[outdoors]
MOUNTAIN HIGH
I
f you’re one of those winter-loving bastards who relishes being outside in frigid temperatures, good for you. The rest of us need a little more motivation to get our butts in gear once darkness starts falling before dinnertime. Perhaps we’ll find that motivation at the inaugural Mountain Running Film Festival, a celebration of open spaces. The festival includes slideshows and short videos from local adventurers and national runners alike, and the centerpiece film is In The High Country, a trippy visual essay shot over a season in the Colorado Rockies by Joel Wolpert. In High Country, lithe mountain runner Anton Krupicka bounces around insane vistas wearing little more than shorts and sunglasses. Nicely enough, some proceeds from the festival’s ticket sales benefit the Montana Conservation Corps.
The nonprofit puts kids and young adults on projects like trail work, research, watershed restoration and fuels reduction, all of which help protect our open spaces and wilderness, the better to go out and play. Fine, fine, I’ll bundle up and head out already. —Kate Whittle The inaugural Montana Trail Crew's Mountain Running Film Festival includes slideshows, video shorts and feature films celebrate the paths through our open spaces. Plus there's schwag from sponsors. Wilma. Fri., Nov. 22, doors at 6:30, show at 7 PM. $10/$8 in advance. Learn more at montanatrailcrew.com.
photo by Cathrine L. Walters
THURSDAY NOVEMBER 21 Cinderella, dressed in yella, went upstairs to kiss a fella. Made a mistake, kissed a snake, how many doctors did it take? Query this during the Montana Super Skippers Workshop for Runners, which provides a challenging, fun way to bump up your cardio, and hint hint, it involves jump rope. Rattlesnake School Gym, Thu., Nov. 21 and Thu., Dec. 5 at 5:15-6:15 PM. $25 for the two days. Ropes are provided. Check out montanasuperskippers.com or call Bev at 360-9469.
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 22 Active outdoor lovers are invited to the Mountain Sports Club’s weekly meeting to talk about past glories and upcoming activities at Bigfork’s Swan River Inn. 6–8 PM. Free. Make sure your first time is special by attending First Timer Friday at the Freestone Climbing Center, 935 Toole Ave. in Missoula, at 7 PM. Free if it’s your first visit.
SATURDAY NOVEMBER 23 You’ll be bright eyed and bushy tailed after Run Wild Missoula’s Saturday Breakfast Club Runs, which start at 8 AM every Saturday at Runner’s Edge, 325 N. Higgins Ave. Grab breakfast with other participants afterward. Free to run. Visit runwildmissoula.org. Them waters might be chilly, but you can b.s. about trout anyway when the Rock Creek Fisherman’s Mercantile hosts a weekly Fly Tyer’s Roundtable. Y’all can drink coffee, learn new patterns and use tools and materials for free. Rock Creek Fisherman’s Mercantile, 73 Rock Creek Road in Clinton. 10 AM. Call 825-6440 or email rcmerc@blackfoot.net for more details.
MONDAY NOVEMBER 25
Learn about efforts to restore Mill Lake in the Selway-Bitterroot with native beargrass at the monthly meeting of the Shining Mountains Chapter of the Montana Wilderness Association. Hosted at the Trail Head, 221 E. Front St. 7 PM.
TUESDAY NOVEMBER 26
Kick off ski season Nordic-style at the annual Yellowstone Ski Festival, with cross country ski races, gear demos, clinics, film screenings and races, taking off today and running through Nov. 30. The Holiday Inn in West Yellowstone is party headquarters. Check out yellowstoneskifestival.com.
WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 27
Demonstrate the power of your glutes this season with the Ski/Winter Sports Conditioning class at Summit Athletics, designed to get your butt in gear for everything from ice skating to snow shoeing. 1920 Montana St. Wednesday nights through March. 5 PM. $5 drop-in/$20 per month.
THURSDAY NOVEMBER 28
Snow gods permitting, ski season kicks off today at Big Sky Resort. Head on over to bigskyresort.com for passes and info. Slap that bird in the oven and head on over to McCormick Park for Run Wild Missoula’s Turkey Day 8K and 3K Family Fun Run, a relatively chill run/walk. The 8K is chip timed, 3K isn’t. Open to strollers and walkers, but no dogs, please. Registration at 8, run at 9:30 AM. 3K is free, but donation of perishable food item is encouraged. 8K is $23/$21 for RWM members. calendar@missoulanews.com
missoulanews.com • November 21–November 28, 2013 [37]