On the first of March I had the great honour of presenting at VIMFF (Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival). I was a part of the panel at the MEC Canadian Adventures night. It included presentations by big mountain snowboarder Ian Holmes, the world premiere of a ski film with a deeper message, Sound Water and was MCed by climber Sarah Hart. The panel was moderated by Judith Kasiama and included Myia Antone, Karen Lai, Taylor Burk and myself. I had met Judith and Myia at the MEC Outdoor Nation summit in the summer and was excited to be a part of a community that last for more than one event. Additionally, I was stoked to see some of the MEC organizers for the event as they have been very helpful and friendly with many things. As the date approached I became more and more nervous as I wasn’t happy with my speeches at previous events. I had prepared a lot of words to say and the days right before I tried my best to memorize it. But while arriving at the venue, the Rio Theatre, I didn’t feel as though I had memorized it enough.
Getting the mikes put on everyone, it was slightly reassuring to know that we were all in the same boat as none of us had done a lot of public speaking. I enjoyed listening to and watching Holmes’ presentation as well as Sound Water and it was quite neat because their styles were very opposite, but I liked them both.
When it came my turn to go onto the stage, I sat in the wrong seat, but I was already too nervous for it to affect me. Sitting down in the right chair, I was glad I could only see the first few rows of seats and not the whole crowd, I was told there were over 100.
As the first question directed to me came, I answered it shorter than I had planned but tried to make it similar to the other panellists. Next, there was the main question, which was generally about my Mt. Logan expedition and how I had seen “ageism” in mountaineering. While I was talking, I was surprisingly less shaky and unsure than I was expecting. During it, I was encouraged by the grins of some of the MEC staffers I could see in the front row.
Though I didn’t stick to my script, and went a little over time, I said all of my main points and am happy with what I said. Listening to the other panelists questions and answers was very interesting. I learned about cerebral palsy from Karen, about how indigenous women are reconnecting with their land from Myia and how people are working to clean up our beautiful earth from Taylor. At the end of the night, I had some small conversations and left feeling more sure of myself with motivation to share more about what the mountains have taught me.