Expedition Denali Short from Distill Productions, LLC on Vimeo.

I’ve been told it shouldn’t matter. But as one in a handful of black professionals in the outdoor recreation industry, I can’t help being wildly excited. In June the first team of African-American climbers will attempt to reach the summit of Alaska’s Mount McKinley, the tallest peak in North America. Also known as Denali, at 20,328 feet this mountain is literally the highest physical point anyone can achieve in the United States. And as metaphors go, it is the ultimate realization of the dream Martin Luther King Jr. outlined in the 1963 speech that followed his historic march on Washington.

“I have a dream today,” he said, “that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight.”

The Expedition Denali team; Photograph courtesy NOLS

Called Expedition Denali, this climb marks the first time a team made up of black men and women will aspire to stand at the very top of North America. And though many African-American alpinists have reached the summit over the years since it was first climbed in 1913, Expedition Denali is a bold statement meant to inspire a new generation of all races and ethnicities, particularly minority youth, to travel out into the natural world in search of adventure—and join in the movement to help protect it. Organized by the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) this project aims to encourage under represented members of the population to seek  recreation experiences outdoors as well as career opportunities in service of the environment.

But in our “post-racial” society there are those who believe that initiatives like Expedition Denali are unnecessary and not even noteworthy. After having come so far as nation to rise above our tragic past of racial discrimination and prejudice, many wonder how a climb distinguished by race can be a significant accomplishment in modern mountaineering.

In an effort to help me discover the history of black climbers who had  made it to the summit, a friend posted a query on two climbing website forums: “Does anyone out there know who the first African-American to summit Denali was?”

The discussion, which lasted for several days, was filled with comments from climbers who share a common belief: When it comes to mountaineering race doesn’t matter. And some even questioned the logic of inspiring young people by proving them with role models who share their ethnic heritage. Several respondents asserted that an effort like Expedition Denali was itself racially divisive. But there were at least a few who seem to recognize the central point of the issue.

“In a perfect world it doesn’t matter,” wrote marc801 on RockClimbing.com, “but we are involved in a sport/endeavor that has a severe lack of Afro-ethnicity participants. Look at all those triumphant summit photos over the years of the big peaks with the proud ascentionists and I fear you’ll probably have enough fingers to count the number of Afro-origin climbers in those photos.”

That lack of participation is the problem. It’s not a question of whether or not African-Americans can climb high mountains. What matters is as group we tend not to. And for a variety of different social and cultural reasons the world of mountaineering has been relegated almost exclusively to white men. Without any deliberate effort to prevent blacks and other minorities from becoming involved in the sport,  the number non-white participants is conspicuously low. The organizers of Expedition Denali merely hope to change that by introducing a new narrative into the mix and perhaps redefine what it means to be a climber.

“When you think about the story that mountaineering has been it’s been predominantly white male,” said Expedition Denali team member Erica Wynn. “If a little black girl were to look into mountaineering and hear that single story she would probably say I don’t have much of a place there, or the odds are against me. I hope that Expedition Denali and being a part of this helps to change that story.”

This initiative aims to demonstrate that despite so few current participants people of color do indeed have a place in this world of adventure. Upon their successful return from Denali each of the team members will go back to their respective communities across the country and share that message of inclusion. Connecting directly with young people of color in particular the Expedition Denali team will serve as role models who share many of the same life experiences and aspirations for the future. This national outreach initiative will include the distribution of feature-length documentary film and a non-fiction account of the climb to be published by the Mountaineers Books.

In answer to my query online I discovered that the first African-American to climb Denali was a Boeing engineer from Seattle named Charles M. Crenchaw. Part of the 1964 McKinley Expedition Crenchaw made it to the top of America the same year the Civil Rights Amendment was signed into law. At a time in this country when millions of African-Americans were denied the right vote as well as many other liberties we take for granted one man took it upon himself to fulfill his own dream in the world of climbing. Crenchaw would go on to climb Denali again the following year and through his career he also summited Mount Rainer, Aconcagua and several other notable peaks. He was a member of the Seattle Mountaineers as well as the American Alpine Club having served on the board of each for many years. Crenchaw died in 1998, well regarded by his friends and fellow climbers in Seattle. But with no children of his own he passed away quietly with no one to share his legacy so that future generations might be inspired by not only his courage as a climber but the contributions he made to the mountaineering community as a whole.

The obligation and privilege to share Crenchaw’s story now falls to me. As a journalist and supporter of diversity in outdoor recreation I have the rare opportunity to impart upon aspiring adventurers young and old the knowledge that they are part of a great tradition of mountaineering that continues through this day. Expedition Denali is the next chapter in an ongoing story that truly matters.

Learn more about Expedition Denali and their Kickstarter fund.

The Joy Trip Project is made possible with the support sponsors Patagonia, Rayovac and the New Belgium Brewing Company

“He wasn’t just naked on camera,” said director Fitz Cahall as he accepted the award. Cahall and his team did a masterful edit of 20-plus hours of footage to create an intimate portrait of Dempster, a two-time winner of climbing’s prestigious Piolets d’Or award. Seamlessly woven into a riveting narrative from head-mounted camera shots, the movie follows his bicycle and mountaineering trek through the former Soviet Union nation of Kyrgyzstan. Cold, wet, miserable, full of fear, joyful, and never so glad to be alive, Dempster leads the audience on a roller-coaster ride of emotion that’s thrilling to watch because it’s so raw and real. “We fell in love with him,” said Cahall.

These graphic portrayals of adventurers in action are the soul of the 5Point Experience. Captured on film and displayed in pure expressions of ecstasy on mountain bikes, skis, kayaks, running shoes and horseback these stories inspire members of the audience to look within themselves and seek out adventures of their own.

Cascada, winner of the prize for Best Cinematography, transports the audience along a whitewater highway through a Mexican jungle. Narrated and directed by filmmaker Anson Fogel, the movie opens the mind to infinite possibilities as paddlers charge their boats over roaring waterfalls into a churning abyss hundreds of feet below.

“I look around and see everyone doing precisely what they love to do,” Fogel says in the film. “Athletes, artists, the line between to two is gone now. Every moment, each day is perfect.”

But the human spirit is charged not just with adrenalin. Often viewers are made to experience the agonizing loss of each main character as they struggle through the quite desperation of failure. Fogel took an additional prize for Creative Excellence in the film Death of the Bar T. Without a word of dialog the story of an old rancher unfolds in a dazzling display of imagery that illustrates the hard and precarious life of men and women of the West who work the land. Under foreclosure by the bank generations of hopes and dreams are stripped away to leave the rancher and the audience with an uncertain future and an ambiguous ending that literally goes up in flames.

True to the 5Point experience each film carries with it an element of triumph no matter how dire the circumstances. Winner of the Most Inspiring award, All That I Am, tells the story of disabled athlete Aaron Baker. After a devastating motorcycle accident leaves him a quadriplegic, Baker defies the odds to reclaim his life and become a competitive cyclist.

“It’s the culmination of a lot of the blood sweat, fears, and tears, literally. Rebuilding my body, redefining myself from complete paralysis,” he says in the film. “I’ve never been happier in my entire life than right now.”

That struggle against the hurdles life throws in our path can be made to define who we are in life or help us to reveal the person we most want to become. And when we choose the road less traveled we consciously decide to put our very existence to the test.

