Backcountry Film Festival boosts local group’s quest for untracked snow
A regional backcountry advocacy group is seeking to entertain, inspire and perhaps motivate human-power recreation enthusiasts by sponsoring an evening of award-winning films on Thursday at the Bing Crosby Theater in Spokane.
The 10th annual Backcountry Film Festival is traveling several continents with nine flicks edited into a two-hour show for adventurers who seek the snow less traveled.
The films feature stories ranging from “Backcountry Baker,” a wintery romp through the Bitterroot Mountains of Montana with a Labrador retriever, to “Powder Pilgrimage,” a ski-bum’s dream trip to the vertical of Valdez, Alaska.
Produced by Winter Wildlands Alliance, a Boise-based non-profit group, the film tour is sponsored locally as a benefit for the Inland Northwest Backcountry Alliance.
“We have some door prizes to give away, including lift tickets to 49 Degrees North and Schweitzer,” said John Latta, INBA spokesman in Spokane.
Boulder Hut Adventures, a premier helicopter-in backcountry ski lodge in British Columbia, has donated a free guided, catered trip valued at $2,450 that will be offered in silent auction at the theater.
“Going to the Bing is a big leap for us to attract a broader audience,” Latta said. “We’ve been bringing the show to Spokane for five years. We outgrew the auditorium at Gonzaga University.”
The group plans to use proceeds in its effort to preserve and promote opportunities for quiet human-powered winter recreation in the Inland Northwest.
Working out winter playground conflicts with snowmobiles in areas such as Stevens Peak near Lookout Pass is a priority, he said.
The local grassroots group was motivated by the increasing encroachment of snowmobiles into mountain areas backcountry skiers had long enjoyed for their peaceful approach and untracked powder.
“There are about 6,400 acres on the Lolo and Panhandle national forests near Stevens Peak that are unique because of the solitude they’ve offered while being very accessible from Interstate 90,” Latta said.
As snowmobile technology and riding skills have improved in the past few decades, riders are venturing into areas forest managers never dreamed possible when drawing up forest winter recreation plans that date back to the Nixon administration, he said.
“It’s been a long road, but we’re encouraged by the Forest Service’s new winter travel rule that’s supposed to be out at the end of this month.
“It will allow the Forest Service on the district level to look at specific areas to create winter travel management plans similar to what they do for summer recreation.”
Backcountry skiing, snowboarding and snowshoeing also is “growing by leaps and bounds,” Latta said. “We want to make sure there’s always a place to show young kids they don’t need a machine to get into the backcountry.
“The films will be fun and we also hope people will stop by our table and learn more about our cause,” he said.