The snowy peaks and challenging terrain seen onscreen at Concrete’s inaugural Mountain Film Festival will come to real life sooner rather than later for certain viewers.
Taking place June 2–5 at the Concrete Theatre, the four-day event coincides with the Mount Baker Ultra Marathon — an ambitious 56-mile out-and-back foot race from Concrete’s town center to Sherman Peak, a subpeak of Mount Baker.
Leaving at midnight Saturday, June 4, 70 athletes from near and far will follow a route beginning on U.S. Forest Service roads, then cross the Upper Baker Dam before continuing to the snowline. From there, racers will ascend the Squak Glacier, utilizing a couple miles of fixed ropes to reach the summit. Then they’ll catch their breath, retrace their steps and head back to Concrete.
Taking place just a week after Bellingham’s Ski to Sea race, the Mount Baker Ultra is another event drawing its inspiration from the century-old Mount Baker Marathon, which took place from 1911–1913.
Fittingly, excerpts of the locally produced docudrama “The Mountain Runners” will precede the race at 5 p.m. June 4 as part of “The Original Mount Baker Marathon” presentation. Live music from the Prozac Mountain Boys will round out the action.
Made in 2012, “The Mountain Runners” tells the tale of the short-lived marathon, which offered up $100 in gold coins to the first runner to climb up and down the volcanic glacial peak of Mount Baker. It’s a harrowing tale of adventure and athleticism, and if any of the Mount Baker Ultra racers are in attendance at the presentation, it will likely either give them pause or get them excited for their own escapades.
The same could be said for many of the films, workshops and discussions on the docket as part of the Mountain Film Festival, including “This Mountain Life,” which kicks off the festival at 7 p.m. Thursday, June 2. The feature-length film takes place in the snowy peaks of Canada and follows a number of people whose passion for the mountains is so strong their lives revolve around it.
The documentary follows a mother-daughter team on a six-month trek together; a group of nuns who inhabit a mountain retreat in order to be closer to God; a couple who have spent almost half a century living off the grid; a snowshoe artist; an impassioned alpinist; and others.
Friday’s happenings include an update by climber Jeremy Akers on the Silos Climbing Wall coming to Concrete, as well as a screening of “The Alpinist.”
Saturday will include a photography workshop with Andy Porter, a viewing and discussion of “Slide to Ride,” a “Trek for Treasure” presentation and a screening of “Thru.” Sunday brings another photography workshop, a couple of short films and, at 3 p.m., a screening of “Dirtbag: The Legend of Fred Beckey.”
It’s fitting that a documentary about one of the most influential climbers of all time would close out the Mountain Film Festival. Beckey began his legendary ascents in Washington’s North Cascades range and wrote numerous books helping connect aspiring climbers to the mountains.
Valerie Stafford, the Concrete Chamber of Commerce president, Concrete Theatre co-owner, and organizer of the Mountain Film Festival, said when the chamber decided to create a film festival, brainstorming sessions focused on the incredible scenery, recreation and lifestyle habits that are unique to the small Skagit County town.
“People who live here are largely independent thinkers, rugged outdoors people, lovers of the environment,”
Stafford said. “Visitors are drawn here often in search of peace and quiet, a slower way of life and the history of our area.
“When we analyzed all that, we found the common denominator was mountains,”
she said. “There is something magical about living so close to them. The film festival is a way to celebrate mountains — whether they’re the ones in our backyard, or on the other side of the world.”
The Mountain Film Festival takes place June 2–5 at the Concrete Theatre, 45920 Main St., Concrete. Prices vary. Info: mountainsonfilm.com.
