The start of 2013 has been MANIC! Aside from all the Corporate keynotes we’ve been doing, working on plans to release an exciting business on the back end of 2013, we’ve managed to keep pretty fit with plenty of trail running, climbing and canyoning through the summer.

Last weekend we competed in the Inaugural Australian SPARTAN RACE. It was a 7km course that clearly sets the benchmark for elite obstacle courses globally,  and was unlike anything Australians have experienced before- it was tough, gruelling, but more importantly it was AUTHENTIC. Some of the obstacles included crawling under barb wire, duelling with a Gladiator, spear throwing and crawling 6m up a hemp rope… oh and plenty of mud. Cas finished 11th (52mins) & Jonesy 134th (66min) out of a field of 5000. Jonesy was spewing that he was penalised with 90 burpees for failing obstacles (seriously…spear throwing!). Cas smashed all the obstacles…it must be that Spartan Greek blood!

With only a few months to go till Australia’s premier Ultra marathon- The North Face 100 & 50  we’re training hard to hopefully put in some good times. Jonesy is doing the full 100km (he’s got a bit of a score to settle from last time he ran it… he broke his leg 8km in and still managed to finish after an epic 18hrs!) and Cas is “only” doing the 50km race as… well… he’s getting old! (just kidding, his focus is on his climbing this year). Good times!

The Sheffield Adventure Film Festival screened more than 75 of the best adventure, travel and extreme sports films hand-picked for you from around the world. Screened over one weekend at the art deco Showroom Cinema in Sheffield UK’s biggest independent cinema outside London, voted the region’s best cultural venue. They also run talks and lectures on epic climbs, runs and rides by world-class adventurers.

CLICK HERE to watch the ShAFF video trailer.

The Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival is a 9-day event in Vancouver in with live presentations, films, photography, live music, and international film and photo competitions. Additionally, VIMFF travels to about 30 communities with the Best of the Fest Tour, and runs additional shows at the Fall Speaker Series in North Vancouver. The combined Festival events now attract more than 20,000 viewers each year in North Vancouver, Greater Vancouver and the rest of Canada. VIMFF is unique to North Vancouver, British Columbia and Canada, with the Banff Mountain Film Festival being the only other festival in Canada comparable in size and reputation.

CLICK HERE to watch the VIMFF trailer and an interview with Jonesy HERE!

What a shame we weren’t able to make these festivals in Canada & the UK!

From our whitest of white Christmas’s last year to a very different Christmas this year, we both enjoyed our first break away from each other in over 2 years!  Jonesy headed over to NZ with his girlfriend Lauren, for some tramping in the Southern alps then across to New Caledonia for some tropical R&R (including an un-intentional visit by Cyclone Freda). Cas stayed at home in the Blue Mountains with his wife Mia and new son Jack. In between changing diapers and cradling his little man, he managed to sneak out most days for a cheeky climb and/or trail run.

In 2013, aside from our corporate speaking (which is continuing to keep us ridiculously busy), we have a NEW adventure business we’re launching mid-year and another super exciting opportunity in the USA that we’re bursting to tell you guys about. Keep checking back for more details soon! A question we ALWAYS get asked is “what’s your next big trip?” Our last 2 big expeditions (Crossing the Ice & Crossing the Ditch) took close to 5 years to put each together. These expeditions are 99% planning and only 1%  execution,  and require an enormous level of commitment (and absolute focus) that also takes years to recover from. We have some BIG trips planned for the future – it’s who we are and what we do – but in 2013 the adventures we undertake are on a smaller scale: Cas is going to be going hard at his climbing, and Jonesy is going to hit up a couple of ultra marathons.

We’re both fully charged, psyched and looking forward to sharing our big year ahead.

MERRY XMAS EVERYBODY!

Wow. It was only a couple of weeks ago that we were jumping around like lunatics when we found out how Crossing the Ice had done in the Banff Mountain Film Festival…. Incredibly, news just in that we’ve also taken out the Grand Prize in the Kendal Mountain Film Festival in the UK!!!!

The Kendal Mountain Film Festival is the biggest (and most prestigious) Outdoor & Adventure Film Festival in Europe. Each year, they screen hundreds of films plus they host plenty of speakers and special guests making this THE premiere festival of its kind in the UK. We are absolutely humbled and thrilled (wahoo!!!) to have both our documentaries (62 Days at Sea and Crossing the Ice) win the grand prize at Kendal in consecutive years.

2012 started with a blast and is now ending with a BANG!

The Judges – Ian Smith, Lucy Creamer, Simon Yates

We’ve got a pretty full schedule with Corporate presentations over the next couple of weeks, but by mid-December, things quieten down and we’re taking our first “break”  for close to two years. Over that time, Cas is looking forward to becoming a Dad and Jonesy will be shooting off overseas with his girlfriend for some much earned R&R.

Greg Quail of Quail Television (producer) and Jonesy (producer/director). Image courtesy of The Banff Centre.

We are absolutely stoked (and humbled) to announce that our documentary Crossing the Ice has won 3 awards at the Banff Moutain Film Festival 2012; the Adventure & Exploration category, the People’s Choice and the GRAND PRIZE!!

The Banff Mountain Film Festival is the most prestigious global outdoor film festival in the world. We have grown up being inspired and blown away by past films that have won the festival and have always had a distant dream that we could one day just enter a film in this festival. To win, is the realisation of a dream beyond our imagination. In 2010, our documentary 62 Days at Sea was a category winner.

Capturing our 89 day journey in Antarctica on film was one of our major personal goals when we were down south. We passionately love sharing our expeditions with the public. With no film crew, limited time (every moment we were filming and not hauling was reducing our chances of success in Antarctica) and filming in the cold was an absolute mission to say the least! Some days we really questioned whether it was worth but now we reflect on the footage and are super proud of what we shot.

A massive thank you to all involved in putting the documentary together. Although we’d like to thank everybody involved, we’d like to make special mention to Greg Quail: for believing in us, Dougie for pulling the story out of the footage… and of course Aleks Gamme for not only sharing his footage for our doco, but for being such an integral part of the story. Thank you.

What a great end to 2012!

Cas and Jonesy

Thoughts from the Jury

“We found the humour and humanity in the face of incredible adversity an important element in this film. What could have become a competition, evolved into a greater example of camaraderie and friendship — reflecting the true spirit of the Banff Mountain Festival. ”

— 2012 Jury member Tommy Heinrich

“The category for Best Film on Exploration and Adventure had plenty of excellent contenders, but there was one film that shone above the rest. Crossing the Ice encapsulates the true spirit of adventure that this award was designed to embrace. This is a film with perfect story telling featuring incredible characters — a ‘bro-mance’. It’s a story that conveyed unbridled enthusiasm, humour, and heartbreak created by the filmmakers and the loveable lunatics who walked unaided across Antarctica to the South Pole and back.”

— 2012 Jury member Dale Templar

Check out the TVC below:

And the longer version too:

 

We’d be keen to hear what you think? send us an email HERE