May in Telluride

This week the town of Telluride is enjoying a little more down time before Summer fully begins. Locals are spending time rafting, fishing, horseback riding, and doing a lot of things people come here to do during a summer vacation. School isn't out quite yet- just one more week before graduation, but that hasn't stopped most of the kids of Telluride from wearing summer attire of flip flops, shorts, and tank tops. When the weather is in the mid to high 60's in the middle of the day, it is perfect for sundresses and short sleeves. You might be thinking that anything below 75 degrees is a little too cold for a sundress, but temperatures in the Rocky Mountains work differently. It must be something about being close to the sun, the mountain air, and stunning views. All I know is that 65 here feels perfect. If you do live in a place with overbearing summer heat and you're already staring to dread the humidity that comes with it, a great cure is a trip to Telluride. With rates starting at $79 a night for this week, it's a great time to be in the mountains. For those of you interested in planning ahead, June 5-8 is the Telluride Jazz Festival and the Telluride Balloon Festival. My favorite part of the Balloon festival is the balloon glow on main street. All of the hot air balloon participants line up on main street and dusk they put on quite a show. This year's line up for Jazz Festival isn't bad either and includes the Rebirth Brass Band from New Orleans, Bill Frisell, and Christian Scott.

Mountain Film Continued

The best thing about Mountain Film is that it is a film festival about real things and if you attend the festival, you have the opportunity to meet people involved in a wide range of issues. Many years ago I attended the London Film Festival. I had a blast and saw a lot of movies, a few stars, and while one film I saw was based on the truths of human trafficing, it was still a fictional film about fictional characters living fictional lives. That's what's so great about the movies- you have a chance to escape. Mountain Film offers you an opportunity to do more than just escape, it gives you the chance to travel to places you never thought possible. Today I saw Samsara. It is an amazing film about the journey of three climbers attempting to climb the impossible Meru- a peak in Inda's Vindhya Mountain range. The unique thing about Samsara is that it literally takes you to where no video camera and only a handful of people have ever been before. It was filmed by one of the climbers, Renan Ozturk, and he as well as his other partners in this climb, Conrad Anker and Jimmy Chin are at the festival happy to answer questions and mingle with a probably less adventurous crowd. The opportunity to meet people who are passionate about important issues, activists in these issues, and capture them on film. In the case of Samsara, the Mountain Film Festival in Telluride gives festival goers the opportunity to meet world class climbers. If you still don't have any plans for memorial day weekend, come to the Telluride Mountain Film Festival.

Memorial Day Weekend in Telluride

If you are facing a long weekend and don't know what to do, consider coming to Telluride. There is no more snow and our spring colors are out (Spring in the Mountains starts in May, not March). If you are worried about the weather ruining a hiking trip, then just plan to duck into a movie. The Telluride Mountain Film Festival is this weekend. Movies start Friday night and continue through Monday morning. This festival has always had a focus on independent films about Mountain Life around the world and Telluride is the perfect setting for this Festival. After spending significant time browsing through the festival guide, I have a long list of movies that I would like to see and I'm sure I won't have enough time to see them all. There is a series of six films on the National Parks of the US by Ken Burns entitled, "National Parks: America's Best Idea". The series follows the story of the National Parks from conception through 1980 and promises to offer a story with amazing footage and a new perspective on our National Park system. I also hope to get a chance "Burma VJ"; it looks absolutely fascinating. It is a film that follows the uprising of Buddhist monks and students as they joined together against the oppression of their own government. The country of Burma has been closed since 1962, but footage of the uprising in 2007 was smuggled out of Burma and shared with the world. On the lighter side, "Rock Prophecies" is a film following the photographer Robert Knight; he has a knack for finding rock legends pre-stardom. Mountain Film tickets are still available from their website at http://www.mountainfilm.org/