Scenes from
little-known places
By ADAM TANOUS
Express Arts Editor
Mountaineer and adventurer Mike Libecki has traveled to
several places I would wager most people have never heard of. Don’t
believe it? He has the photographs to prove it.
On the Fin, Baffin Island. Photo by
Mike Libecki
In a presentation entitled, Year of the Dragon
Expeditions, Libecki will present stories and slides of two recent trips
to Northwest China and Baffin Island. The slide show is slated for tonight
at The Community School Theater, 7:30 p.m.
The show will be divided into two parts. First up will be
Libecki’s journey to Baffin Island and the famed granite wave called the
Fin. With a team of climbers, film crew and 36 sled dogs, Libecki crossed
100 miles of frozen ocean to reach the Fin. The group was in the Arctic
for almost two months. They lived on the vertical wall climbing and
filming for a month without touching the ground. They hauled over 1,000
pounds of survival gear and food up the monstrous, granite monolith. Over
the course of the trip the group had several encounters with polar bears
and experiences with the Inuit people on hunting expeditions.
Part two of the presentation entails a look at Xinjiang,
China and Libecki’s search for difficult climbing routes in the Kok Shal
Tau-Tien Shan Mountains. The team of climbers faced several challenges in
dealing with the Chinese authorities but gained the opportunity to glimpse
many different cultures from Kyrgyz to Uyugur. They explored ancient tombs
and sacred Buddhist caves.
Advance tickets for the show may be purchased at the
Elephant’s Perch in Ketchum for a $5 donation. Funds collected will
benefit the Access Fund and The Community School Scholarship Fund.
