What: Pushing the Limits slide show
Where: Coast Whistler Hotel
When: Saturday, May 12, 7:30 p.m.
Admission: $5
Forty years of extreme weather, extreme landscape and extreme exhilaration. Pushing the Limits chronicles Calgary-born, Chic Scott’s, career in mountaineering, as well as nearly 120 years of Canadian pioneers in the quest for altitude.
The book was published last fall and now Scott is taking it across the country in a new medium: slides. The show is narrated live by Scott, and the climber/author hopes to bring his stories to new audiences.
"The pictures are always exciting. But this gives me a chance to tell the stories behind the pictures," says Scott. "For example, you can see these great pictures of someone climbing in the Himalayas, but I can tell you about the personalities and other adventures that of course don’t come across in just a photo."
Scott himself, has set many firsts in Canadian mountains, including the first traverse from Jasper to Lake Louise in 1967, the Rogers Pass to Bugaboos traverse in 1973, and the Selkirks traverse in 1976. As a climber, he made the first alpine-style ascent of Mount Logan’s east ridge in 1978.
There’s also a lot of local content in the book and the 75 minute slide show, including the Squamish climbing community and the mighty Grand Wall, as well as the adventures of Whistler climbers Rich Prohaska and Jai Condon.
Scott says many will be surprised by the sheer numbers and quality of mountaineering in our country.
"Canadians don’t think of themselves as a mountaineering country. We think of ourselves as a nation of hockey players. But we’re quickly becoming one of the leading alpine nations."
