Storytelling as Stewardship Writer's Workshop
Saturday, Jan 17th 9:00AM – 11:00AM
The Storytelling as Stewardship writers workshop will be ticketed by the Jackson Hole Writers group and will be $35 without an AlpinFilm ticket and $15 for AlpinFilm All-Festival Passholders. Please purchase your all-festival pass first and you will receive an email with a discount code to register for the writer’s workshop.
AlpinFilm, the Teton Climbers’ Coalition’s annual celebration of mountain storytelling, explores the world of alpine adventures and the reasons we pursue them.
Presented by Teton Mountaineering, AlpinFilm is informed by Jackson Hole’s identity as the epicenter of American mountaineering. From homegrown adventures to international expeditions, the Tetons have inspired climbers and ski mountaineers to push physical, mental and spiritual boundaries for more than a century. That legacy informs the selection of our films and the composition of our audience, which includes the local mountain community and winter visitors alike.
More than a showcase of adventurous acts, AlpinFilm explores the reasons we embark on adventures in the first place. AlpinFilm’s emphasis on cinematographic storytelling and on films that span the globe is a tribute to the Tetons and the international community they inspire.
All proceeds from AlpinFilm underwrite the work of The Teton Climbers’ Coalition, a 501c3 non-profit organization that stewards, advocates and engages on behalf of the Teton climbing community.
ALPINFILM 2026:
For the Love of the Land
The 2026 AlpinFilm Festival features an action-packed program that explores
adventure, stewardship, and the future of our public lands.
FESTIVAL SCHEDULE
Friday, January 16
Public Lands Panel 4:00–5:30 PM
Location: Black Diamond Store, 160 W Pearl Ave, Jackson, WY 83001
A community conversation on adventure, stewardship and the future of our public lands and waters.
Opening Night Social with Silent Auction & Partner Tables 6:00–7:00 PM
Location: Center for the Arts
Kick off the festival with a silent auction and tables hosted by public lands and conservation partners. Attendees can learn about local and regional efforts and find real ways to get involved in public lands advocacy.
AlpinFilm Screenings 7:00–10:00 PM
Location: Center for the Arts
Opening night films—and a short public lands conversation tied to the Six-Word Love Letters project.
Check out the full list of films here.
Saturday, January 17
Storytelling as Stewardship Writers Workshop 9:00–11:00 AM
Location: Center for the Arts
A hands-on workshop in partnership with the Jackson Hole Writers focused on using story to inspire care and action.
World Premiere: A Life Outside 2:30–4:30 PM
Location: Center for the Arts
A special matinee screening of Mat Hames’ never before seen film A Life Outside: American Mountain Guides, followed by a conversation with the filmmakers and community leaders about legacy, mentorship, and the future of outdoor recreation.
Evening Social, Silent Auction & Partner Tables 6:00–7:00 PM
Location: Center for the Arts
Grab a libation, connect with friends and partners, bid on auction items, and take action on behalf of our public lands.
AlpinFilm Screenings 7:00–10:00 PM
Location: Center for the Arts
The grand finale!
Check out the full list of films here.
Meet Our 2026 Speakers
Anna Gibson
Runner, ski mountaineer, and Olympic athlete
The Jackon Hole-born mountain runner won the World Cup Mixed-Relay Ski Mountaineering race with Cam Smith on December 6, securing Team USA a spot in the 2026 Winter Olympics in Cortina, Italy. Both Gibson and the sport of Skimo will make their Olympic debuts in Cortina.
Erik Boomer
Adventure athlete and photographer
World-class kayaker, Arctic explorer and (more recently) big-wall first ascensionist Erik Boomer is a Teton Valley (ID) resident whose film, A Baffin Vacation: Love on Ice, will be featured in the 2026 Alpinfilm lineup. The film recounts the 69-day kayak, ski, and big-wall journey Boomer made with partner Sarah McNair-Landry.
Kelly Halpin
Mountain athlete, artist and environmental advocate
Kelly Halpin is a professional mountain runner, adventure athlete, and freelance illustrator from Jackson, Wyoming, who grew up with the Tetons as her playground. In addition to helping shape this year’s program around public lands, Halpin’s rendition of the Grand Traverse will grace the back of limited-edition T-shirts for the TCC’s inaugural membership program.
Friday
Le Moulin des Artistes – A Home for Free Spirits
Director: Pierre Cadot
Year Released: 2025
Country: France
Run time: 25 minutes
Some people make a living from their craft. Others can’t live without it. In a 16th century mill in the Chamonix valley, Peter and Anati run Le Moulin des Artistes: a ski workshop, art space, and gathering place for like-minded free spirits. Whether it’s in Peter’s handmade wooden skis or Anati’s paintings and music, Le Moulin des Artistes shows us what happens when you devote your life to creative expression. How it can bring purpose, build lasting community, and even help overcome disaster.