The film Crossing the Ice set two Australian adventurers on the path to ski unsupported from the edge of Antarctica to the South Pole and back. Hoping to become the first to achieve such an amazing feat covering more than 1,400 miles the main characters Cas and Jonesy suddenly find themselves facing an even greater challenge as they’re plunged into a race to the bottom of the world with the more experienced Norwegian explorer Alex Gamme. Taking the prize for Spirit of Adventure as well as the People’s Choice award “Crossing The Ice” is a marvel of human endurance, perseverance and sportsmanship.

In a four-day program of more than 40 films 5Point is truly an experience to enrapture both the mind and spirit. Captivated by characters, each more sympathetic than the last, the audience can’t help but see something of themselves in every story. Curated with the diabolic intention to thump the heart and the lift soul this year’s collection of films is a testament to the unquenchable human desire to dream big, travel far and aspire well beyond our vision.

The Joy Trip Project is made possible with the support sponsors Patagonia, Rayovac and the New Belgium Brewing Company

5Point Film Festival executive director Sarah Wood (left) and the team prepare for the April 2013 event; Photograph by Corie Spruill

The 5Point Film Festival running April 25 to 28 in Carbondale, Colorado, kicks off the adventure film festival season and sets the stage for the rest of the year. By presenting a wide range of movies that push the definition of adventure, the film festival aims to inspire the community—young and old, and of all ability levels—to define what their own next adventure might be. Unlike other film festivals, 5Point has one venue and one evening program, so movie goers have a shared experience. Then during the day, the festival attendees explore the adventure playground of Carbondale, Colorado.

Previously with the American Alpine Club, new executive director Sarah Wood brings much experience and energy of her own to the festival now in its 6th year. Here she tells us why 5Point is unique, what shapes her vision, and about a few exciting new films.

James Mills: How does film help to tell the stories of the adventure community? What role do you think 5Point plays in sharing those stories?

Sarah Wood: I think 5Point is less about focusing on what kind of story it is, but that it’s a great story. I think you’ll recognize that not every story is about kayaking or climbing or mountaineering or adventure in the typical definition. We’re about telling inspirational stories, and lot of times that does happen in the outdoors and beautiful remote places. But sometimes it can happen in your backyard. Sometimes it can happen in unexpected places. We like to find and show those stories as well at the festival.

Film has a unique way of drawing a person into a story in such a different way than a written piece or a spoken piece can do. They can be equally as powerful, but I think that with film you’re able to put yourself into someone else’s shoes in a different way. And we hope to allow people to do that … and maybe recognize that piece of themselves in these stories. Film is such a powerful tool in that way.

JM: There are a lot of adventure film festivals out there. How is 5Point different in your opinion?

SW: 5Point is different in a couple of ways. We have just one venue and program, and you’re either in it or you’re not. It’s everyone coming together in one shared experience, and I think that’s something that we really value. I don’t think it is, I know it is! That experience together creates a much more powerful energy than we feel it does when you separate people. So we take that philosophy to how we allow our audience and our filmmakers and the athletes and the community to really come together and share in that experience. There are very few boundaries between the special guests and the audience. And we really encourage that. We feel the best experience at 5Point is when you leave having met new people and hearing these amazing stories you find that it’s not just happening on the screen. It’s happening in conversation over dinner or at the coffee shop in the morning. And also just giving people the opportunity to enjoy the place.

Carbondale is a really special little paradise, and we want people to get out and enjoy it while they’re here, whether it’s just walking down Main Street or hiking up Red Hill or going for a backcountry ski in the morning, if there’s still some snow around after all this warm weather. But that’s part of the experience as well.

JM: Tell us about the program for 2013. What we can we expect that might be new or dramatically different from last year.

SW: I think we continue to explore our definition of adventure. And I think that’s something that we really want our audience to do for themselves. What we’re very, very excited about are a couple of pieces that we have helped produce. One of those things is by Duct Tape and Then Beer, Fitz Cahall’s production company. He did a piece on Kyle Dempster and his story of his biking adventure and climbing adventure. That’s going to be a world premiere at 5Point, and Kyle is going to be here to talk about his philosophy on life and the story behind the film—we’re really excited about that piece.

Another piece that we’re putting together is with 5Point favorite Jeremy Collins and a local bike racer and coffee shop owner here in Carbondale. We’ve put them together for a unique piece called Participate. In some ways that’s going to be a surprise to us as well because we’ve given them some direction, and they’ve had some great ideas—they’re running with it right now. But it’s not finished so we’re excited to premiere it at 5Point.

I would say that there are a couple of other pieces that are surprises to us. There’s a break-dancing piece that is totally off what people might expect. But the story is very much 5Point, very much about humility and respect. It’s called With a Piece of Chalk.

We’ve got some local films, too. We had a local photographer named Summers Moore who came to the festival last year. As a mother she brought her kids and was just fully inspired to help other kids around the valley create films that are 5Point films. She works with a Monastery school in a couple of classrooms with kids between 4th to 8th grades. They made some short films and they’re finishing the edit right now. We’re really excited to showcase those in our kids program, and hope to have people in the audience who are in the films. I know these kids are going to be totally psyched about that.

JM: So what are your goals for the future of 5Point? 

SW: 5Point is very much about the community we’re in, and we feel that if we are to do something outside of this community we need to be doing that within and a part of that community. And so when we think about our growth we’re challenged here in terms of the event itself, but we’re not necessarily challenged in the other things that we can do around the valley. We do have our Dream Project scholarship. That program has really grown as well, whether we add another scholarship to the group here or if we reach into other communities around the state. Right now the Dream Project scholarship is open to the entire valley, and we go to each school and present to them the project and let them decide how they want to apply and what projects they want to do over the summer. We have five great projects this year but we do see that as an area for growth.

But in terms of the experience and the organization of events, we’re not sure what direction that’s going to take. But we do feel we’d like to see it take a direction that’s not a typical tour as we’ve experience with some of the other players in the space. We like the idea of taking our programming and working with a community and building a one-night kind of “Taste of 5Point” somewhere and seeing how that community can grow that event. So we think our growth is going be slow, pretty steady and very meticulous in the communities we choose to work with.

Check out the complete 5Point Film Festival schedule of events online http://5pointfilm.org/festival/festival-schedule

The Joy Trip Project is made possible with the support of sponsors Patagonia, Rayovac, and the New Belgium Brewing Company

“This year’s tour includes films about climbing, skiing, snowboarding, mountain biking, paddling, speed riding, long-boarding, wing suit proximity flying, and buggy rollin’ (see Rollerman for details.), said Rad Reels program coordinator Meagan Stewart. “We have edits from some of the biggest action sport films of the year, but we’re also showcasing surprising indie content you’re unlikely to see anywhere else.”

In a journey around the globe Rad Reels profiles the cutting edge of extreme adventure. Being There offers high flying ariels and big-air stunt skiing through the mountain crags of Norway by filmmaker Filip Christensen and Field Productions. Not to be outdone in the search for thick powder the film Further from Jeremy Jones and Teton Gravity Research is part two of the snowboarding movie trilogy that aims to explore the most remote destinations, from the Alps of Japan to the Wragnell Mountains of Alaska.

