THOUSANDS of outdoor enthusiasts braved the stormy conditions to converge on Kendal for its annual mountain festival.

Despite the weather, legions of festival-goers descended on the Brewery Arts Centre for the four-day gathering. Event organisers were delighted with the response: “We opened on Thursday night, which of course was when the storm hit,” said Clive Allen, one of KMF’s directors. “And there were a few people who couldn’t make it into Kendal. From Friday onwards however, thousands of visitors started pouring into the town and most of our tickets sold out.” Mr Allen added that overall, visitor numbers were only slightly down on 2008 with around 7,000 people attending the festival.

Festival-goers had the chance to see mountain-based films, lectures, art and photography with most of the events staged at the Brewery, in addition to lectures and films packing in the punters in another five venues across Kendal.

Said Mr Allen: “It’s a real tribal gathering for people who love the mountains, and we know that well over half of those at the festival will have travelled from outside the North West region, which is why it’s such a valuable boost to the local economy at this time of year.”

Among the international stars appearing at the event were Alain Robert, best-known as ‘spider man’ for his building-climbing exploits, revered American mountaineer Tom Hornbein, Swiss speed-climber Ueli Steck and rock athlete Chris Sharma, from the United States.

Well-known local climbers included Doug Scott, Leo Houlding, Simon Yates, Al Hinkes and, of course, emiment festival patron Sir Chris Bonington: “I still think few people realise the international stature this festival brings to Kendal,” pointed out Sir Chris. “The event is one of the top three events of its kind worldwide, attracting people and films from across the globe and is justly famous for its party atmosphere.”

Having been rescuing people from the Lakeland floods all weekend, Mr Allen said that Kendal Mountain Rescue Team were delighted to learn that hundreds of pounds had been raised at the festival to support their efforts, due to the special beer created for the festival by Hesket Newmarket Brewery. “Every pint sold donated 20p to the team,” explained Mr Allen. “By Sunday night we had sold out, so the team can expect a cheque later this week!”

Meanwhile, at the heart of KMF is its international film competition, with prestigious prizes for winning filmmakers. Lancashire filmmaker Alastair Lee won the Peoples’ Choice award for The Asgard Project, starring Leo Houlding, and the Grand Prize presented by event sponsors Berghaus was won by Alone On The Wall about phenomenal US climber Alex Honnold free-soloing 2,000-feet routes in America.

What the audience thought…

Paul Wilson Bonner of the Originals Production Company Limited on Alain Robert: “He spoke well, and enthralled us with his passion for climbing. The one sentence that stood out to me was this – ‘If you never have goals, you are no longer living. You are just surviving.’ How true! He said he was never quite sure what reaction he would get, but needless to say the Kendal crowd made him feel more than welcome, and I’m not surprised as we were after all in the company of a legend – and I’m not even a climber!”

Paul also saw the legendary Leo Dickinson, who was one of a panel of adventure film makers as part of the Film Makers Summit Day: “I read one of his magnificent books Filming the Impossible something like 20 years ago, and have always been in awe of this man’s many accomplishments.“His honesty and humour were a welcome change and the advice that he gave to an audience of the next generation of adventure filmmakers was priceless. The questions were rich and varied, the audience appreciative and the time flew by.

Zoe Hart, American climber and mountain guide on film First Ascent – Alone on the Wall, which won the festival’s Grand Prize. “This film shows US climber Alex Honnold pushing his limits both mentally and physically as he free-solos two long, extreme rock climbs. Despite the fact that a slip would result in certain death, much of the beauty of this story lies in the goofy, unassuming, lovable, almost huggable personality of the young 23-year-old. Sweaty-palmed stuff!”

John Innerdale, of the Mountain Heritage Trust, who saw film Afghanistan – A small flame of hope, which won KMF’s best short film. “At a time when the war in Afghanistan is almost a daily horror story, there is something supremely optimistic about this film. A former soldier travels to the Hindu Kush to investigate the possibilities of opening it up as a climbing destination and discovers a desperately poor but generous population, who would welcome the return of mountaineers. A ray of hope.”