Kendal Mountain Festival

For 2017, we’ve worked hard to bring a truly world-class programme together for the Mountain Festival. World’s top rock climber? Adam Ondra - check. World’s fastest round-the world cyclist? Mark Beaumont - check. World’s best-known mountain runner? Anton Krupicka - check. And it’s a huge year for fans of our best-known mountaineer Chris Bonington, with the premiere of a film about his life, plus the publication of his latest book.  This will certainly be a big year for us, as essentially we’re delivering two festivals; the Mountain Festival with its world-class speakers and films, plus a brand new Mountain Literature Festival with a packed programme celebrating the very best in landscape, nature and outdoor writing, supported by Robert Macfarlane as Patron. So hang onto your seats, it’s going to be bigger than ever!

At the heart of Kendal’s rich programme is the International Film Competition, attracting premières from around the world – it has been called the 'Oscars of outdoor filmmaking'. Over 100 films are screened (from 240+ entries) with twelve coveted awards up for grabs. However Kendal is not all extreme action - you can experience culture, drama, wildlife and environmental documentaries, plus the world's largest lecture programme covering outdoor content. 

Other highlights include art exhibitions, book events, including the coveted Boardman Tasker Prize for Mountain Literature and the ever popular 'Kendal Mountain Film Academy'.  The 'Film Summit' (supported by Channel 4 TV) welcomes 200+ industry professionals to an insightful programme of debate and presentations. The packed 'Specialist Sessions' are now legendary and provide a core social gathering for the following categories – Climb, Bike, Snowsports, Endurance Sports, Underground (Cave), Adventure & Exploration and a new one for this year - Outdoor Swimming. They really are events within the event!

Together with the photography exhibitions, workshops, numerous competitions, active sports events and youth engagement in the form of the Youth Film Comp – Film Active – the main Festival and our associated Outdoor Cinema/Tour events are now a key attraction for thousands of people every year.

Purchase a ticket at www.mountainfest.co.uk