On mountain bikes Red Bull rider Andreu Lacondeguy takes us on a tour of his Barcelona training compound as he turns gnarly flips off tall jump tracks and muddy ramps in Lacon de Catalonia. Taking it just a bit further in the film Where The Trail Ends, Barren Berrecloth, Cameron Zink, and Kurt Sorge lead a expedition from the red sand slopes of the Utah backcountry to the scorching deserts of central China where they cycle knife-edge ridges too steep for mountain goats.

In paddle sports, Rad Reels features the dazzling short The Shapeshifter from the Of Souls + Water series from director Skip Armstrong and Forge Motion Pictures. This one of five kayak films follows a spectacular nighttime red flare-lit whitewater sequence by pro waterman Ben Marr. And the movie Whitewater Grand Prix: Big Water Enduro recaps Dane Jackson’s latest victory through the 2012 stage race along the Futaleufu River in Patagonia.

Sharing a section of Sender Film’s REEL Rock 7, Rad Reels includes the hard route ascension struggle between king of climbing Chris Sharma and 19-year-old Czechoslovakian newcomer Adam Ondra in the film La Dura Dura.

Less conventional movies in the tour blow the lid off the limits of althetic performance with high speed downhill adventures on tiny wheels and long boards in the film Endless Roads. The theme continues with Rollerman, a short in which skater Jean-Yves Blondeauin wears an armored suit covered with rollerblades to launch himself down a dry luge track. And in the ultimate expression of human endeavor, adventure takes flight in Wing Suit Downhill Target Punch and sores high on paraglider-assisted skis in Wanna Ride.

From beginning to end you won’t want to miss a single moment of this incredible collection of films. As winter slowly turns to spring the Rad Reels mix builds a sense of anticipation for all the action any season has to offer. Precision curated for maximum impact by Meagan Stewart and her team in Banff the tour aims to deliver a high-voltage charge to leave audiences fully psyched!

“I honestly couldn’t be more excited about this year’s program,” Stewart said. “We searched high and low for the best adrenaline sport films of the year, then we worked with filmmakers to custom tailor the films to our program. Rad Reels 2013 is going to be a fast-moving, high-energy, super fun trip around the world.”

The Joy Trip Project is made possible with the support of sponsors Patagonia, Rayovac and the New Belgium Brewing Company

BASE jumper Jill Kuzman in Moab, Utah; Photograph courtesy Jill Kuzman

Throw yourself off a cliff and you only have yourself to blame for what happens next. The consequences of adventure sports are brought most clearly into focus when you think about what could go wrong in a pastime as dangerous as BASE jumping. Defined as a parachute leap from a building, antenna, span (bridge) or the earth (cliff), it’s among the most life threatening of all human endeavors. Though preparation, training, and skill can mitigate many of the incredible risks involved, there’s always the possibility of severe injury or even death. Despite meticulous planning any number of things can go wrong. Complete safety is impossible to assure.

On November 19, 2012 professional BASE jumper Jill Kuzman experienced the full impact of sudden unforeseen circumstances. It was a beautiful day in late fall on the high sandstone cliffs near Moab, Utah. No wind, 60 degrees, conditions were perfect for BASE Jumping.

“I was doing an unpacked jump that we call a TARD over. TARD = totally awesome rapid deployment,” Kuzman said in an exchange on Facebook. “I had a 180 (opened backwards) on inflation. I tried to stop it from flying towards the cliff, but because it was already open it was already flying.”

A parachute that opens backwards is never a good thing. She hit the cliff face twice before attempting a hard left turn to escape. But that just made matters worse. At such a sharp angle out of control she dove the canopy straight for the desert floor.

“I broke my femur when I impacted the ground,” she said. “I had three military medics and a doctor on the jump with me. They got to me fast, hit their spot for rescue, and had me in traction from a splint they had in the car within 20 mins. Those guys are my heroes, big time.”

Kuzman was very lucky. This was actually her fourth jump of the day after three safe and successful landings. If not for her expertise in handling a jump gone wrong and the emergency medical training of her partners she might not have survived the crash. But after a long hospital stay and extensive surgery she made a miraculous recovery. A little more than a month after the accident she was able to spend Christmas back home in Philadelphia with her family. In the weeks that followed she was able to walk without crutches. As her health improves she looks forward to one day BASE jumping again. But it will still be a while before Kuzman is fully recovered from her fall. Without health insurance to cover her treatment and time in the hospital she’s now on the hook for $120,000 in medical bills.

Though many might suggest BASE jumping without insurance is a foolish thing to do, there are many extreme sports athletes that don’t have even basic medical coverage. Personally from the time I was 26 right up to the day my wife and I got married at the age of 35 I had no health insurance what so ever. For that nine-year period I paddled, rock climbed, and skied with reckless abandon, keeping my fingers crossed for luck all the while knowing that I was one emergency room visit away from bankruptcy. Healthy as a horse, with no pre-existing conditions and gainfully self-employed, I made the reckless decision to go without. Only much later would I realize what a grave mistake that was.

So when Kuzman reached out via Facebook for financial help I was more than willing to make a contribution to her cause with a donation that could buy groceries and help pay down a growing pile of medical bills. A website was set up to take in donations on her behalf. It was easy to imagine myself in a similar position if I were more bold or less lucky 15 years ago. Dropping a couple of bucks online was the least I could do to help out.

Several of her friends felt the same way. To date 130 donors have chipped in almost $10,000 to literally help Kuzman get back on her feet.
“When I was in the hospital, I would check the donation site every day,” she said. “The amount of people who selflessly gave, all the kind words that were written to me, the stories of injuries that people shared, all those things helped me through the pain more than you could know.”

But with this positive upwelling of support there is also a vocal cadre of those who object to Kuzman’s alternative to health insurance and her having publicly reached out for support. An anonymous writer to the blog BASEJumper.com who goes by the handle Grown_Up says in a post riddled with sarcasm that engaging in risky activities without medical coverage is blatantly irresponsible. He suggests, tongue in cheek, that going without insurance as a BASE jumper, for which he pays $239 a month, could have been a great way to save money.

“All I had to do, was to always jump unpacked, regardless of the technicality of the jump or the winds, and if I would ever get hurt (highly unlikely) I would just put some sad pictures up on the Internet, have a friend set up a donation page for me and have all my friends (and their friends) chip in for my hospital and rescue bills (I would make sure to promote the donation page myself as much as I can),” wrote Grown_Up. “I wouldn’t even feel bad about doing it, since everyone can afford a $5 donation (price of a cup of coffee, for god’s sake). Luckily, I have 1500 ‘friends’!”

Although Kuzman is never mentioned specifically in the post several of those who replied to the thread indicated they believe she is the uninsured BASE jumper that Grown_Up is referring to. In a subsequent post the anonymous writer denied that his or her comments were directed at Kuzman. Instead Grown_Up insists that there is a growing trend among action sports athletes without insurance to seek assistance online when they get injured.

“The original post was not about one single case, just prompted by a recent one,” Grown_Up wrote. “This past year, FB and some other sites have been flooded with the donation pages. Not just BASE, there are climbing, surfing, skiing, swimming (!!!) accidents. It seems like it was becoming a norm to have others bail you out.”

My attempt to reach Grown_Up via email through BASEJumper.com went unanswered. That person has chosen to remain unnamed for fear of personal attacks online. Snarky comments in the posts notwithstanding Grown_Up does make several important points though most readers might perceive the expression of his or her opinions as an indirect attack upon Kuzman. In light of the inherent dangers of BASE jumping, comprehensive medial insurance should be just as mission critical as a parachute. A cohort of charitable well-meaning friends is no substitute.

