The timeshare vacation is quickly approaching, it’s the week of May 28th, and they need to book their trip as soon as possible. If you won this fabulous prize or know who did please contact Seth Gernot at seth@ventureoutdoors.org or 412.255.0564 ext 35 to claim the prize.

26,000 raffle tickets!

But it’s no surprise the raffle was successful: the prizes were awesome! Ten lucky winners walked away from Banff with vacations, bikes, kayaks, Kayak Pittsburgh passes, climbing passes and or a host of other cool prizes.

The raffle generated over $5,750 to help encourage our Volunteer Trip Leaders and continue our Family and Community Programs. Thank you to everyone who bought one ticket or a kayak’s length!

This year’s films really stood out. Each night was a combination of adventure and drama. Friday’s films, Azazel and Solo were captivating while The Ultimate Skiing Showdown and Project Megawoosh charmed the crowd. On Saturday viewers met a host of unique characters in Take a Seat and First Ascent: Alone on the Wall.

Thank you to all the volunteers who helped make this Banff our biggest and best ever! And let us know what you thought of the venue, we’ll be deciding between the Byham and Soldiers and Sailors for Banff 2011 in the next couple weeks.

Check out some photos from the event below!

Our home for Banff 2010 - Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall

Our Canadian for the weekend, Oh yeah eh!

He must have ordered a kayaks length

$10 for a wingspan.

Esther ripping raffle tickets

She's a winner!

View from the balcony of Soldiers and Sailors

Entering the free Banff raffle.

Each night we compile an extravagant spread of prizes and at the end of intermission raffle them off to one lucky winner after another! Brand new bikes, kayaks, Kayak Pittsburgh Season Passes and private guided fly fishing trips are among the top prizes, but this year we’ve added something else worth your dollar, TIMESHARES!

Friday night we’ll raffle off a week in Beaver Creek Colorado. The winner will spend 7 days at the Hyatt Mountain Lodge, an value of $2,100. The 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom suite sleeps 4-6 people and is located close to Vail Mountain.

Saturday night we’re giving away a week in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley of Virgina at the Massanutten Resort. The resort is located 10 miles east of Harrisonburg, VA and features challenging golf courses, an indoor and outdoor waterpark, and luxurious spa.

It will only take $1 to win, of course your chances are better if you buy a kayaks length for $20! We’ll start selling raffle tickets as soon as the doors open on Friday and Saturday, April 9th and 10th. Proceeds from the raffle will benefit our Family and Community Programs.

Don’t have your tickets yet? What are you waiting on! Tickets are on sale now through Pro Arts Ticketing. To order, CLICK HERE.

To find out more about the films and festivities of this year’s Banff Mountain Film Festival visit, ventureoutdoors.org/banff.aspx

Right now Premium Seats are $17.00 and Mid Level are $13.00. You can also reserve a Side Seat for just $6.00 but don’t blame us for the kink in your neck the next day, these seats don’t face the stage.

Check out our seating map and pick out your seats today; the good ones won’t last long! Then mark April 9th and 10th on your calendar. You won’t want to miss our biggest Banff yet!

Click here to order tickets.

Soldiers and Sailors Seating Chart

This year’s feature films list begins with filmmaker and reluctant adventurer Alun Hughes joins high-altitude paragliding pioneer John Silvester on a dizzying search for new routes through the mountains of Pakistan in Birdman of the Karakorum. Committed deep into a remote and hypoxic world of snow, ice and previously unexplored terrain, the two soon find that flying to survive becomes the name of the game.

Deep powder meets deep philosophy in Sweetgrass Productions’ Signatures. Gorgeous cinematography, a laid-back roots music soundtrack, and a sincere exploration of Japanese ski culture renders this sweet shredding flick palatable to the ski-porn adverse. Signatures features Japanese and western riders of all stripes, including a skateboarder turned ‘noboarder’ who rides the backcountry like a giant skate park.

