Rob & Laurie on Maurelle Island

At the Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival (VIMFF) where I presented our movie “The Nahanni Whisperer“, I ran into Rob Wood who was presenting his new book: At Home with Nature, A Life of Unknown Mountains and Deep Wilderness.

He invited me to his off-grid house on the Maurelle Island where he lives with his wife Laurie. We discussed about climbing, mountains and almost about everything else for long hours. In the evening, he wanted to show me the old film of his  Baffin Island Climbing expedition in 1971. I was amazed. This is a incredible piece of unknown history, describing so vividly the climbing free spirit and climbing ethics of that time. It is not only a beautifully made movie but it also has some very inspiring and pretty rare narratives on why do we climb and what we gain from it. It also bring an interesting ecological reflection on our modern way of life that sounds so actual. I thought that this piece of wonder should not stay any longer in his drawer and need to be shown to a larger audience.

He called his long time and famous climbing partner Doug Scott (Piolet d’or in 2011 for Lifetime achievement) and both of them mandated me to publish this film on the Internet.

Please welcome the  “A Dangerous Alternative”, a  film from 1971 by Mick Burke, with sound editing by Gunnar Stromsholm, poduced by John Player & Sons, Nottingham, Music mostly from the group “King Crimson” (Epitaph, In the Court of the Crimson King, I talk to the wind and Moonchild).

Summary: “Eight young mountaineers went to look for an alternative to modern society by climbing on the Baffin Island wilderness in the Canadian Arctic in 1971.”