To her credit Kuzman made a good faith effort to acquire health insurance. Unfortunately as a single payer with three pre-existing conditions, including seasonal allergies, the cost was prohibitively expensive. Without coverage she found herself, as many do at the prime of life with a passion for adventure, facing a very difficult choice.

“I’m not saying it was the smartest decision I’ve made. I didn’t not get insurance because I wanted to be a financial burden on my friends,” she said. “It’s just a crappy situation that I, among many people these days, found myself in. Do I let that one thing be the magnetic pull in my life or do I keep following my passion? In retrospect, I’d do it all over again.”

When you’re young, healthy, and unattached with the rest of your life ahead of you it’s hard not to feel indestructible. I know I did. After 20 years of hard falls and close calls I never once spent a night in a hospital bed. But all that wear and tear takes a toll. As the years go by you’ll start to slow down with little aches and pains that just might indicate something more serious. In my case an untreated low-back injury from a fall off a chinning bar in an Iowa City hotel room in 1992 resulted in a relatively minor dislocation of my left hip that was never corrected. I “walked off” the injury, but without medical care it grew progressively worse. My activity level began a steady decline over several years until I finally walked with a persistent limp. In late December 2012 I was diagnosed with advanced osteo-arthritis in both my left hip and my right. Now at the age of 46 I write this story from an orthopedic recovery room after the first of two complete hip replacements.

On the bright side, thanks to group health insurance through my wife’s employer, I’ll have my operations with very little out of pocket expense. At an estimated average cost of $30,000 for each of two surgeries there’s no way I could pay for treatment without assistance. Though I might have launched a fund-raising campaign online I’m grateful that I won’t have to ask of my friends and family for anything other than gifts of home-cooked meals and get well cards while I’m in recovery.

Had I been a bit more prudent in my youth I might have purchased health insurance. Then when I was originally injured I might have been more inclined to see a doctor and keep the soreness in my hip from becoming the agonizing pain in the ass it is today. At current rates though often with high deductibles the cost of health insurance is infinitely more affordable than the alternative. Even with high risk activities like BASE jumping there are policies available that will cover virtually all the expenses related to a medical emergency or catastrophic injury.

In the post to BASEJumper.com Grown_Up offers some good advice for adventure athletes shopping for health insurance. It’s suggested that anyone looking for a worthwhile policy ask at least these four basic questions:
“1- Is any parachute activity (such as skydiving, paragliding or BASE jumping) covered by the plan I want to get?
2- Is any parachute activity (such as skydiving, paragliding or BASE jumping) mentioned in any way in the exclusions?
3 – If I get injured (short or long term) while participating in any parachute activity (such as ….) will I be covered?
4 – Just for good measure, I also asked if a helicopter ride to a hospital would be covered.”

Some insurance policies have very specific exclusions for injuries sustained in high risk activities. Sports with inherent hazards that may include skiing, mountain biking, or surfing could be exempt from claims. It’s important that every insured person is well aware of their levels of coverage. And it’s important to ask what might appear to be silly questions.

“I’d rather sound like a moron, than fall through a loophole,” Grown_Up wrote.

Starting in 2014 the Affordable Health Care Act signed into law by President Obama will go into full effect. At that time everyone in the United States, with the exception of those in poverty and some with religious objections, will be required to have health insurance or face a fine of $695 per year. With a much deeper pool of potential policy holders the understanding is that premium costs will go down as market competition rises. But it remains to be seen. Even when health insurance is more accessible will those of us involved in adventure sports and prone to risky behavior decide to buy an affordable policy or simply pay the fine?

At the heart of the matter is the safety and well being of the adventure sports community as a whole. In the balance are those at risk of injury and those who aim to push the limits of their abilities for an ecstatic experience that can only come from an adrenaline-charged sport like BASE jumping. What happens when too many athletes are injured or even killed because their safety plan failed to include adequate medical coverage.

“The bottom line isn’t so much about the problems with health care, and insurance in the USA,” wrote StealthyB on BASEJumping.com. “The problem is that every incident in Moab that gets attention is one more black mark against BASE no matter how little difference you think it makes. If you burn sites like Moab… you are going to run out of playgrounds.”

There are only so many places in the world where BASE jumping off natural features is possible or even legal. Concerns over the personal safety of athletes eager to throw caution and themselves to the winds have resulted in the prohibition of the sport at areas across the U.S. in places with high cliffs like Yosemite. Moab, one of the last lawful BASE jumping sites in the country, could be next.

Without advocating for massive regulation of the sport it stands to reason that an affordable insurance policy with mandatory eligibility requirements for safety could help to reduce the number injuries like Kuzman’s. Certainly she survived and with the help of her friends and family she’ll eventually dig out from under that mountain of debt. The adventure community is supportive that way. But even though she did everything right at the time of her accident shouldn’t the final check of her BASE rig have been up to date medical coverage? Or should a broken and dysfunctional healthcare system be allowed to stifle the creative expression of flight and freedom at the core of the sport? For now it’s up to each individual to decide for themselves.

The Joy Trip Project is made possible with the support of sponsors Patagonia, Rayovac and the New Belgium Brewing Company.

Photograph courtesy Eric Larsen

After polar explorer Eric Larsen finished on the “triple crown of adventure”—traveling to the South Pole, the North Pole, and the top of Mount Everest in one year—it was hard to imagine what he might do next. But he has a plan. In December of 2012, Larson will begin another crossing of Antarctica. Once again the Minnesotan is attempting to make the 750-mile trek from the edge of the continent at the Hercules Inlet to the geographic South Pole. But this time he’s going by bicycle!

If he’s successful Larsen will be the first person to complete the journey he calls Cycle South. Although British adventure athlete Helen Sketlon made the final few miles of her South Pole expedition back in January 2012 by bike, Larsen’s long pedal has yet to be accomplished. Riding a production model Surly Moonlander, a fat-tire bike made in Minnesota with 4.8-inch wheels, the trip promises to test the constitution of both man and machine through one of the harshest environments on the planet.

Apart from frigid temperatures 20-degrees below zero in the Antarctic summer, sudden storms can dump vast quantities of new snow on the trail ahead. Larsen will likely encounter whiteout conditions that will make it impossible to distinguish between the snow and the horizon adding to the difficulties of navigation—it’s hard to pedal a bicycle if you can’t see. Plus there are the objective hazards of crevasses and sastrugi, wave-like ridges of ice and snow formed by wind, that can be major obstacles to a bike weighed down by heavy gear.

But well familiar with the route Larsen is confident of his chances. Hoping to raise awareness for the importance bicycle travel as a way to cut down on carbon emissions from automobiles he aims to demonstrate that human-power should never be taken for granted. He wants people to know that in all kinds of weather the bicycle is an excellent alternative mode of transportation to help mitigate the long-term effects of climate change. Larson also hopes to prompt his fans and followers to contribute a little cash to support research to find a cure for Parkinson’s Disease.

Larsen spared a few minutes to answers questions from James Edward Mills of the Joy Trip Project.

James Edward Mills: You’ve already made it to the South Pole as well as the North Pole and the top of Mount Everest all in one year. Why do this?