In January 2007, Andrew McAuley set out to become the first man to kayak from Australia to New Zealand, crossing 1600 kilometres of one of the wildest and loneliest stretches of ocean on Earth. Alone and pinned in the cockpit of his solo kayak, McAuley recorded his own reflections during the thirty days he crossed the Tasman sea. Solo weaves together footage recovered from that video diary with interviews of his widow, friends, and advisors. The result is uncomfortably real but sensitive portrait of the psyche of an adventurer who risked his life for a first in his sport.

In 2006, Dominic Gill set out from the northern coast of Alaska with a tandem bike, a camera, and a heavy trailer. The destination was the southernmost tip of South America, but the goal was to find strangers to help peddle the 220lb bike. Recipient of a Special Jury Mention at the 2009 Banff Mountain Film Festival, Take a Seat, is a gripping, touching, and downright funny tale of extraordinary characters and incidents encountered over Gill’s two year journey across two continents.

Check out the trailers below of feature films from this year’s world tour. Vote for your favorite and help us plan the perfect two nights of films.

After voting make sure you’ve reserved the best seats in the house for April 9th and 10th, order your 2010 Banff tickets here!

Photo from the film MedeoZ. Courtesy of the Banff Centre.

This is our 8th straight year of bringing Banff to the Burg, and we’re hoping to make it our biggest celebration yet! We’ve got over 3,000 seats to fill at Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall and Museum in Oakland.

Make plans to join us on Friday and Saturday, April 9th and 10th for some of the best mountain films in the world. But remember, there will never be a better time to buy your tickets then right now!

Order Tickets Today

Photo courtesy of Banff. From the film First Ascent: Alone on the Wall

This year’s tour features a collection of the most inspiring and thought-provoking action, environmental, and adventure mountain films. Traveling from remote landscapes and
cultures to up close and personal with adrenaline-packed action sports, the 2010 World Tour is an exhilarating and provocative exploration of the mountain world.

Tickets are on sale now and are assigned seats. Get yours early and save; the best seats in the house start at just $15.00 but they’ll be gone fast!

See ticket information and pricing!

Staffers at Venture Outdoors have added a new element to the Banff Mountain Film Festival, which is making its seventh visit here.

In addition to using the films as a way to kick off the spring outdoors adventure season, the group is trying to get the screenings to help its Family and Diverse Groups Initiative, says bike tour coordinator Seth Grnot.

Two nights of screenings open Friday Downtown, and Venture Outdoors will raffle off a bicycle, kayak and yearlong pass to Climb North, a Hampton climbing center, each day.

Read the entire article

The highlight of the festival was the Venture Outdoors Raffle!
Over 15,000 raffle tickets were sold to hopeful audience members seeking to win one of the big ticket raffle packages that included a brand new kayak, mountain bike and rock climbing excursion. The raffle generated over $3,800 dollars to support our Volunteer Trip Leader Training Program. From the event, we welcome eleven new members to the Venture Outdoors community.

Thank you to everyone who helped make Banff a success!

(Pittsburgh-March 31, 2009) – Venture Outdoors will bring The Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour to Pittsburgh this April for the seventh consecutive year. The festival will be held at the Byham Theater on April 10th and 11th at 7:00 PM.

“Venture Outdoors wanted to create a program that works for Pittsburgh. The films vary from high-adrenaline, beautiful landscapes and even wildlife research, but all of the films share a sense of adventure,” said Seth Gernot, Bike Tour Coordinator. “They take you places you normally don’t get to see.”

Ignite your passion for adventure with amazing big-screen stories, journey to exotic locations, paddle the wildest waters and climb the highest peaks. Be moved. Be inspired. Tickets sold out last year, so don’t wait! Over 1,400 tickets have already been sold, and it is predicted to sell out before the event.

Tickets range from $8.50 to $18.50 for one night with discounts available when ordering for both nights. Visit www.ventureoutdoors.org to order tickets.

