Standing Ovation in Banff for Leo Houlding and Team

The first weekend of the Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival drew thousands of people to films and talks.

On opening night, Leo Houlding, Jean Burgun and Mark Sedon talked about their trip to Antarctica. Houlding, known for his onstage presence and humour, gave an entertaining talk about the trip with his team members.

Standing ovations happen from time to time, but aren’t a regular occurrence at the festival. However, the audience wasted no time in jumping to their feet for Houlding and his team after their show.

This guy levelled up the whole adventure expedition game with his trip to the Spectre mountain in Antarctica this past year. And he rocks a great shirt, too. @leo_houlding gave an excellent presentation tonight with teammates Jean Burgun & Mark Sedon followed by a screening of @the_moment_movie about the birth of freeride mountain biking in BC by @hellodarcy, who also has a lovely shirt.

A post shared by Banff Mountain Film Festival (@banffmountainfestival) on Oct 27, 2018 at 8:42pm PDT

Their trip consisted of landing a plane to embark on an ambitious, modern, and innovative expedition.

During this 50-day self-supported trip the team endured extreme temperatures, whiteouts, and challenging winds – with a 21-hour non-stop ascent of the Spectre via a new route – before their 1,700-kilometre return by kite-skiing and sled.

Spectre Trailer