Eric Larsen: Well, the big difference is it’s on a bike. So that really poses a lot of logistical considerations. Not only that, but the North Pole, the South Pole, and Everest, those expeditions had already been completed before by other people, myself included. Nobody has ever completed a bicycle traverse to the South Pole. There are a lot of unknowns that add another level of severity. And there are a lot of interesting and fun problems to try to solve.

JM: Can you be specific? What kind of “interesting and fun problems” do you need to solve on a bicycle as opposed to a dogsled or skis or on foot?

EL: For one thing, how to keep your feet warm. What types of boots to wear while still using clip-less pedals, which is most efficient. How to manage different types of equipment fatigue and repairs. I’ll have a standard repair kit that I use. But what can potentially break on a bike in those conditions at higher levels of severity? There’s carrying all the supplies. And navigation as well. I navigate by compass while holding it and eyeballing an identifiable snow drift or something. Navigating while on the bike and moving around over sastrugi is challenging as well.

JM: That actually makes me wonder. I imagine you’ll be moving faster than you might on foot or even skis. How do you probe for things like crevasses while you’re on a bicycle? Is that even an option?

EL: It is. But I have skied this route before and it’s relatively crevasse-free. I didn’t see any, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t ski over a ton of them. There is some crevasse danger. It’s relatively minimal, so it is a concern. In a place like Antarctica it’s somewhat “terra-cognita” in the sense that there have been enough flights over this general region where a lot of the crevasse fields are known. But like I said, I skied that route in 2008. I got to the South Pole in January of 2009 so I have all my GPS points.

JM: You’ve got a pretty good idea that you won’t come across any crevasses. But apart from that, how are you preparing for this expedition? How did you train?

EL: Training and preparation have always been critical for me. I have kind of a philosophy: Train hard and travel easy. And so for me it’s just been spending a lot of time just on the bike riding, which is ironically what I do for a lot of my training for cold travel like ski expeditions. So I’ve been doing a ton of biking. Honestly, it’s been a little bit more difficult because we have a baby boy who is two months old. So that’s added another level of fatigue to this overall endeavor. Getting the four and five-hour rides in has been a little more difficult. It’s been a lot more like two and three-hour rides. That’s one thing. The other is I probably spend the most time just working and solving all the gear problems, gearing up and menu planning, those kinds of things. For polar travel you know there’s generally a bunch of different modifications I do to the equipment to make sure that it’s able to withstand those conditions and also function properly.

JM: How much support are you going to have? Will you be hauling all your own gear?

EL: I’ll probably get two to three resupplies along the way. I haven’t totally decided yet. And so I’ll be hauling about 90 pounds of gear with me as I’m traveling. I’ve been down in Antarctica before. I’ve worked for a company called Antarctic Logistics and Expeditions. They do a majority of the private expedition support in Antarctica. They also do scientific support. The NSA does most of the scientific support out of South Pole Stations in McMurdo and Palmer. They have a pretty comprehensive program and so they actually fly to the South Pole in a Twin Otter (aircraft) somewhat regularly throughout the summer season.

What they’ll do is they’ll land at a kind of a rough latitude that I specify. And they’ll just open the door up real quick, they’ll take out a shovel, bury my little Granite Gear stuff sack full of food and fuel and they’ll put a little black flag on it about two feet high, mark the GPS point, and send me the GPS coordinates. If the conditions are good from about a mile away, if I’m navigating well and it’s clear, I can see that black flag. I’ll have all those bags packs prior to going over to Antarctica. Basically they’ll deposit the first one probably right away when they drop me off. And then I’ll be in contact with them just to see what the status is for the other potentially one or two resupplies. It depends on how fast or slow I’m going.

JM: What’s the overall goal of this expedition? What do hope to accomplish in order to be successful?

EL: I think for me getting to the starting line is probably one of the biggest hurdles of any expedition. Getting this far to me and hopefully doing Antarctica is a pretty big success.

That said, a big part of my expeditions are really about advocacy and trying to connect people with other issues. For me I’ve always had this choice in my life between wilderness and bicycles. It has always been a conflicting interest. This trip is interesting to me because it gets to combine my two great loves and really focus on some things that I feel are important, protecting the environment by using bicycles to reduce carbon emissions, creating awareness and raising money for Parkinson’s Disease. My dad actually had Parkinson’s Disease, and it’s something that I’ve wanted to coordinate with a trip. My focus will always be environmental, but these expeditions are good platforms to talk about whatever. And I feel like we all have this responsibility to leave the world a little bit better off, to continue with my environmental advocacy with Clif Bar and Wild Lands Alliance and a little bit with world bike organizations. To do some work with others along the way like the Davis Phinney Foundation.

Davis Phinney is an ex-bike racer. He’s the first or second American to win a stage in the Tour de France. He was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease, as my dad was diagnosed for over 20 years. He’s also based in Boulder. That’s going to be the figurehead of the expedition, trying to raise $10,000 for his organization. And then there’s the pragmatic goal of trying to bike to the South Pole.

JM: There’s the possibility of you cycling back the way you came. What has to happen in order for you to decide that that is a possibility.

EL: I think the big thing is just that I’m healthy and the weather has been good and that I’ve made good mileage. The big part of the trip is to get to the South Pole. I’ve got about 40 days to do that. I think it could take upwards of half that time, but you know, it’s Antarctica. There’s a lot of variability. I’m relying on information that I gleaned from my prior experience and training. There are so many variable that I want to be safe in what my estimations are. And if can ride back well that’s just icing on the cake.

JM: Have you thought past this expedition? What do you hope to accomplish next?

EL: My expeditions are about telling stories. That’s my primary goal. I want to do original trips that tell good stories. The world records, the look-at-me-I’m-awesome thing, that’s not necessarily as important to me. I have a lot of different projects that I’m thinking about. I’ve been to Antarctica three different times. I’ve lead two whole trips and one partial trip to the South Pole and its an amazing place. Would I like to go back and do the full trip to the South Pole and back if I don’t finish? I don’t really know. Would I like to go back and do some other cool trips in Antarctica? Definitely.

The Joy Trip Project is made possible with the support of sponsors Patagonia, Rayovac and the New Belgium Brewing Company.

Portrait courtesy Asa Firestone

Today we are asking you to be part of a social media experiment and to tweet #adventure4good so we can collectively reach 100,000 tweets in 24 hours. Your tweet will help bring the first climbing wall to the slums of Rio.

National Geographic Young Explorer Asa Firestone wants to inspire kids through climbing. Though not a particularly original concept in itself, the idea aims to gain traction in a unique location: the crime-ridden slums of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Armed with an MBA from the Marshal School of Business at the University of Southern California, Firestone plans to build a social and economic alternative to life in gangs along with a climbing wall and the educational infrastructure to train young people as alpine athletes and commercial guides.

Known locally as favelas, Rio neighborhoods are among the most dangerous in the world. With several hundred homicides each year along with crushing poverty, many of the school-aged children who grow up there have few options when it comes to a safe and healthy childhood. Despite a wealth of beautiful mountains nearby, literally within view of the streets below, recreational resources and instruction for climbing are nonexistent. Firestone aims to change that.

Putting his business degree to good use, he’s started a small company called BEYONDgear. Offering a collection of mountain inspired clothing items and accessories Firestone hopes to create a self-sustaining aid program to raise funds in support of local climbing to lift children from slums to summits. Looking to raise $50,000 in start up capital BEYONDgear was recently launched as an Indiegogo campaign: http://www.indiegogo.com/adventureforgood.

