Winter Fun Day is coming up Feb. 12

Winter fun in the great outdoors is the theme of the annual Winter Fun Day, hosted by Algonquin Outfitters, Saturday, Feb. 12, 2011. We've got lots of snow up here and are looking forward to another great event. This free, family-oriented, event takes place at the Oxtongue Lake location, just west of Algonquin Park, on Hwy. 60, about 30 km east of Huntsville. Winter Fun Day is designed to introduce people to self-propelled (or at least non-motorized) winter activities like snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, skate skiing, winter camping and dog sledding, as well as provide a host of opportunities to simply have fun in the snow.

This year’s event will pack a host of activities into a single day. You could drive a dog team, learn how to build a snow shelter, try skate skiing, go on a snowshoe hike, learn about winter camping, enter a snowshoe race (and hopefully finish!), play snow games and more! Representatives from Atlas and MSR snowshoes will be here to show off ( and let you try out) their newest new winter products. Lunch is always a highlight of any winter activity and barbeque fare will be available.

Equipment for all activities will be provided free of charge for Winter Fun Day participants and a heap of door prizes will be given away throughout the event.

For more information, please call Algonquin Outfitters, 1-800-469-4948 (705-635-2243).

Igloo building with the Ice Box

Trying out snowshoes on Oxtongue Lake

Sled dogs need a lunch break too

Please note that there is a charge for dog sled rides and a family rate is available. Dog sled rides are booked that day on a first-come first-served basis, so sign up early and avoid disappointment.
Here is a general overview of the day:

Saturday, Feb. 12, 2011:

9 am: Algonquin Outfitters opens

10 - 4 pm: dog sled rides - please sign up to make sure you get a ride!

10 -12: morning program (x-c ski lessons, ski and snowshoes demos, snowshoe hike, igloo building, dog sled rides, etc.)

12 - 2: lunch

1 - 5: afternoon program (ski lessons, ski and snowshoe demos, snow volleyball.)

Sunday, Feb. 13:

10 - noon: 17th annual Ragged Falls Snowshoe Adventure Hike

Advance registration is not required - simply show up! All events take place in the immediate area of our Oxtongue Lake store (except the Ragged Falls hike - car pooling req'd).

Dog sled rides are provided by Chocpaw Expeditions. For more information on their programs visit their web site.

Ski lessons are provided by Ski for Life. For more information on their programs visit their web site.

If you are on Facebook, check out the Winter Fun Day Facebook page. Let us know you are coming, see a slide show of past events and tell us what you think!

How to fill a theatre

How do you make a theatre go from this:

Huntsville's beautiful Algonquin Theatre is ready for the BMFF

 To this? (sorry for the bad picture)

BMFF Road Warrior Paul Price gives the thumbs up to Huntsville enthusiasm

 All you need to do is host the Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour! The shows last Tuesday and Wednesday nights at Huntsville's Algonquin Theatre were sold out performances, with great films, great door prizes and a good time had by all. 

Algonquin Outfitters has been involved with this event in Huntsville since the very beginning. Once upon a time, a young outdoor instructor named Paul Brittain, who worked at the now-defunct Summit College, came to us with a proposal, something along the lines of: "So, there are these cool films, and we have a great venue but we need some help." So help we did. Eventually, the event outgrew the beautiful Chapel at MBC, so we moved to Grandview Resort. Then they built this beautiful theatre in downtown Huntsville and here we are selling out two showings in a frozen cottage-country town of 20,000 people. Way to go Huntsville!  And beyond, for that matter. We get people from places like Bracebridge, Gravenhurst, Vankoughnet, Haliburton, Ravenscliffe, South River, Kearney, Emsdale, Killaloe and even some regulars who drive up from Toronto just to see the show here.

I re-counted on my fingers – we have presented the World Tour for 16 years and I have have been fortunate to have seen every performance. The movies this year were among the best ever. And that is saying a lot, given some of the memorable films we've seen over the years: some standouts for me were The Human Race (1997), Bhutan - The Last Shangri-La (1998), True Fans (1999), Berserk in the Antarctic (2001), Biscuit (2003), Sinners (2004), The Hatch (2005), Asiemut and Aweberg (2006) and the list goes on. Feel free to comment below if you have a favourite from this year, or any year.

