The Kendal Mountain Festival is back after a little Cv-19 break last year…
I think the Mountain Festival has in some respects lost its way a little, becoming too commercial and all that. Just a few years ago it was a massive “tribal gathering” of outdoorsy folk, where one couldn’t walk more than a few metres in any direction throughout all of Kendal before being stopped by a seemingly random person calling out your name, “Hey Pete, how you doing?” The ensuing back-to-back catchup conversations reaffirming the myriad of connections that make up our adventure making community. It was a great way to fill a weekend! Now-a-days though, it’s more likely that most faces are anonymous. Sure there are still hundreds of familiar faces, but it just somehow doesn’t feel the same. Maybe it’s me, maybe I’m just getting older and a new generation of fresh faced outdoor warriors are coming to Kendal that have their own set of connections to refresh.
Whatever it is, it’s still an awesome chance to catch up with a bunch of friends. Especially this year as seeing friends has been really tough these past 18+ months! Of course there’s also a fair few world-class films and live presentations to catch. We particularly enjoyed Bike Night at the Leisure Centre, complete with Dan MacAskill talking to us about his The Slabs video from Dubh Ridge on Skye.
We also thought the film Not Alone was both deeply thought provoking and emotional. It was equally awesome to see a whole host of very familiar ice climbing venues like Field, Grotto, Hydrophobia, and of course Canmore in the Canadian Rockies.
Getting out for a meal on the Saturday night has also become a standard event. Good food and good friends, is there anything better?
Great heavens to Betsy! Who on earth could that handsome individual between you two in the Brewery Arts Centre be?
Its high time for another adventure!