The 18th annual New Paltz Climbing Film Festival will be the keystone of a number of climbing events to be held throughout this weekend, October 7 through 9. The Mohonk Preserve’s 2016 Thom Scheuer Award for Land Stewardship will be presented in a ceremony Saturday evening at the Julien J. Studley Theatre, where the Film Festival screenings will take place.
The weekend’s festivities for rock jocks get underway with a free reception for climbers in the Mohonk Preserve Visitor Center from 6 to 8 p.m. on Friday, October 7. Professional mountain guide Silas Rossi will give a presentation titled “Calling the Shots and Making Them Count: Sustainability in the Mountains.”
Hosted by the New Paltz Outing Club and sponsored by Rock and Snow, the Mohonk Preserve and Bacchus, the New Paltz Climbing Film Festival begins at 7:30 p.m. on October 8 in the Studley Theatre, located in the Old Main Building on the SUNY-New Paltz campus. This year’s featured films include Frank and the Tower, exploring Frank Sanders’ more than 2,000 ascents of Devil’s Tower; Golden Gate, featuring Emily Harrington’s six-day summit of El Capitán’s Golden Gate; Operation Moffat, profiling Britain’s first female mountain guide, Gwen Moffat; Stuart Range: The Enchanting Triple, documenting a climbing journey in the Stuart Range in Washington State; Transition, profiling UK climber Natalie Berry and mentor Dave MacLeod; and Women’s Speed Ascent, featuring Mayan Smith-Gobat and Libby Sauter breaking the record for ascent of the Nose on El Capitán.
Besides the films and the Scheuer Award ceremony, Saturday night’s activities will include the Gunks Grunt Pull-up Contest and a raffle. Tickets are available in advance for $17 at Rock & Snow at 44 Main Street in New Paltz, online at www.rockandsnow.com/81603/2015-new-paltz-climbing-film-festival-ticket and, if not already sold out, at the door for $20.
Also, a series of Safe Climbing Clinics will be conducted free by local guide services on both Saturday and Sunday. Check with Rock and Snow at (845) 255-1311 for the schedule and to sign up.
Join the family! 
