If the rest of the Alpinist Film Festival went as well as the opening snow night, it won’t be long before this regional, niche film festival claims higher, broader ground. From Christian Beckwith’s welcome just after 7 p.m., to the rolling credits of Brendan Kiernan’s well-executed “The Line”—the story of Mark Newcomb’s quest to ski a new route on 8013-meter Shishapangma—after 10:30, it was an emotional roller coaster.
Forget ski porn. Ski night was about “why”. As in, why we live in the mountains and, in particular, why we choose the Teton Mountains. As Beckwith explained in his intro, it wasn’t too long before the festival—as they were making final selections, in fact—that they realized they had the opportunity to have an all-Jackson Hole ski night. Far more than just gratuitous ski porn.
Yes, the TGR guys were there, but they kept it reined in with two appropriately short films: one a dedication to Doug Coombs and his pioneering contribution to big-mountain skiing as we know it today, and the other a somewhat panned 3-minute short of Jamie Pierre’s 255-foot huck for Jesus titled “The Jesus Jump.”
The night was dedicated to Doug Coombs and opened with the most emotional film of the evening, hands-down. “In Doug’s Words” is a film of the last interview with Coombs before he died in a fall from a cliff only a few short weeks later in La Grave, France. Rick Hunt, Jackson Hole native and long-time friend and ski/climbing partner of Coombs, introduced the film. While Rick’s speaking presence left something to be desired, what he wrote about Doug (“I just have to read this,” he said as he began reading directly from his paper), how he embodied the free spirit of skiing and the impression he made on skiing and everyone who knew him hit the nail on the head. It was great to see and hear Doug again; when it was over just six minutes later, there was nary a dry eye in the house.
“Town Down” captured the spirit of the so far 25-year run of the Town Downhill on Snow King Mountain, showing it as a Jackson Hole institution that never fails to satisfy on many levels. While a serious race, it also has its fun-factor (embodied in the relatively new “Phat and Baggy” division) and its fraternal factor (everyone who dedicates so much time to preparing the course and making it happen). A well-timed showing given the running of the Town Downhill the weekend before.
David Gonzales‘ 9-minute short on the Igneous ski company was rich enough to feel quite a bit longer. Or maybe it was my infatuation with their craftsmanship combined with my desire for a custom pair for myself…or maybe it was just my full bladder.
After the intermission, the evening ended with the 55-minute feature film “The Line,” Jackson Hole native and consummate alpinist Mark Newcomb’s quest to make it to the top and ski off of an 8000-meter peak. Interspersing Mark’s upbringing in the Tetons with footage of the team making their way too, up and off of Shishapangma, filmmaker Kiernan put together a film that, to paraphrase Mark’s words, made a good film out of a mediocre story.
But perhaps the most interesting film of the night was “Legends of the Fall Line,” Piton Productions‘ retrospective of the history of skiing in the Tetons. The story is one that has been ripe to be told for some time (and could, I’m sure, be told from several perspectives). Hats off to them for getting interviews of Teton skiing pioneers before these genuine and influential people have passed on. Just seeing Virginia Huidekoper and Betty Woolsey speak about their experiences in the early days of skiing in the Tetons makes one envious of that special time. It also focuses quite a bit on Bill Briggs—successful early ski off the Grand and how that became a turning point in big-mountain skiing. Conspicuously absent, however, is any mention of the development of Jackson Hole Ski Corp, especially considering the amount of footage dedicated to Barry Corbet (not to mention the fact that the Alpinist Film Festival began its life as the Barry Corbet Film Festival).
In the end, it was a well-rounded evening of fantastic ski alpinism footage. Not sure how y’all are going to top it next year, but I look forward to the offering.
—Chris
PS: After having done a little post-post surfing, just wanted to give props to Jim S for saying some of the things I forgot to about the Center and this festival in his jh underground blog today.
It’s the title of our blog, but sometimes even we have a hard time expressing just what it means to “live an engaged life.” Well, as you can start to get a picture of from the entries here, an engaged life can be many things. We tend to focus on the outdoors because that’s where we crave to be when we’re not at work. Yes, we do a lot of skiing here in the winter, but its mostly a matter of living life to the fullest. It may be broom-ball one evening or ping-pong another (while we embrace the outdoors, there are just some times during a long winter when indoors is the only ‘doors you can handle). And sometimes we cram and tuck in every bit of activity we can around the work-day: “dawn-patrol” on Teton Pass for first tracks in a foot of new this morning and tubing with the kids on the King after work—now that’s a good day!
The engaged life also includes our community; particularly, our families and friends. We’re all very lucky to live in such a great place and be engaged by our surroundings, but to share the experience with our loved ones and to see our kids grow up immersed in it is quite rewarding. The sense of community is strong here and we feel it when we talk to our neighbors, go out for dinner, meet during Rotary, or read the paper. Sure, as some claim, we all—especially our kids—miss out on some of the culture and diversity found in a metropolitan setting, but I’ve lived both and in this day and age I wouldn’t trade for my kids the experience of growing up close to the outdoors for any amount of citified livin’.