Amazing things happen when people see these films. You can expect to be moved, possibly shocked, occasionally brought to tears, inspired, certainly made to laugh, amazed at the physical ability and mental endurance of the human race and have your jaw drop in awe at a landscape you never knew existed on this planet. The great thing about being a host is that people will spontaneously share their impressions and tell you their stories. Last night was no exception. At intermission, I ran into a man I just met the day before, a friend of a friend. I asked him what he thought of A Life Ascending, our feature film of the evening. He looked me straight in the eye and said, " That was life-changing." 

Wow. At the end of the night, one of the theatre volunteers, a woman, I would think, in her sixties, came up to me and said: "You know, I really liked that kayaking movie. It made me think that if I had my life to live over again, I'd like to try that." Wow, again.

Stay tuned, next year's film choices will be announced on this blog sometime around the first week of December.

New Ontario Parks reservation system is up and running today!

Are you looking forward to this? Then read on! Photo by Steve Baker.

The long-awaited "new and improved" Ontario Parks permit reservation system just went live this morning. The parks folks claim it is a faster and more efficient system and early reports from my spies inside the park confirm that this is the case. For full details, click here. The FAQ page is worth reading as well.

Don't forget about these! Photo by Brad Coultes.

Since OP has gone back to CAMIS, the service provider prior to the 2010 season, it's kind of a "plus ça change, plus ca reste la même chose" situation but here are a few highlights:

1) As before, Algonquin Park Interior reservations can only be made by phone: call 1-888-668-7275 with your access point and the names of the lakes you intend to camp on each night at the ready. If you live outside of North America, you can call: 1-519-826-5290.

2) Woohoo! "Reservation and camping fees will remain the same for the 2011 season. There will be a $1 savings if the reservation is made online."

3) The five month in advance reservation window remains in effect. Start counting the days!

If you are not sure about where to start with this process, there are a number of sources of reliable information about canoe routes. The first step is to get a map, It is difficult to give specific route advice without knowing whether you have a park map and what previous experience you have in Algonquin Park.

PDF versions of two different Algonquin Park maps are available on line:

Algonquin Park has this too! Photo by Martin Jordan

A somewhat dated version of the "official" Algonquin Park Canoe Route Map, useful for for general route planning, is available here.

Jeffrey McMurtrie's much more detailed and recently updated map is available here and for on-line viewing at our web site.

If you want a real map that you can hold in your hands, lay out on the table and make notes on, you can order the Algonquin Park Canoe Routes Map (along with guide books and many other useful park publications) on-line from the Friends of Algonquin Park Bookstore. The highly detailed Adventure Maps for Algonquin Park are available from our friends at Chrismar Mapping Services.

For the most comprehensive unofficial site, lots of trip planning information, route ideas, trip logs and other related links, check out Algonquin Adventures.

Descriptions of many Algonquin routes can also be found at the Canadian Canoe Routes Algonquin page:

Fine dining awaits on every campsite! Photo by Bob Hansen.

There are guidebooks available that can help you with your canoe trip planning. "A Paddler's Guide to Algonquin," by Kevin Callan, has some excellent route descriptions and canoe trip tales. Don Lloyd's fine book, "Canoeing Algonquin Park," is another very useful resource for trip planning. Different areas of the park are described and mapped so that you can put your own trip together. A great deal of historical information and natural history is also presented. You can order both these books on-line at the Friend's bookstore.

The trailer for this year's Banff Mountain Film Festival

If the list below isn't quite enough, get a little preview of this year's films, as always with the great voice and inspiring music:



Hey, Christmas is coming and theatre tickets fit really easily into the stocking of your favorite adventure-lover! Get yours today and be taken away to the most enchanting places on earth. Admission is $15 for adults and $12 for students. Folks buying tickets for both shows can exchange their two ticket stubs for a 15% discount on their next purchase of a regularly priced item at Algonquin Outfitters.