Writer James Edward Mills of the Joy Trip Project talks to Firestone about his very ambitious initiative.

James Edward Mills: What was it about the favelas of Rio that made you think a climbing wall would be a solution to the poverty there?

Asa Firestone: The favelas of Rio de Janeiro are nestled within a mecca of world-class rock climbing. Youth in these underprivileged communities are faced with an array of difficulties and negative influences such as drugs, violence, and gang life. Rock climbing can offer these youth a positive alternative to their daily struggles and replace those bad risks with the positive risks of climbing. The construction of a modern climbing wall will provide them with this opportunity. Many of the best climbers use indoor walls for training. With these acquired skills, local youth can utilize the outdoor climbing resources in their communities for recreation or for income purposes.

But honestly, to me its all about equity. I have traveled the world on expeditions. All too often the adventurers I meet enjoying the local natural resources are white guys from California or Europe. It was too rare that I would meet adventurers from the local communities. Seems like the kids from the favelas should have the opportunity to climb right above their homes, those walls are a resource! Same for kids who live next to the epic surfing breaks in Nicaragua or the wild mountains of Peru. The idea to utilize local, adventure resources to help stimulate the economies of local communities as well as provide the positive energy of adventure for at-risk youth, is what BEYONDgear is all about.

JM: Is it realistic to believe that climbing is a better alternative to crime?
AF: Sure, if we can train local adventurers to become guides and then facilitate in bringing them customers, they can make a pretty good income and not have to deal with all the violent and lethal aspects of the drug trade. Will this appeal to all kids in the favelas? Of course not, but it will surely appeal to many of them if it is an option.

JM: Once you get this climbing wall built how do you plan to sustain it?
AF: I don’t want to follow a normal non-profit model. I don’t really want people’s donations (although I won’t turn them down). What I really want to create is a movement of using adventure for good and sharing adventure with people who would never have exposure to it otherwise. I think the best way to do this is not through a donation model, but through a for-profit brand with a bulletproof giving model. I want to get people excited to purchase our products or go on our adventure trips because they are worth it, but also because they go toward using adventure for good. I think this can be much more powerful than begging for money just to get around taxes…

We are working on a couple of revenue generators. One is the BEYONDgear brand. WIth each purchase we will give the amount of money needed to get an at-risk kid an indoor climbing session and five purchases will get an at-risk student an outdoor climbing excursion. We are also looking at certifying students as guides and then bringing them customers on adventure travel trips, BEYONDtravel. This will happen a little further down the line. Finally, CEU has 501c3 status sponsored through the American Alpine Club so it can utilize all the normal non-profit fundraising mechanisms. So in summary, we will utilize CEU as a non-profit and BEYONDgear as a social enterprise all with the same mission to create a sustainable diversion to violence through adventure.

JM: What do you hope the kids you work with will do with their interest in climbing?
AF: Become climbing guides or become world-class climbing athletes.

JM: Of all the challenges you’re undoubtedly going to face in getting this project off the ground, which do you believe will the most difficult to overcome?

AF: I think both the business aspects as well as the crime-ridden community politics are both incredibly difficult. In the favelas of Rio de Janiero approximately 5,000 murders are reported each year. This is a third of the total annual murders in the entire US… all occurring in one city. That is pretty epic. Much of this crime is created by the drug cartels that make their base in these communities. The politics with these gangs are tough. Fortunately, the gangs were ousted from the Rocinha favela in November of 2011 by a massive government pacification effort called UPP.

JM: You’re clearly very motivated in making this project work. What’s your best asset in achieving success?

AF: Determination, it’s definitely not raw intelligence, haha. I think this type of thing needs a maniacal obsession to make it happen. I originally had the idea for this project in 2003 and it is just now taking form.

The Joy Trip Project is made possible with the support of sponsors Patagonia, Rayovac and the New Belgium Brewing Company.

Photograph courtesy Justin "Jonesy" Jones

Crossing the Ice was clearly a stand out favorite this year at the Banff Mountain Film Festival. Taking home the trophy for Best Film on Exploration and Adventure, The People’s Choice Award, and the Grand Prize, this documentary affirms the notion that, at their core, the truly great stories of our time reflect the very best qualities of humanity. Despite the danger, harrowing experiences, and the often competitive nature of any expedition, what matters most is the depth of those incredible characters.

Australian adventure teammates James Castrissian and Justin Jones set out to become the first to make the 2,275-kilometer round-trip journey from the Hercules Inlet of Antarctica to the South Pole on skis, fully unsupported. Hauling all of their own gear on sleds that weighed as much as 350 pounds, the two known as Cas and Jonesy spent 89 days trudging through blizzard conditions and waist-deep snow across a frozen tundra. Under circumstances as dire as you might imagine the two men endured with incredible strength and determination, supporting each other with great love and friendship.

In an unexpected twist, Cas and Jonesy suddenly find themselves in a race to the Pole with the arrival of Aleksander Gamme, a Norwegian adventurer with the same goal. Traveling alone and with considerably more experience traversing ice and snow, Gamme quickly out paced the Australians and was well on his way to upsetting their plans. But in a magnanimous gesture of sportsmanship, the Norwegian waited two days for Cas and Jonesy, who were three kilometers from their objective, so that they all crossed the finish line together as one team.

“Waiting for them in the end it felt very natural. I liked them from the very first moment. I saw myself in them,” Gamme said. “I enjoy going solo, but to finish and to celebrate alone, it’s not fun.”

Banff Mountain Film Festival jury member Dale Templar said in her remarks upon bestowing one of the film’s three awards that this story of courage and camaraderie shown above all the rest of the films.

“Crossing the Ice encapsulates the true spirit of adventure . . . . This is a film with perfect storytelling featuring incredible characters—a ‘bro-mance’,” Templar said. “It’s a story that conveyed unbridled enthusiasm, humor, and heartbreak created by the filmmakers and the lovable lunatics who walked unaided across Antarctica to the South Pole and back.”

At home in Australia James Castrissian awaits the birth of his first child. “And it’s not mine,” said Justin Jones at Banff Mountain Film Festival awards ceremony. Their “bro-mance” notwithstanding Cas and Jonesy continue to be good friends and look forward to their next adventure together. In an email exchange Jonesy shared a few of his thoughts on Crossing the Ice with James Edward Mills of the Joy Trip Project.

James Edward Mills: What made you and Cas think you could be the first team to do a round trip trek to the South Pole?

Justin Jones: At first we were quite shocked to find out that no one had actually achieved an unsupported and unassisted return South Pole expedition. As a result it was something that got us extremely excited. True we had no experience skiing or in Polar environments, but we had the passion and the right approach in our preparation and planning to take this task on. The Tasman expedition a few years early really opened our eyes to what we were actually capable of.

J.E.M.: After all the preparation you did for this journey what was the one thing you encountered that you didn’t expect (besides your Norwegian rival Aleksander Gamme)?

J.J.: We didn’t count on the horrendous weather that we had to fight through in the first month—two weeks of whiteout and snowfall in a row. Antarctica is strictly classified as a desert and yet we got deluged by 1-1.5 feet of snow…and when you’re trying to drag a sled that weighs 160 kilograms (350 pounds) each, it feels like your insides are being crushed. Our speed and progress plummeted.

