Speakers and Special Presenters John Bachar This well known, outspoken climber started climbing at the ripe young age of 14 in Joshua Tree. After four years of participating in many sports such as Track & Field, baseball, tennis, skiing and college, he left them all for rock climbing in Yosemite Valley. He made Camp 4 his home for the next 16 years. His slide show includes many incredible images of his climbing adventures.

Christian Griffith Christian is one of few elite American sport climbers who has been able to extend his indoor climbing experience by crossing the void and becoming an international competition sport route setter. He has also developed a legitimate means to finance his climbing pursuits through his very popular climbing apparel company, Verve.

Tami Knight David Dornian wrote the following about Tami, however, Tami claims that some of it is untrue…it is up to us to choose the truth. "Tami Knight has parlayed an unhealthy appetite for the hand that feeds her into a growing reputation in caricature and satire. Years spent in the Coast Mountain rain, in the valley dust, in poverty, in trouble, and always in the company of climbers have given her an appreciation of the often absurd relation between the outdoors and its enthusiasts. She has drawn it all, with cartoons appearing in the mountain press around the world, and illustrations featured everywhere, from a series of underground guides to outhouse barrels for helicopter pickup. Tami favours hard language, sweet foods, cartwheels in public places, bright colours, dirt, young men, single malts, simple clothes, and sleeping where you fall down. She lives in Vancouver with her family."

Voytek Kurtyka This Polish climber has climbed extensively in the European and Asian mountains: Tatras, Alps, Hindukush, and Himalaya. The striking characteristic of his climbing is his apparent commitment to style. Many climbs are first ascents, new routes on 8,000-metre peaks in alpine style and hard big wall climbs in alpine-style. However, such elite climbing is not limited to the mountains, his rock climbing is of a serious grade, closely followed by his free-soloing ability (5.13c and 5.13a, respectively). Of course, he is no stranger to difficult ice climbing. Although his climbing resume can be respected and feared by most, he is not interested in the outwardly comparative nature of the sport. His idea of climbing is conceived as an art of life with outstanding values of sport, aesthetics and mysticism. For him, the physical effort is part of a spiritual experience. This is why he chooses his climbing style; it allows him to better experience the mountains, his climbing partner and his inner-self.

Paul Malon Paul Malon is a 40-year old MD and he also works as a part-time photographer. He has spent 5 seasons of mostly solo-camping in BC's Coast Ranges to the Yukon's Icefield ranges. His artwork has been influenced by the 19th century Romantic landscape painters. Among photographers, he draws his inspiration from Washburn, the Morrows, Brandenburg and Wolfe. Paul has been paraplegic since birth.

Andy Selters Andy's climbing career includes seven expeditions to try new, self-supported technical routes in the Himalaya. Three routes were successful and a couple others produced well-known near misses. He has also climbed major rock and alpine routes throughout the American and Canadian west and in Alaska, from El Capitan to Denali. Around these adventures he has worked a variety of mountain jobs, including guide and author. His current writing project is A Historical Guide to North American Mountaineering for the American Alpine Club Press. Since 1990, he has worked primarily as a free-lance photographer and writer, especially for the outdoor industry. Feature articles that he authored have been published in Climbing, Rock & Ice, Ascent and Mountain. His images have appeared in promotions for Patagonia, Marmot, Black Diamond and others, as well as in Stephen Venables' new book Himalaya Alpine Style. He also has a strong interest in Himalayan cultures; Andy has led treks in Ladakh, in part to raise money for Ladakhi schoolchildren.

Don Serl During the past 25 years of exploring the Coast Mountains of B.C., Don has made a dozen forays into the Waddington Range and a couple of dozen more trips into other remote ranges in the Coast Mountain chain between the Lillooet Icefields and Bella Coola. Not that anyone is counting, but combined with innumerable trips into the local mountains near Vancouver, this has netted about 120 first ascents on rock, waterfall and mountain terrain. The trips into the Coast Mountains have been interspersed with expeditions to Denali, Kluane, Peru, Europe and Nepal (including the first Canadian Everest expedition in 1982). Don's writings frequently appear in the Canadian Alpine Journal, and he is the co-author, with Bruce Kay, of West Coast Ice. His climbing guidebook to the Waddington Range is now nearing publication.

Richard Wheater For the past five years, this local photographer has shot many aspects of outdoor life and adventure pursuits. He has spent probably 80% of this time working around rock climbing, the heart and soul of his photo collection. As a result, he has become a regular contributor to the industry's most "questionable" publications, and the advertising campaigns of those who regularly cover our bodies for forays to the mountains. While seamlessly connected to dirtbag roots, Rich has pursued the artistic and realistic side of climbing in an effort to sustain the perpetual road-trip. From backcountry-skiing to kayaking, big-wall shoots to desert cragging, our west coast backyard has provided him with a core location in which to play and work with some of Canada's top climbers. His slide presentation Rats of the Great White North, chronicles the misadventures of the typical Squamish rock-rat, determined to fill an entire year with mountainous festivities up and down the west coast of North America. It is an uncut look at the celebrated meanderings of the most talented dirtbags, those who put climbing at the top of their priorities, often before food, shelter, shampoo and the law.

 

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