They matter to different people for different reasons but for many people, life in the mountains is a consistent undercurrent of why they chose to live exactly here. Whether mountains play a role in how they want to live, play or work, they become critical to their happiness and lifestyle, creating vibrant mountain communities special in their own way.

That’s what the United Nations’ International Mountain Day celebrates this year, “Mountains Matter,” on December 11, 2018.

In partnership with the Canadian Mountain Network, the Mountain Spirit Festival is coming up with a week chockfull of events, lectures and films in celebration of the hundreds of reasons why mountains matter to the people of Crowsnest Pass.

“The Mountain Spirit Festival creates an opportunity to celebrate, promote and showcase not only the unique mountain culture of the ppl of Crowsnest Pass, but also the heritage, recreational opportunity, natural beauty, mountain landscape and ecology of this place where we work, live and play,” says Fred Bradley, one of the festival organizers. “We are a unique mountain community and we should be a part of celebrating why mountains matter to us. As this festival evolves, there’s an education component involved of looking at how we could maintain that into the future, that those values that we appreciate today are there for future generations to appreciate as well.”

All types of people choose to call Crowsnest Pass home because of the attachment and feeling they have about the mountains. There is a vibrant artists community, legendary culture and heritage values, talented musicians, explorers and adventurers, nature lovers, and all these interests form part of the fabric that creates the special mountain community and connection of Crowsnest Pass.

“I believe Crowsnest Pass is special,” says festival organizer Heather Davis. “There’s a huge sense of community here and working together and building and sharing that community is unique. The other thing unique to this area is that a lot of people really value living off the land and respecting the land. That’s how I think mountains matter to Crowsnest Pass. It’s a way of life, a way of living, and a way of connecting your whole life around being in this community.”

This is the second iteration of the festival, which debuted last year, and it’s back, bigger, with some brand new special events. A committee of different groups of people from the arts, culture and recreation, conservation and heritage communities came together to create a variety of events and activities from December 4 to 15.

Kicking off the festival is an art exhibition of paintings and creative sculptures made by students that show their youthful interpretation of why mountains matter to them.

Local caver Henry Bruns will lead a "Caving in the Crowsnest” lecture where he talks about his own adventures in spelunking and the caves in the Crowsnest Pass area.

After being a huge hit last year, there’s also a guided night photography and snowshoe hike with photographer Lisa Kinnear and Heather Davis, owner of Uplift Adventures and certified ACMG guide.

Not to miss this year is a brand new event, the Mountain Spirit Film Night, featuring a full evening of mountain-focused films at the Orpheum Theatre.

Two award-winning films will be screened during the festival, as well as two from the local Film Contest.

“This Mountain Life” tells the story of a Martina Halik and her mother Tania who ski toured along British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast from Squamish, B.C. to Skagway, Alaska. It took them six months to fulfill the journey and along the way, they encountered many obstacles, struggles and moments that tested their faith and endurance. Martina will be in attendance at the festival and take questions from the audience after the screening.

The second film is a documentary about Fred Beckey, an iconic figure in the mountaineering and rock climbing world. “Dirtbag: The Legend of Fred Beckey” details the life and lifestyle of the man who challenged societal norms and left his mark on the mountains.

Zoning in on Crownsest Pass, festival organizers are calling on the public to submit 3 to 10-minute long films on the theme of “Mountains Matter.” The deadline to submit is December 3 and some great prizes are up for grabs for the top two entries, a $500 gift certificate to spry and a gift certificate for cat skiing at Castle Mountain Resort. The second prize winner gets a $500 gift certificate to Alpenland.

Tickets to the Film Night can be purchased at Scotiabank for $20.

There are many more activities taking place during the Mountain Spirit Festival, some free and some with fees. For a full list of details and events, visit “Crowsnest - Mountain Spirit Festival" on Facebook.

All proceeds are going back into the festival to fund this year’s expenses and as seed funding for future festivals.

Digital issues of the Pass Herald are now available:

Subscribe and read the FULL Pass Herald online.

or read just this issue of the Pass Herald online.