J.E.M.: Your film Crossing the Ice details all the highs and lows of your 89-day expedition. What was the highest high? What was the lowest low?

J.J.: If you ask the two of us, you’d probably get two different answers. For Cas the infection that he had on Day 29/30 that left us tent bound was the lowest point for him. At that point with the weather, the infections, etc., it all looked impossible. It was the lowest that I’d ever seen him in his life; there was no consoling him.

Me . . . the end of day 80. My bowels, my lips, my feet, the starvation, and pain all just got too much for me and I had a meltdown in the tent. To make things worse, although my best mate was only a few meters away from me, he was so far gone as well that he had to worry about himself. It was a horribly lonely night.

The highest high . . . definitely finishing with Aleks on day 89. The most amazing end to a mammothly HARD expedition. An amazing day!

J.E.M.: You and Cas are clearly very close friends. How did you meet? And what is it about you two that keeps you together after so many days in such tight quarters? 

J.J.: We met when we were 14 and 15 years old (15 years ago) in high school. I was actually friends with his younger brother first as I used to play sport with him, but was in Cas’s year. We just clicked in the outdoors . . . and started doing trips together. Back then they were small but started to grow and grow in scale. We work well together because we have a trust and friendship that goes back so long. I have seen him at his absolute worst and his best, there isn’t much he could do that’d shock me and vice versa. There isn’t anyone else I’d trust more in the outdoors than him.

J.E.M.: Alesksander Gamme waited for you with three kilometers to go so that you three could finish the journey together. What does it mean to you that he did that? What do you suppose that says about the modern notion of adventure? Isn’t it a competition?

J.J.: Aleks Gamme is an amazing human being. It was a truly generous act of kindness and sportsmanship that you don’t generally see in this day and age. It really highlights what adventure is actually all about . . . collaboration and sharing of experiences. I’d like to think this would be something that a true outdoorsperson, or adventurer would do . . . people get caught up in the hype of being the first, the fastest, the fittest, or fastest, that they forget the real point is to enjoy the journey and grow from it.

At the start of our journey we were probably a bit competitive, but that quickly went out the window. Aleks and us communicated and used each other as sources of inspiration to keep going. Who knows . . . perhaps if one team was there in Antarctica the other team wouldn’t have made it!

J.E.M.: Obvious question: what will be your next adventure together? And if you don’t have any plans, what do you look for in an adventure when selecting your next project?

J.J.: We have some ideas that we’re currently working on but are keeping a little tight lipped on it until we work the plans into a tangible form. Cas is two weeks off having his first child so that it also something that we’re waiting to see before we announce the next one. To keep in the loop follow us on facebook.com/casandjonesy!

The Joy Trip Project is made possible with the support of sponsors Patagonia, Rayovac and the New Belgium Brewing Company

Shannon Galpin is one of ten 2013 Adventurers of the Year. Vote every day for the People’s Choice!

On her most recent trip to Afghanistan in late October, human rights advocate Shannon Galpin returned a bit of the nation’s own culture. In a series of life-size photographs, the Colorado resident delivered artistic expressions of the Afghan people so often shrouded behind the vail of 40 years of conflict. Working to improve the health and safety of women and girls, Galpin, director of the nonprofit Mountain2Mountain, aims to provide a positive vision of beauty to contradict the violent images that typically come to mind whenever we think of Central Asia.

Photograph by Tony Di Zinno

With a small team of photographers and filmmakers, Galpin set up in the city of Kabul an exhibition called the “Streets of Afghanistan.”  Shots taken by photographers that include Tony Di Zinno, Beth Wald, Paula Bronstein, Najibullah Musafer, and others make up a traveling display that can now be seen by the very people it depicts. Honored as one of our ten 2013 Adventurers of the Year, Galpin led a unique expedition into a region still plagued by terrorists’ bombs. Shortly after completing the first installation at the Darlumon Palace Galpin shared her thoughts on the project.

Photograph courtesy Tony Di Zinno

James Edward Mills: What do you hope to accomplish with the “Streets of Afghanistan” exhibition?

Shannon Galpin: The goal was, first, to bring the images that capture the beauty and spirit of this country back to Afghanistan to show among the Afghans themselves in a series of exhibitions that are outside in the streets and public places. It’s a chance for the Afghans to appreciate art and perhaps instill some pride in the beauty and soul of their country.

Second, I wanted to show the world that you can do things like this in a country like Afghanistan. That art, and street art in particular, isn’t off limits because of ongoing conflict—in fact its perhaps even more important to inspire, ignite conversation, and instill pride and a sense of community.

Just because its a war zone where daily violence occurs doesn’t mean its not also a country of real people going about their daily lives. The view we get in the media of Afghanistan—of war and conflict and poverty isn’t the story of this place—its simply the backdrop on which all the stories occur.

Photograph courtesy Tony Di Zinno

J.E.M.: What were some of the challenges you faced in making this project happen?

S.G.: The biggest challenge is funding—the broken record of raising funds to pay for the enormous costs of production for life-size photographs is huge. But these images begged to be big—a gallery-size print wasn’t going to engage the viewer in the same way. I wanted a street-art public installation, not a gallery exhibit. It was also logistically and financially challenging to get the exhibition to Afghanistan. Twenty-nine bags to be driven to Denver airport in three trucks, enormous baggage fees to be paid, and the hope that all 29 bags would arrive through three airports and two flight cancellations on the other side at Kabul. Our duct tape was confiscated in Dubai, and the Kabul customs agents tried to get me to pay a “tax.” But hey, I knew it wouldn’t be a cakewalk.

J.E.M.: Have you encountered or do you expect any opposition to your exhibition? Are you in any danger?

S.G.: No opposition yet, just occasional issues that come up with local police. The municipality of Kabul, essentially the Kabul Mayor’s office, has thrown their support behind this, and that gives it a lot of weight for our public exhibitions in Kabul. We are also speaking with the Kabul police chief to explain what we are up to and get his support. In terms of danger—yes, it’s Afghanistan, and I don’t take anything for granted.

Photograph courtesy Tony Di Zinno

J.E.M.: What do you want people here in the U.S. to know about your work and why it’s important?

S.G.: The founding ethos of Mountain2Mountain five years ago was based on the idea connecting communities and cultures—and photography is a powerful way to do that. I hope that people back home realize that change is possible in a country that many have written off. That Afghanistan is more than what we see in the media, that it is beautiful, and its citizens have hope and the same wishes for their lives and families that we do. We cannot turn our attention away from a country if we can connect to its people and their spirit. We are more similar than we are different.

The Joy Trip Project is made possible with the generous support of sponsors Patagonia, Rayovac, and the New Belgium Brewing Company.

Aimee Copp; Photograph by James Edward Mills

Three years after his tragic death while climbing in China, Jonny Copp’s Adventure Film Festival is still going strong. The annual event in Boulder that pulls in outdoor-inspired movies from around the world continues with an expanded program in 2012 under the direction of Copp’s sister Aimee. With broad experience in sports marketing and a passion for art and photography she’s creating an enduring legacy to preserve the memory of a young man who in life embodied many of the best qualities in a modern adventurer.

