The Backcountry Film Festival is an annual celebration of human-powered, backcountry-inspired stories rooted in wild snowscapes, stewardship and stoke. This year’s showing in Spokane, hosted by the Spokane Mountaineers at the Garland Theater, marks the festival’s 20th anniversary. Mark your calendar for Friday, Dec. 6. Doors open at 6 p.m. for a lights-on happy hour film by The Blank Collective. Happy hour pricing, powder shots and big lines will set the tone for the evening. Lights will dim at 7 p.m. for the Backcountry Film Festival films, featuring a collage of 11 short documentaries and ski movies about pursuit in the mountains.
At last year’s festival showing, the Spokane Mountaineers raised roughly $3,000 from ticket sales for partner non-profits that support avalanche safety and land conservation efforts for human-powered backcountry enthusiasts and wildlife. The festival itself is also a fund/awareness raiser for Winter Wildlands Alliance, whose mission is to inspire and empower people to protect America’s wild snowscapes. More than 80% of fresh water in the American West comes from snow, yet upper watersheds are facing increasing threats from climate change, biodiversity loss, unmanaged recreation and other resource pressures.
Winter Wildlands Alliance brings together grassroots organizations, conservationists, outdoor industry partners, backcountry skiers and snowboarders, Nordic skiers, snowshoers, winter mountaineers, snow scientists, educators and many others who are devoted to protecting one of America’s most important resources: our wild snowscapes. The alliance works to improve climate resilience on public lands, to advocate for sustainable and equitable recreation management, to protect wildlife and watersheds, and to make stewardship and conservation the primary ethic of all backcountry users. Learn more about the Winter Wildlands Alliance at Winterwildlands.org. Tickets to the Backcountry Film Festival showing are $12 and available at Tinyurl.com/Backcountry-Film-Fest.