Ah yes, and then there’s work. Sometimes perhaps a bit too much of it, but we do what we do because it needs to be done, we love what we do, and we’re lucky enough to be able to do it here. All of us here at Circumerro are creative professionals in our own way. Some of us have given up more fiscally rewarding career paths in order to live here. But just because we live in the mountains doesn’t mean we are any less engaged professionally than our peers in the big city. Our clients are everywhere, and while we live in Jackson Hole, we work in the world. We’re just lucky to be here, and we celebrate it by being “engaged” in all that we do.
—Chris
In prep for the big Halloween party at Snow King, a crew of 9 of us decided it was a great day to skin or hike up Grand Targhee to make some turns, enjoy the sun and have a great view of the Grand Teton. Grand Targhee is not open yet, and Teton Pass didn’t have enough snow, so we’re giving this a try!
The need to be the first to ski—many other people had the same thought. There were cars of people gearing up to get some early turns as well. We all congregated and decided we’d meet at the top of Fred’s Mountain. Get to the top when you get there is the motto.
Us girls were dragging in the back, so when we arrived, here came Randy snowboarding down in a battery-operated blow-up flamingo costume. A perfect way to get our attention and some laughs, and to have our picture on Photo of the Day for the Jackson Hole web site! We all make it down safe and sound, a few falls here and there with the snow thickening. But a worth-while experience. Time to get home and take a nap before we hit the town.
Here’s to an awesome ski season ahead!
—Julie!
It was great to sneak in one last paragliding flight of High School Butte just before the snow covered the upper elevations. It was a perfect fall day and I got to soar with 5 other pilots for a good 45 minutes before the sun went down and we all had to land. With the loss of public access to the Legendary Aerial Tram at the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort there will not be any Paragliding allowed in Teton Village this winter. That leaves Grand Targhee in Alta, WY as the only real option for lift service to allow pilots to get there fix over the next 6 months.
With snow in the mountains it is time to switch focus to winter sports. With the cold weather comes Hockey, Broomball, and Ski Season. Lets all hope we have another great snow year. Last year was the 2nd most snow fall in 40 years and the skiing was fantastic.
Think Snow!
—Geoff
Circumerro Incorporated is putting Jackson Hole’s youngest citizens first: The company has begun an ongoing philanthropic relationship with the Community Children’s Project, aimed at giving back to the Jackson Hole community.
CCP plays a vital role in the lives of area children by providing quality early childhood development, as well as much-needed training programs for educators and parents. By donating the talents within the company’s Creative, Publishing and Stock Photography groups, Circumerro Incorporated affirms its dedication to fostering a strong community through service.
“Quality childcare is a key component in making Jackson Hole an attractive place to raise children,” said Latham Jenkins, President of Circumerro Incorporated. “I am extremely proud of our team at Circumerro, who’ve dedicated their time and talents. It is our belief that by adopting CCP and committing our services to them in an ongoing fashion, the community will benefit in a more tangible way.”
The Circumerro Creative Group has already finished designing a fresh, updated logo and sharp new business papers for the non-profit; a new website is currently in the works. In addition, the Circumerro Stock Agency and Latham Jenkins have contributed photography for the upcoming Annual Report. “Latham Jenkins and the entire Circumerro team have been tremendous to work with,” said Peggy Smith, Executive Director of CCP. “They’ve taken our ideas and needs and created a wonderful new look. We couldn’t be more pleased and grateful to be the beneficiary of such generosity.”
About Community Children’s Project
CCP is a non-profit dedicated to serving the Jackson Hole community by providing early child development, education, and services that encourage healthy families.
About Circumerro
Circumerro Incorporated, based in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, is comprised of a Creative Group, a Publishing Group, and a Stock Photography Agency. Together they provide best in class communications tools and services.
Circumerro Creative Group announces the hiring of Matthew Speakman as Art Director. Matthew’s talents will further the Creative Group’s capacity to build innovative, concept-driven websites for our clients. Matthew’s love of drawing started long ago, leading him to earn the dubious award for “most detentions given for drawing on the desk” in grade school.
A degree from the College of Creative Arts at West Virginia University led to a burgeoning career in design. Matthew moved to Jackson Hole in 2002 and has since worked to develop brands, identities and collateral in print as well as on the web. “Matthew’s unique creative vision and sense of humor are a great addition to the Circumerro team,” said Latham Jenkins, President of Circumerro Incorporated. “His enthusiasm is contagious, and we’re already seeing his contributions in the Creative Group’s projects.”
About Circumerro
Based in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Circumerro Incorporated is comprised of a Creative Group, a Publishing Group and a Stock Photography Agency. Together they provide best-in-class communications tools and service.
Circumerro Publishing Group is excited to announce that Allison Scheff has taken the position of Director of Content. Ali will be contributing to Circumerro’s portals and print publications through editing and creative development.
