 30 workers to donate 1,000 hours.
While that effort was partly in response to an extraordinary natural event, requiring some extraordinary fundraising, much of what Erley does at Castleton Tower is funded by the $3,500 to $5,000 the festival brings in, partly thanks to a sponsorship from Petzl.
Through six years of hosting the festival, Erley has learned a good deal about what Moab audiences want. The world tour is a culled-down, one-evening version of the three-day festival held in Banff each November. After the festival, the tour brings the highlights on the road.
Along the way, the films get more exposure and more response, in addition to the awards and adulation they receive during the main festival.
All of this figures into the itinerary, which is flexible right up until the last minute, Erley said.
For instance, Erley got a useful indicator last week when a Salt Lake Tribune reviewer complained that the festival had too much of an environmental, versus recreational, tone.
“I wanted to make sure we kept a balance of adrenalin and other stuff,” Erley said.
He believes the tentative schedule, with nine short films taking 143 minutes, seems to strike that balance.
Erley took the winner from the festival’s “Radical Reels” category to anchor the adrenalin spot. The 12-minute film features mountain bike trials master Ryan Leech riding over unimaginable obstacles. In fact, it’s his ability to imagine the stunts that makes Leech unique.
“First you have to have a vision before you can execute,” Erley said of the film.
Even in the adrenalin category, Erley said he likes to spot unusual attributes. “The Unbearable Lightness of Skiing” features extreme ski footage in deep backcountry – but without helicopters. Everyone in the film, on both sides of the camera, skied in.
That concept appealed to Erley, but he’s still waiting for other local response. “I think it will probably go here, but I’d be interested in Crested Butte’s response,” he said, adding that his Banff liaison is more interested in hearing from Aspen – which the liaison said is a particularly critical screening. “So we’ll see what their feedback is and go from there.”
Since this is Moab, and the festival does directly benefit a climbing area, there are a couple of climbing films as well. Actually, there are two short films taken from a longer film, “The Sharp Edge.” The shorts, “The Sharp Edge: Lisa Rands” and “The Sharp Edge: Eastern Europe,” have both been well-received by crowds along the tour so far.
Mountain culture is also broadly applicable here on the edge of the Colorado Plateau, and “Mountain Town: The Cowboy and the Park Goddess” should provide some interesting perspective on that. The film is a dual biography, following the lives of a rancher/ski patrolman and a snowboard terrain park builder.
The festival’s anchor will be the People’s Choice winner from the main festival, “Red Gold,” a story that chronicles the controversy over placing a copper mine at the headwaters of the two largest sockeye salmon runs on the planet, which feed Alaska’s Bristol Bay. The mine would require the largest dam ever constructed to contain the toxic runoff, leaving native, commercial and sport fisherman worried for the health of the ecosystem.
Funding from the festival has already gone to help take care of one of campers’ most basic needs at Castleton Tower by providing a Wag Bag station at the campground. The bags provide a take-away solution for toilet needs, preventing people from digging impromptu pit toilets.
This year, Erley plans to use the proceeds to mitigate another impact by creating tent platforms.
“It defines the use area, so people self-police,” Erley said, adding that dedicated camp spots will help maintain the ongoing revegetation efforts.
Tickets for the event are $8 in advance and $10 at the door. Tickets are available at Back of Beyond Bookstore, Canyon Voyages, Pagan Mountaineering, Poison Spider Bicycles, or by calling Utah Open Lands, 801-463-6156.