Tickets are available at the Algonquin Theatre box office at 37 Main St. E. in beautiful downtown Huntsville, on-line at the Algonquin Theatre web site, or by calling the theatre box office at (705) 789-4975, or 1-888-696-4255, ext. 2352.

The long-awaited film list for the Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour in Huntsville

Let me tell you, it was hard picking this year. There were many good films that got left off our list and it would have been no problem planning three evenings of movies. Do you think the people of Huntsville and beyond would support three shows? Let me know by making a comment below. 

In any case, you will find a wide range of subject matter when the Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour stops in Huntsville this year, with everything from fly-fishing in Russia, to skiing in Kashmir, to madmen jumping off cliffs, to tragedy and redemption in the mountains, to cute kids on bikes and even a bit of hair growth! Thanks to Seana Strain and Paul Price of the BMFF for their assistance in planning this year's program. Tuesday night has a total of two hours and nine minutes of films and Wednesday is a bit longer, at two hours and 11 minutes. There will be an intermission and great door prizes! Like last year, I have not consciously tried to pick a theme for each night. There may be one but we will have to wait till movie night and see what develops. There are several ski-related films but that was was mostly because there were more ski films in the line-up.

Go to both nights and save! Remember, if you go to both shows and save your ticket stubs, you can receive a one-time discount of 15 % on any regularly priced item at Algonquin Outfitters in Huntsville or Oxtongue Lake.

Please note that the films are listed in alphabetical order, NOT in the order they will be shown. There is a slight chance that the film selection may change as new films can still be added to the availability list.

Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2011. Showtime: 7:30 PM.
Get tickets by clicking here.

AZADI: Freedom

• Canada, 2010
• Directed and Produced by Anthony Bonello
• Classification: General - no advisory
• Focus: Skiing, Mountain Culture

AZADI: Freedom takes a look at Kashmir in the wake of the violent militant insurgence of the 90s through the lens of skiing. The unique role that skiing is playing in rebuilding tourism in Kashmir is explored using cinematography, animation and story of local characters. The film crew explore the future presented to young Kashmiri as they venture into the mountains, backcountry skiing. The world’s highest skiable gondola sits amid the most militarized region in the world, yet the freedom of adventure is drawing foreigners back to this former Shangri-La. Photocredit: Anthony Bonello, from the film 'AZADI: Freedom' 

Chimæra

• Canada, 2010,
• Directed by Dave Mossop
• Produced by Malcom Sangster
• Classification: General - no advisory
• Focus: Skiing

Chimæra refers to a mythological fusion of forms or a foolish fantasy. Shot with a unique camera system capable of shooting over 1000 frames per second, this film slows our perception of reality and offers an unprecedented look at a skier's life. It is an experience that blurs the borders between real and imaginary.

Eastern Rises 

Award at 2010 BMFF: Best Film on Mountain Sports, sponsored by ‘Live out There’

• USA, 2010
• Directed by Ben Knight
• Produced by Travis Rummel
• Classification: Parental guidance - coarse language
• Focus: Fly-Fishing, Environment, Culture

The Kamchatka Peninsula in the Russian Far East may as well be the end of the earth. Its enormously wild landscape is swarming with bugs and bears and threaded with rivers full of massive mouse-eating trout. In this stunning film, fishing is poetry; Bigfoot lurks in the fog and fishermen risk life and limb in decommissioned Cold War helicopters to explore rivers that have never been fished before. Photocredit: From the film 'Eastern Rises'

Fly or Die

Award at 2010 BMFF: Special Jury Mention

• USA, 2009
• Produced by: Nick Rosen and Peter Mortimer
• Classification: General - coarse language
• Focus: Rock Climbing, BASE jumping, Free BASE

Cutting edge climber Dean Potter is innovating climbing for the future: the Base Free Solo. By combining free solo climbing and base jumping, Dean is on his quest to master the various disciplines that lead up to this bold evolution of the sport. Photocredit: From the film 'Fly or Die'

Kranked Kids - Just down the Road

• Canada, 2010
• Directed and Produced by: Bjørn Enga
• Classification: General - no advisory
• Focus: Mountain biking / Humour

A coming-of-age mountain bike parody.

