The gathering includes not only a proper mountain film festival, but also a set of lectures, workshops focusing on outdoor-filming, an outdoor gear fair and a promotional campaign for outdoor sports in the region. Festival banner courtesy of Inka Fest organizers (click to enlarge).
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Attention climbers! Who'll win the “Silver Alpamayo”? 'Banff' style Inka Fest in Peru's 'Chamonix' next week!
Posted: Jul 25, 2007 11:06 am EDT
(MountEverest.net) Andes climbing high-season in full gear, Peruvian climbers are holding Inka Fest in Huaraz on August 8-11.
The “Andean Chamonix”
Huaraz, at the foot of the ragged Cordillera Blanca, is the Andean equivalent to Chamonix in the French Alps, Talkeetna in Alaska, or Pokhara for Annapurna and Dhaulagiri climbers.
Now the Inka Fest film festival organizers have decided to turn their town into a new Banff. That might take some time, but at least they have managed to make the project happen for the third consecutive year, in spite of their resources and press not being even comparable to the Canadian Festival.
The gathering includes a proper mountain film festival, lectures, outdoor filming workshops, gear fair and a promotional campaign for outdoor sports in the region, ranging from high-altitude and big-wall climbing, to paragliding, kayaking and mountain-biking.
Aiming for a Silver Alpamayo
The prizes, ranging up to US$800, are named after Peru’s most prominent peak, Alpamayo (5,947m). A “Silver Alpamayo” will be awarded to the best film, the public’s choice, the best Peruvian film and the best opera-prima. Screening, awards, lectures and workshops will be held at Huaraz’s Montrek Auditorio.
Check Inka Fest’s website (in English and Spanish) for more information.
In 1966, the Alpamayo (muddy river) mountain was declared "the most beautiful mountain in the world" by UNESCO. Centered on the Andean mountain ranges, the Inca Empire arose from the highlands of Peru sometime in early 13th century and was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America.
Huaraz is located at 3,065m above sea level in the Callejon de Huaylas Valley in the Peruvian Andes, and it is the classic hub for trekking and mountaineering in the Cordillera Blanca and its steep, snow-capped nevados such as Huascaran, Alpamayo, Huandoy, Chopicalqui or Chacraraju. It is also a convenient starting point for expeditions heading to Cordillera Huayhuash (which includes peaks such as the Siula group and the Yerupaja).
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