Mountains are old. They’re stark, pristine and beautiful.

Mountains laugh at technology. They were there before eight-track tapes, and they’ll be around long after the Playstation/10 is on the junk heap.

People, on the other hand, seem to need technology, and lots of it, to deal with mountains. From the latest in breathable fabrics to GPS receivers and AvaLung avalanche vests, we crave the hardware that will somehow protect us from the wrath of the mountain gods.

To cater to our needs, the Banff Festival of Mountain Films has sprouted a large tradeshow component that sprawls around the theatre venues, full of people eager to show off their wares. But before touring the trade exhibits, most people rush to see the films and hear famous climbers expound on their craft.

Every year the festival organizers bring in megastars of the climbing community. This year we heard from Tashi Tenzing, grandson of Everest veteran Tenzing Norgay, as well as George Lowe, who was on the successful 1953 expedition that put Norgay and Sir Edmund Hillary on top of the world’s highest peak. There were also younger climbers who have summited Everest, including Canmore’s Sharon Wood and Pete Athans from the U.S.

Photo by the late Ned Gillette, courtesy of Banff Mountain Festivals
Guy Cotter climbs the summit ridge of Mt. Everest in 1993. The Banff Festival of Mountain Films offers a tradeshow component where you can check out the latest in mountain technology.

Lowe was too polite to make much of the technological advances that have changed Everest climbing since 1953, but everyone knows the importance of lightweight oxygen bottles, high-tech clothing, tents and boots, and communications gear such as satellite phones. What did come out is how almost everyone was changed by the Everest experience, and how many were moved to follow Sir Edmund Hillary, and try to help the people of Tibet and neighbouring countries.

Athans, who’s called “Mr. Everest” because he’s been to the top of that mountain seven times, recently returned from Nepal, where he saw the extent of blindness caused by cataracts.

“What’s tragic about it,” he says, “is that it’s both preventable and curable.”

He travelled with two doctors who bring sophisticated eye surgery to the smallest and poorest communities. “They go into an area, clean everything up, drape it, bring in microscopes and gurneys, and turn over patients at the rate of 10 to 15 minutes apiece. They do one eye one day and one eye the next, and often the results are incredible. People who came in being carried by family members walked out, and many were even dancing.”

Athans worked on a recent National Geographic Television program called Miracle Doctors, which documented the Himalayan Cataract Project.

Co-director Dr. Geoffrey Tabin notes in the program that cataracts are particularly common in Nepal, perhaps because of genetics or the ultraviolet light at high altitudes. He also says that about a third of the people treated receive the operation at absolutely no cost, and that donations are always needed.

Nothing makes an adventure documentary better than great sound. Audiences want to hear the ice cracking as climbers scale waterfalls, the surf pounding around the kayakers, and the gasps of amazement as cavers wiggle their way into a previously unknown chamber.

Florian Camerer, a sound expert with the Austrian Radio/TV network, came to Banff to share his award- winning sound-recording techniques. He says that most adventure film-makers are woefully ignorant of the real potential of sound and “audio design.” He laughs at the video game effects such as missiles flying overhead, and says he tries for something much more subtle. “I try to create an enveloping soundscape so the viewer is drawn into the story much more than with two-channel stereo.”

He feels that the popularity of DVDs and home-theatre systems will create pressure for better sound, and that soon TV stations will all be broadcasting in Dolby 5.1 Surround Sound. He’s leading work in that field for the Austrian national broadcaster.

Even the Book Room, a time-honoured tradition at the festival, is being touched by technology. Sure, they still have plenty of books, but CDs are also popping up. The Internet is fundamentally changing the rare-book business.

Cameron Treleaven is the owner of Aquila Books in Calgary. People still come to him for that hard-to-find mountain book, or an historic copy of the Canadian Alpine Journal describing their favourite climb. But they can also go to the Internet, and Treleaven now buys and sells books online.

He says that this instant worldwide market, especially the Advanced Book Exchange, has driven down prices for some items as customers instantly comparison shop. But he also notes that books on auction sites such as eBay sometimes sell for far more than they are worth.

“I’ve seen used library copies go for more than you should pay for the book in fine condition,” he says.

If all this mountain culture makes you want to head out for a hike or a climb, there’s another piece of technology worth knowing about. A little Calgary-based company called Integral Designs is working with a fabric called Event.

The goal of all-weather fabrics is to let perspiration escape but keep water from getting in. Most move moisture out by a slow process called diffusion. They generally have a solid layer of polyurethane inside the fabric, and you may have noticed a cold, clammy buildup of moisture inside your jacket. Event’s manufacturer claims that its fabric has no polyurethane layer, just millions of microscopic pores, so the moisture gets right out of there.

Integral Designs general manager Evan Jones says they also make a cool bivouac sack.

If you didn’t make it out to the Banff Festival of Mountain Films, don’t despair. Their always-popular World Tour comes to Calgary January 14-17, 2004 as well as to other cities. (See details in Web Watch, below.)

* Tip: Catch the hilarious Sister Extreme, made in Canmore by local climbing wags. It won the People’s Choice Award at the festival. After dragging a desktop computer and monitor halfway up the Middle Sister, the climbers discover they can’t put their expedition on the Internet because, as one of the climbers says: “We lost the W key!”

Web Watch:
www.banffmountainfestivals.ca
www.cureblindness.org