Ed Cooper, Sonnie Trotter, others to highlight Squamish Mountain Festival

The 2008 Squamish Mountain Festival (SQUMF) is getting ready to thrill locals and visitors again this summer with an exciting mix of films, clinics, competitions and guest speakers. The festival takes place at various locations around Squamish, BC from July 16 to 20, 2008. The focus of the festival is climbing and there will be opportunities to take part no matter what your ability or interest. The guest speakers this year represent the past and present, the locals and the international, the dirtbags and the pros. Films will be feature adventurers from around the globe. Film submissions for the festival are still being accepted and the deadline has been extended until May 31, 2008. More information can be found at www.squamishmountainfestival.com

The festival will feature guest speakers fresh of the cliffs telling their stories from life in tight squeezes, exposed edges and harrowing heights. Ed Cooper was one of the first climbers to scale the Grand Wall route of the Stawamus Chief in 1961, he also had numerous first ascents in the Cascades, the Bugaboos and Yosemite during the 1950’s and 60’s. Matt Maddaloni climbed the Grand Wall in 2007 but in the same day he climbed two other long Squamish routes totaling 37 pitches and then 4 days later climbed another 50 pitches on 5 different peaks in the Bugaboos. Sonnie Trotter set a new benchmark with the hardest traditional rock route in world, Cobra Crack, in Squamish in 2006, he’s been on the road ever since and has some wild stories to tell. Cedar Wright is known for his hard first free ascents in Yosemite, Micah Dash just got back from Kashmir, India, and Majka Burhardt has been climbing in the deserts of Ethiopia. The final night of the festival will feature a presentation from Scottish hard gritstone climber Dave MacLeod. Festival goers might remember Dave for his huge falls in the film E11.

Full Bios can be found here.

The vision of the Squamish Mountain Festival is to provide a grass-roots gathering to celebrate the magic of Squamish climbing, bouldering and mountain culture through hands on experience and this year there will be clinics for all ability levels. The clinics will be taught by certified local guides and cover everything from easy top-rope climbing to multi-pitch, aid and rescue techniques. The Dyno competitors are hoping to set a new Squamish record again this year. The Squamish Mountain Festival is presented by Arc’teryx in a partnership with Mountain Equipment Co-op, the proceeds from the festival benefit the Squamish Access Society, the Climbers Access Society of BC and the Aidan Oloman Fund. The festival is quickly becoming recognized as the biggest and best climbers festival in Canada.

More information about these beneficiaries can be found at
www.squamishaccess.ca, www.access-society.ca, and www.aidanoloman.com.