Before moving to Jackson in May 2005, Ali spent six years as Restaurant Editor for Citysearch.com in New York City and Seattle. During her tenure, Ali wrote and edited hundreds of restaurant reviews and created content packages for MSN and Yahoo. She’s also written for Seattle Magazine, Restaurants & Institutions, NW Palate, Sunset, and IN Style magazines.
“Ali’s wealth of experience with destination-based Web sites and publications makes her a perfect choice as Director of Content within our Publishing division,” said Latham Jenkins, President of Circumerro Incorporated. “At Citysearch.com she had tremendous success creating innovative content packages, maximizing search engine placement and building relationships with industry-leading portals. We’re excited to add that kind of experience, passion and vision to the growing team at Circumerro.”
About Circumerro
Based in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Circumerro Incorporated is comprised of a Creative Group, a Publishing Group and a Stock Photography Agency. Together they provide best-in-class communications tools and service.
Circumerro Creative Group recently announced that Deb Kay has taken the position of Account Manager, where she will be responsible for project management and generating new business for the full service design firm. “With more and more people turning to the web as their first source for information, companies are realizing how essential it is to have a website that truly showcases their abilities,” said Latham Jenkins, President of Circumerro Incorporated. “We have added Deb to the team in order to continue to provide best-in-class service as our business grows.”
Prior to joining Circumerro, Deb worked in Jackson Hole Mountain Resort’s marketing department, and as a freelance graphic designer. She also developed strong vendor relationships while working as a concierge at Spring Creek Ranch. Deb graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, with a BA in Fine Arts, Graphic Design, then moved to New York City, where she completed graduate work in Communications Design at Pratt Institute. “We’re excited to have Deb join us,” said Noah Waterhouse, Senior Account Executive at Circumerro Creative Group. “Her strong marketing and design background, and client-centric work experience make her a perfect fit.”
About Circumerro
Based in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Circumerro Incorporated is comprised of a Creative Group, a Publishing Group and a Stock Photography Agency. Together they provide best-in-class communications tools and service.
Roby Bates has joined Circumerro Incorporated as Senior Art Director of the Creative Group. Roby brings over 12 years of experience in graphic design, and a strong background in creating and supporting brand identities, to his position. He holds a BFA from the University of Colorado, Boulder, and certificates from the highly technical Macromedia One-On-One Training Program in San Francisco. His past clients include Nike, Direct TV, Trek Bicycles, and BMW, and his work has been awarded a Silver ADDY, an Invision medal in e-commerce, and the Macromedia Site of the Day on two occasions. “We couldn’t be happier about bringing Roby on,” said Noah Waterhouse, Senior Account Executive of the Creative Group. “His track record in executing successful branding and marketing efforts for some of the top creative firms in the country make him a great asset to us, and a tremendous resource for our clients.”
About Circumerro
Based in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Circumerro Incorporated is comprised of a Creative Group, a Publishing Group and a Stock Photography Agency. Together they provide best-in-class communications tools and service.
Circumerro Incorporated was once solely thought of as a travel and real estate guide publisher or as a cutting-edge design group or as a stock photography. Rarely was it thought of as a source of all three. Until Now.
With a recent move into the “little cabin” on the corner of Millward and Gill Avenue and the 10th anniversary of its inception, Circumerro Incorporated is reinventing itself, emphasizing that it specializes in more than just attractive and informative visitor and real estate guides. “We have really evolved,” said President Latham Jenkins. “Innovation comes to mind. We want to better communicate that the marketplace may utilize our three services.”
Circumerro prides itself on the ability to serve the unique needs of this mountain town and resort destination. The group publishes print guides and companion Web sites for select travel destinations around the country, including Jackson Hole Rendezvous and West Yellowstone Vacation Planner. Print guides feature beautiful imagery and are packed with helpful local information, including insider tips on where to dine, weather, geology and attractions. Web sites utilize the latest technology to make the experience visitor-friendly and memorable, including video, virtual tours and interactive maps.
The company also publishes real estate guides targeting resort markets. Jackson Hole HomeReview is one such product, focusing on an upscale audience and affluent buyers looking to invest in vacation, second-home or retirement properties. With HomeReview, available in a print edition and via the Internet, buyers can explore a range of options through one consolidated and independent source.
But that’s just part of the company’s core business. Its expertise in publishing led to the inception of Circumerro Creative Group, a full-service design studio that specializes in Web design, print brochures, branding and marketing. “There is a much stronger movement to the Web,” Jenkins said. “Sometimes a Web site can sell far better than print. We emphasize helping companies stand out in the marketplace, whatever the medium.”
As clients’ needs grew, Jenkins realized the need for photo stock to accompany products and allow Circumerro to serve clients entirely in-house. The stock collection includes images from local photographers, who Jenkins hopes will be marketed through the agency. We understand the product very well,” he said. “That helps ensure the client will find a great fit for their message versus hiring a company from a large city, which is a disconnect.
Printed on June 22nd, 2005 in the Jackson Hole News & Guide.