Peruvian Ascents
Director: Vince Lapointe
Year Released: 2025
Country: Canada
Run time: 31:08
As intergalactically infamous mountaineers Cam and Vinny battle crumbly ice, deadly avalanches, altitude coughs and sketchy rappels in Peru’s Cordillera Blanca mountain range, the nagging question “Is this worth it?” echoes ever louder, while also struggling with knowing that: “The most dangerous thing you can do in life, is play it safe.”
Baffin Vacation: Love on Ice
Director: Rush Sturges, Skip Armstrong
Year Released: 2025
Country: USA
Run time: 26:15
Join adventures Erik Boomer and Sarah McNair-Landry on yet another epic Baffin Vacation as they kite ski north along the remote coastline of Baffin. Over their 69 day holiday they ski mountains, climb an epic big wall, and cross a glacier in search of new rivers to white water kayak.
Nose Job
Director: Alastair Lee
Year Released: 2025
Country: UK
Run time: 49 minutes
Alex Waterhouse and Billy Ridal are two recently retired competition climbers that attempt to apply their indoor skills to real rock in the most extra-ordinary fashion. With almost no traditional climbing experience and barely a multi-pitch climb between them, our audacious duo set out to be the first Britons to make a free ascent of the world famous Nose on El Capitan, Yosemite. The route was first climbed by Lynn HIll in 1993 and has sub-sequently only recieved eight ascents in 30 years. To say the odds were stacked against them would be an understatement comparable in size to the route itself. Hold tight as the action packed movie tracks this most unlikely of journeys to success. Features contributions from Lynn Hill, Hans Florine and Leo Houlding.
Saturday
A Life Outside *WORLD PREMIERE/MATINEE* – JACKSON HOLE ONLY
Director: Mat Hanes
Year Released: 2025
Country: USA
Run Time: 1:36
This film traces a modern guided climb of the Grand Teton against the sweeping legacy of Paul Petzoldt, the Wyoming outsider whose life—from K2 and the Matterhorn to training soldiers in WWII—reshaped American mountaineering and led to the founding of Exum Mountain Guides and NOLS. Set in the Tetons, the Alps, and the Wind River Range, it follows guides who shoulder real risk not for glory, but to bring others home safely. As a guided ascent of the Grand’s Exum Ridge unravels, Petzoldt’s principles echo through the decisions that determine who lives to see the trailhead, revealing the invisible labor and quiet heroism that make so many adventures possible.
My Grandfather was a Mountain Climber
Director: Tabitha Elli
Year Released: 2025
Country: UK
Run time: 4 minutes
A conversation between climber/director Tabitha Ellis and her grandfather John Emery, who died in 1963 when Tabitha’s mother was 1.
Climbing Never Die
Directors: Matt Groom, Nick Rosen
Year Released: 2025
Country: USA/Ukraine
Run time: 37:46
Climbing journalist Matt Groom journeys deep into war-torn Ukraine to discover a community held together by climbing and patriotism, but indelibly changed by war.
The AA Meeting
Director: Vince Lapointe
Year Released: 2025
Country: Canada
Run time: 8:17
‘The AA Meeting’ is a dark comedy set in a support group where, at first glance, it seems three lost souls are battling drug and alcohol addictions. But as the stories unravel, it becomes clear; these aren’t drunks, they’re adrenaline junkies: a mountain biker, climber, and BASE jumper whose lives are quietly imploding under the guise of “living their best life.”
This isn’t recovery; it’s just addiction in Gore-Tex. Their marriages are crumbling, their bodies are falling apart, and their bank accounts are bleeding; yet they keep chasing the next hit like any good addict would. Now, for them therapy is just a $10K heli-drop.
AA doesn’t stand for Alcoholics Anonymous anymore; it’s Adrenaline Anonymous. Because some of us didn’t get sober, we just found a more photogenic way to self-destruct.
My Ride or Die
Director: Charlotte Percle
Year Released: 2025
Country: USA
Run time: 17:33
Morgan McGlashon (professional mountain guide) and Caite Zeliff (professional skier) picked obscure paths. Paths that are winding and that sometimes go backwards, sideways and upstream. Those paths collided and became intertwined. As professional snow sport athletes they understood each other, respected each other and truly saw each other’s potential. When their careers took off they found themselves spending less time in the mountains together but they always dreamt of one day coming back together on a proper adventure. On a 10 day expedition in Alaska, the two reconnect. This is a lighthearted account of the magic of friendship and how it can shape your life.
Old Man Lightning
Director: Dawn Kish
Year Released: 2025
Country: USA
Run time: 45 minutes
The best climbing, comedy, comeback ever made, with a conservation plight. Starring John “Verm” Sherman, he will make you laugh and cry and maybe piss yer pants.