On the Verge finds Powell River climbers between a rock wall and a hard place – Straight.com

It might be described as an inconvenient truth that the scope of outdoor adventuring in B.C. has been greatly enhanced by forestry.

This tension is explored in the 40-minute doc On the Verge, screening at Centennial Theatre on Friday (October 25) following a presentation by the U.S. rock-climbing legend Jim Donini.(The show is presented by the Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival in partnership with the British Columbia Mountaineering Club.)

The sleekly photographed film captures one community at a pivotal moment. Powell River has been a little-known haven for rock climbers since its nearby granite faces were first explored in the 90s by local pioneers, including Rob Richards, who compares the region to the U.S.s Yosemite National Park in Robin Munshaws film. Repurposed logging roads deliver climbers to a remote camp named in Richardss honour. Now the areas remaining old-growth forest is marked for destruction, and recreationists find themselves between a rock wall and a hard place.

The story just seemed like a really good example of something we see and hear a lot in B.C., Munshaw says during a call to the Georgia Straight. As a veteran mountain biker, the Chilliwack native is familiar with what he calls the transience of the infrastructure built by fellow enthusiasts. A logging company can come through and just log a trail thats had thousands and thousands of man-hours put into it, and thats part of our sport. But people will fight back and argue against it in the same day that theyre driving up forestry roads to access the areas they build their mountain-bike trails in, right?

Its an uneasy accord, reflected by one of the films participants, who states: Im not opposed to the logging; its whats being logged. For Powell River, transitioning from an industry- to a tourist-based economy offers a solutioneven if it means giving up the relative anonymity enjoyed by the climbing community during the past few decades.

They loved having this area that was their one little spot in the world, but they realized that the conservation issues they were seeing really meant that they had to share this and get more eyes on the area, Munshaw explains. Rock climbing is a very niche sport, but its part of a broader mosaic of what this region has to offer for people who want to do big adventures and big wilderness experiences.

It was a serendipitous visit to Powell River that sparked Munshaws interest in the issue, not least of all because he managed to capture Richards on camera before his untimely passing in 2018. More generallyand with the concurrent news that the Haida Nation has lost its latest battle to preserve culturally significant forest in the Blue Jackets area near MassetOn the Verge asks us to again consider the cost of sacrificing the provinces most ancient living resource. Munshaw sounds a familiar reverent note when asked about the sublime experience of visiting an old-growth forest.

I agree with everyone else whos ever spent time there. Its really difficult to describe the feeling, he answers. It makes you feel so small and so connected to it at the same time. As someone whos not a religious person, its the closest I can come to understanding spirituality.

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On the Verge finds Powell River climbers between a rock wall and a hard place - Straight.com