Killed in an avalanche while on assignment with fellow climber Micah Dash and cameraman Wade Johnson, Jonny Copp devoted much of his career to inspiring others. The Adventure Film Festival was first created to showcase the best work of his friends and colleagues in the depiction of their travels as motion pictures. Today Aimee has taken Jonny’s vision of combining art and adventure to establish an institution that provides training and funding opportunities for talented young filmmakers to follow their ambitions wherever they may lead. Through the Jonny Copp Foundation, Aimee continues to support and encourage the creation of high production value projects perpetuate her brother’s original dream. And in the process she’s embraced his passion to make it her own.

On behalf of National Geographic Adventure, James Edward Mills of the Joy Trip Project asked Aimee Copp a few pointed questions about the Adventure Film Festival and her role as its director.

James Edward Mills: What inspires you to keep the film festival going at such a high level three years after Jonny’s death?

Aimee Copp: Definitely right after everything happened it was all very tragic and devastating, the most devastating thing that’s ever happened in my life. After something like that happens then there are all the moving parts and pieces around that person, what they do and what they love. And the thing, of course, my brother absolutely loved was climbing, and he loved adventure, and he also loved running this film festival. He had worked so hard at building it, the blood, sweat, and tears and bringing that community together in Boulder, it was definitely his dream. That was something our family wanted to caring on.

So immediately after everything happened, we knew that we wanted to make sure that the festival continued and do what we could to make it successful. I had always been in the field of marketing and business development. I graduated from USC’s Annenberg School and since I played basketball there it just seemed like a natural transition to go into sports marketing. I did that for a while, and then worked for Starbucks Coffee and did their marketing for many years. And then I started doing independent consulting and business development for entrepreneurs and small businesses.

But when these tragic moments happen in your life, you have these moments of clarity. I knew that I wanted to make a change to be able to carry on my bother’s dream and kind of make that sacrifice with moving on from a very well-paying job to starting the foundation and running the film festival. I really made a lifestyle change to do that, but not having any second thoughts at all and I knew absolutely that this was something that I wanted to do, what our family wanted to do. And I was just willing to throw myself out there and do everything that I could to continue the festival and continue to make it successful. And most importantly carry on my brother’s memory.

J.E.M.: The Jonny Copp Foundation works to inspire and support the work of a new generation of young adventure filmmakers. Despite the tragic circumstances of Jonny, Micah, and Wade’s deaths, it’s clear that it’s not only important that you preserve their memory but also to support others that have similar goals and ambitions. What do you hope will ultimately come from the work that you’re doing to promote other people who are doing the same dangerous things that your brother did?

A.C.: My brother was a multi-talented person. If you look back at him as a person you see you have the professional alpine climber sponsored by Patagonia, you have the professional photographer, and the professional writer. He did all these things, and he did them well. That is amazing in itself. In addition to that he was also a talented musician. He played the flute. He played the guitar, the drums. He loved music. That’s something very special.

With the festival, with the foundation, with the Johnny Copp award, the Copp-Dash Inspire award, I hope we can share my brother’s story and give support that we can to inspire people to also follow their dreams. He could have done a lot of different things in life. He might have given in to many different pressures in society for having a certain job or living a certain lifestyle. But he stuck with these passions of his and he was very successful in doing those things. So we want to support people that are following a similar path, that are multi-talented or working toward goals in certain areas—adventure filmmaking, writing, photography, music—and also for organizations that are doing amazing things in those same areas toward environmental activism.

It’s really surrounded by the passions that my brother had and to support the dreams that other people have to move toward their passions. When you’re working with that or supporting that—whether it’s me receiving applications or talking to people or whatever it is—people are motivated and excited. If we can have any part in nurturing that, that’s something that’s wonderful.

J.E.M.: There are a lot of mountain culture “adventure film” festivals out there. What makes Adventure Film different?

A.C.: Being in this arena, in this industry for a short time and researching some of the other festivals, I haven’t seen much out there like the Adventure Film Festival. That’s due to the types of films that we show, the type of people that work within Adventure Film. It’s also the community that attends Adventure Film—the non-corporate, non-commercial feeling that it has. It’s very real and I think it’s just something that’s evolved over time based on my brother and people that were involved with the festival since the beginning.

When you go to the Adventure Film Festival, you’re standing right next to the most amazing professional athletes in the world, in the climbing industry in particular. And then on top of that you have all of these unbelievable, most prolific adventure filmmakers in the world. And then go to photography. You have National Geographic photographers. You have all these people who are at the peak. So people are really impressed by that.

It’s been interesting because not being in that climbing world going to Boulder for me is like, Oh yeah, those are my brothers friends. There’s Matt Segal, there’s Lynn Hill, all these people that are just friends of mine it just seems normal to have that kind of relationship. And then other people are just in like shock and awe. That’s something that separates us, the people that attend. It’s definitely the grassroots nature of it. There’s a real soul and spirit to it you can feel when you’re there.

J.E.M.: You’ve got a really exciting lineup of new films. I’m curious to know from you personally, is there anything in particular that you’re excited about?

A.C.: There are few, but I would have to say that my absolute, the film that I’m most excited about is Jeremy Collins’s film The Equation. It’s very different from what he’s done in the past. And just I think it’s amazing. Maybe it won’t be for some people. Some people will love it and others will think that it’s too artsy. But for me I absolutely loved it.

J.E.M: Can you tell me specifically what you liked most about that film?

A.C.: I love the journey that the main character takes. And I love the message of how inspirational it is. I don’t know how he does it, going from fine art to animation to mixed media film to actors in black & white and amazing cinematography. He wrote all the dialog himself and that just blows me away. It’s like that guy’s on another planet. He’s so talented.

Another film that I’m absolutely in love with is a three-minute film called Mr. Toilet. It’s genius. It covers a very serious issue, but also you’re laughing the entire time. It’s unbelievable.

There are so many favorites this year. We have another one of my favorites called In the Middle of Nowhere. It’s 15 minutes and this film was completely shot on this woman’s iPhone. You would never believe it. It is high quality and it’s very well done. It’s different. I won’t give it away, but it’s really amazing.

J.E.M.: You started out this journey for yourself hoping to preserve your brother’s memory and to continue his dream. Is it fair to suggest that Adventure Film is now your dream?

A.C.: Absolutely. I had a conversation early on with family and close friends, kind of dissecting the enormous importance the of the film festival and carrying on my brother’s memory, but also being realistic about questioning whether these are my passions, my dreams. I wasn’t a professional climber. I wasn’t in the outdoor life like my brother was, but my passion for so many years has been art, photography, and film. And also I love what I do which is marketing, business development, and working with entrepreneurs. That’s something I’ve been doing for a long time also so it actually is really nice seeing those things come together and kind of the evolution of where we’ve been able to take it in the last three years, involving more live music, art, photography all these things that I’m very passionate about in addition to the core of the festival which is of course the amazing adventure films.

There have been really wonderful companies, like Patagonia, and a lot of the different sponsors that are supportive and see that they’re making our film festival set apart from everyone else. We’re involving these different amazing people that are creating the most beautiful art work and photography and live music and live performance and dance. It’s definitely taken it into a direction that I think my brother would be so proud of and that I really enjoy and involves both of our passions that have come together even after he’s passed. It’s a beautiful thing.

The Joy Trip Project and coverage of the 2012 Adventure Film Festival are made possible with the support of sponsors Patagonia, Rayovac, and the New Belgium Brewing Company.