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Kendal Mountain Festivals have just announced a great line up of headline speakers. This years dates are 20th - 23rd November 2008. Tickets will be hot.

HEADLINING ARE:

Reinhold Messner

In 1978 Messner and Peter Habeler were the first to summit Everest without supplemental oxygen and in 1980 Messner repeated this feat solo. He was the first to climb all the world's fourteen 8,000m peaks. Other major ascents include the Rupal face of Nanga Parbat with his brother Günther who tragically died on the descent, and a solo of the Diamir face of Nanga Parbat. He is the author of the influential essay, Murder of the Impossible, an outspoken manifesto against bolting. Messner felt it was important that some things remained unclimbed so that the next generation of climbers could have some “impossible” challenges to try to overcome.

Catherine Destivelle

French climber Catherine Destivelle started climbing in Fontainebleau with her father and soon progressed to the Alps. In the 1980's she became famous for her successes in the nascent sport climbing movement competing well in the early competitions and climbing classic sport routes such as Chouca 8a+ at Bouox. In 1990 she free-climbed the Nameless Tower in Pakistan and solo climbed the Bonatti Pillar on Les Drus. In June 1991, she opened a new route up the famous west face of the Drus, during a remarkable 11-day solo-climb. She then soloed the Eiger, made a winter solos of the North Face of the Grandes Jorasses and the Bonatti route on the North Face of the Matterhorn, attempted Latok in Pakistan and the West Pillar of the Makalu. In 1995 she climbed the South West Face of Shishapangma in Tibet, and attempted the South Face of Annapurna.

David Breashears

David Breashears is an American climber, mountaineer, author and filmmaker. In 1985 he was the first American man to reach the summit of Everest twice and went on to guide Dick Bass on the first ascent of the Seven Summits. He co-directed, co-produced, and filmed the 1998 IMAX film Everest. Breashears is the recipient of four Emmy awards for achievement in cinematography

Steph Davis

American climber Steph Davis is one of the few women to have free climbed El Cap when in 2005 she climbed the Salathe Wall (VI 5.13b/c). She is also the first woman to climb all seven named summits in the Fitzroy massif. In 2007 she soloed Pervertical Sanctuary (IV 5.10c) on the Diamond, Longs Peak (14,255') in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado. Her crack climbing is legend and recently she has taken up BASE jumping. She is author of High Infatuation: A Climber's Guide to Love and Gravity.

What a line up! And there's more to come.

The Festival is running from 20th - 23rd November 2008. We will be keeping you upto date with News reports, articles, and a competition on all things KMF. Importantly you'll be the first to hear when tickets are available. We have a feeling, considering this years stella line up, that demand will be very high. Keep an eye on www.mountainfilm.co.uk

This years presenting sponsor is Berghaus: www.berghaus.com