Last Paradise

• New Zealand, 2010
• Directed and Produced by: Clive Neeson
• Classification: General - no advisory
• Focus: Human Adventure / Extreme Sports: Surfing, Skiing and others

In the remote wilderness of New Zealand, when necessity was the mother of invention, a maverick bunch of kids concocted a dream which they would one day share with the world. Through 45 years of stunning original footage we relive the journey of legendary extreme sports pioneers on the roads less travelled, to paradises which have long since gone. But for one.  Photocredit: From the film 'Last Paradise' 

Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2011. Showtime: 7:30 PM.
Get tickets by clicking here.

A Life Ascending

Award at 2010 BMFF: Best Film on Mountain Culture, sponsored by Petzl 

Award at 2010 BMFF: People's Choice Award, sponsored by Timex Expedition

• USA, 2010
• Directed and Produced by Stephen Grynberg
• Classification: General – no advisory
• Focus: Ski Mountaineering, Culture, Human Story

Living with his wife and two young daughters on a remote glacier in the Selkirk Mountains of British Columbia, Ruedi Beglinger has built a reputation as one of the top mountaineering guides in the world. A Life Ascending follows his family’s unique life in the mountains and their journey in the years following a massive avalanche that killed seven people. The film ultimately explores the power of nature as both an unforgiving host and profound teacher. Photocredit: Stephen Grynberg

Life Cycles

• USA, 2010
• Directed and Produced by Ryan Gibb and Derek Frankowski
• Classification: General – no advisory
• Focus: Mountain Biking

Life Cycles provides some of the most visually stunning images the mountain sports world has ever seen. It’s a beautiful celebration of the bicycle, and is sure to amaze anyone who has ever ridden one. Photocredit: From the film 'Life Cycles'

Rush Hour Dream

• Germany, 2009
• Directed and Produced by Kerim Jaspersen and Christian Menn
• Classification: General – no advisory
• Focus: Paragliding, Environment

An office worker in Düsseldorf, Germany, falls asleep in the tramway on his way to work and wakes up on a beautiful mountainside to discover that he is carrying a paraglider in his laptop. Photocredit: From the film 'Rush Hour Dream'

Still Motion

• Canada, 2010
• Directed and Produced by Jonathan Schmidt
• Classification: General - no advisory -
• Focus: Environment / Wildlife

Compiled from the highlights of a whole year of wildlife research, these still images from motion-triggered wildlife cameras to create an intricately sequenced movie-like production of Alberta’s amazing wildlife. Playful fawns, stalking cougars and curious elk take centre stage. The film asks an important question: just who is looking at whom? Photocredit: From the film "Still Motion"

The Longest Way

Award at 2010 BMFF: Best Short Mountain Film, sponsored by Mountain Hardwear

• Germany, 2009
• Directed and Produced by: Christoph Rehage
• Classification: General - no advisory
• Focus: Human Adventure / Humour

Time lapse of a 1-year-walk from Beijing to Urumqi. Unlimited growth of beard and hair. Photocredit: From the film 'The Longest Way'

The Swiss Machine

• USA, 2010
• Produced by: Nick Rosen and Peter Mortimer
• Classification: Parental Guidance - coarse language
• Focus: Rock Climbing, Big Wall, Mountaineering

Ueli Steck may be the greatest speed alpinist the world has ever seen. In this film, Ueli tells of his record-breaking ascents in the Alps, accompanied by stunning aerial footage that captures him racing up 8,000 foot alpine faces. When he joins Alex Honnold in Yosemite, Ueli sets his ultimate goal: to take his one-man alpine speed game to the largest, highest walls in the world. Photocredit:
From the film 'The Swiss Machine'

WildWater

• USA, 2010
• Directed and Produced by Anson Fogel
• Classification: General - no advisory
• Focus: White-water paddling

When ordinary people share a singular passion, the extraordinary emerges. WildWater is a journey into the mind and soul of white-water, into the places only river runners can go, places of discovery, solitude and risk. It’s a visually stunning feast for the senses, and an expedition into new ideas. Photocredit: From the film "WildWater"