Film List
Friday, April 10th, 2009

Crux
Length: 12 minutes
People’s Choice Award for Radical Reels
Combining sheer difficulty with creative style, three athletes execute mind-bending feats of bike mastery and redefine technical riding standards.

If You’re Not Falling
Length: 8 minutes
Best Short Mountain Film
Canadian rock legend Sonnie Trotter heads to Scotland to do battle on another “hardest rock climb in the world.” As each day passes, he collects more and more air time: 50-foot falls from the steep rock buttress that plunges down beneath a historic castle. “Well, if you’re not falling, you’re not trying,” observes Trotter.

Flying with Eagles
Length: 43 minutes
Two-time world paragliding champion Louise Crandal has a new challenge: a Russian steppe eagle is to be her new training partner. But will he fly with her?

The Sharp End: Lisa Rands
Length: 6 minutes
Lisa Rands shows us the drive, talent, and courage needed to climb challenging and scary “highball” boulder problems.

Mountain Town: The Cowboy and the Park Goddess
Length: 13 minutes
Isabelle Fallardeau is a young woman whose passion for snowboarding and penchant for power tools has led her to a career as one of the world’s only female terrain park builders. Mac Smith is a lifelong rancher, environmentalist and ski patrolman who experienced personal tragedy and triumph while leading the development of Aspen’s Highlands Bowl.

Red Gold
Length: 54 minutes
People’s Choice Award Winner
At the headwaters of the two largest remaining sockeye salmon runs on the planet, a proposed mine may require the largest dam ever constructed to contain the toxic runoff. Native, commercial, and sport fishermen oppose the proposed Pebble Mine, while mine officials argue the case for development. At stake is a unique way of life that would not exist if the salmon didn’t return with Bristol Bay’s tide.

Saturday, April 11th, 2009

The Red Helmet
Length: 6 minutes
Overcome with fear, a young boy runs into the forest. He finds a magic red helmet and goes on the adventure of a lifetime. Slowly building his courage, he is transformed and returns to confront his boyhood fears.

Dosage Volume V: Meltdown
Length: 12 minutes
Beth Rodden makes the first ascent of Meltdown, one of the hardest traditional rock climbing routes in the world.

Journey to the Center
Length: 55 minutes
Best Film on Mountain Sports
Journey with three world-renowned BASE jumpers as they travel 10,000 miles to confront the mist and mystery of an old cave, an ancient culture and their own demons at the center of their dangerous mission: Tian Keng, the Heavenly Pit.

The Last Frontier – Papua New Guinea
Length: 18 minutes
The Epicocity crew travel to Papua New Guinea to document the island of New Britain’s pristine water, habitat and intact indigenous culture through an exploratory caving and kayaking expedition.

Silent Snow
Length: 13 minutes
Dangerous pesticides from all over the planet are being carried to the poles by northbound wind and waves. Against a background of melting ice, two girls in northern Greenland discuss the pollution that is dramatically changing their lives.

Mountain Town: Grasshopper and the Soldier
Length: 15 minutes
This excerpt from the feature documentary Mountain Town combines the stories of two very different residents. Nick Devore is a young telemark skier, while Gino Hollander is an 81-year old artist who has maintained a remarkable sense of the sheer joy of living.

The Sharp End: Eastern Europe
Length: 17 minutes
A talented group of climbers explores the unique history, culture, and danger of one of the world’s most remarkable climbing destinations.

About Venture Outdoors
Venture Outdoors, by increasing participation in outdoor recreational activity, seeks to create a sense of community among participants and a better understanding of and a deeper appreciation for the environment and wilderness among the residents of and visitors to Western Pennsylvania. Venture Outdoors is a non-profit organization.

For more information on Banff Mountain Film Festival, visit www.banffcentre.ca/mountainculture/.
For more information on Venture Outdoors, visit www.ventureoutdoors.org or call 412.255.0564.