Febuary 22, 2005

Banff Centre hosts photo exhibition and presentation
by arctic adventurer Jerry Kobalenko
2005 Mountain Speakers’ Series: The Iceman Returns, Wednesday, March 9
Photography exhibition opens 7:00 p.m., Presentation starts 7:30 p.m.
Max Bell Auditorium, The Banff Centre
All tickets $8 at the door, Free to Mountain Culture Members

Imagine being dropped off by a helicopter to the middle of nowhere in bone-chilling cold, then hauling 275 pounds of gear in a sled over 600 kilometers of barren tundra by snowshoe, skis and on foot. Your food supply ― consisting primarily of chocolate, peanut butter and cheese ― has been carefully rationed. The only shelter you have is what you can haul, and there won’t be another human being in sight for 39 days.

Jerry Kobalenko doesn’t endure such expeditions, he revels in them. After his first taste of the Arctic 20 years ago, he was drawn into the elite circle of explorers and adventurers whose passion lies in icy landscapes.

“In most wildernesses, I enjoy the company of people, and often the more the merrier,” he explains. “But the lure of the Arctic is the lure of a landscape. Companions are optional. I love how small the land makes me feel. The land is so big that it even dwarfs large groups, airplanes, and entire villages.” To date, Kobalenko has racked up 7,200 kilometres, crossing Labrador twice and completing 18 expeditions on Ellesmere Island, which is as far north as you can get before running into the North Pole.

After the successful release of his book Horizontal Everest: Extreme Journeys on Ellsmere Island at The Banff Centre in 2002, Kobalenko answered the call of the wild in 2004 and returned to Labrador 20 years after his first solo expedition there. On March 9 at 7:00 p.m. in The Banff Centre’s Max Bell Auditorium, Kobalenko will open his spectacular exhibition of photos from the High Arctic, followed by a 7:30 p.m. multi-media presentation about his Labrador journey.

When this itinerant explorer is not roaming the Arctic, he’s at home in Canmore with his wife Sasha, writing and taking pictures for publications such as Canadian Geographic, National Geographic Adventure, BBC Wildlife and Conde Nast Traveler.
 

— 30 —

High-resolution, downloadable images for this Speakers’ Series presentation are available here: www.banffmountainfestivals.ca/ftp

MEDIA CONTACT: