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Epic climb no longer in the shadow of history

Catching up with In The Shadow of the Chief director Ivan Hughes

It all began with a footnote in Ivan Hughes’ well-worn climber’s guide to Squamish.

Reading up on the Grand Wall of the Stawamus Chief, the avid climber’s keen eye zeroed in on the route’s intriguing first ascent date – June 1961 – an anomaly amidst a sea of more recent dates.

Curious, he set out to learn more about the accredited climbers: UBC students Jim Baldwin, a Canadian, and Ed Cooper, an American.

In doing so he inadvertently uncovered a lesser-known chapter in Canadian sporting history and a story that demanded a modern retelling.

Modern advances have relegated the Grand Wall to a beginner-advanced climb, but 40 years ago the route was considered one of the hardest in the world, requiring cutting edge techniques and gear innovations.

It took the daring duo multiple attempts over 40 days before they would conquer the Chief. Visible from the town of Squamish, the ascent rallied the community and drew the attention of the national media.

Hughes’ research discovered hours of previously unseen archival CBC television footage compelling enough to convince him to change his storytelling medium from print to film.

The result was In the Shadow of the Chief , a tale of triumph and determination and community spirit with a tragic epilogue – while Cooper is still alive and living in California, Baldwin, it is learned, perished in a rappelling accident on a different climb in 1964.

The film, which integrates the original coverage with digital footage of present day climbers on the Wall, made its world premiere at the 2003 Whistler Film Festival. Tickets sold out well in advance, prompting organizers to commandeer an additional screen at Village 8 Cinemas, which also sold out. The film went on to win the People’s Choice award for Best Film of the Festival.

Multiple showings later, it continues to charm. Chief won the festival grand prize for Best Film Overall and the award for Best Canadian Mountain Film at the Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival last February. The film has since screened in several B.C. locales, in Banff and Toronto, and at festivals in California, Slovakia and New Zealand.

In light of Chief’s upcoming broadcast premiere on CBC television this Thursday evening, Pique Newsmagazine caught up with writer/director Hughes to talk about the remarkable journey his film has taken since its Whistler debut last December.

Pique:

In the Shadow of the Chief was your debut film, so nothing could have really prepared you for the type of reception it got locally, nationally and internationally. What do you make of it all?

Ivan Hughes:

Quite surprised, quite excited about it. It felt really rewarding because for an entire spring and summer I was locked up in a dark living room while all my friends were out climbing, not really knowing whether anyone was really going to understand the story I was trying to tell, or get it, or appreciate it. To have finally finished it and to have people enjoy it, and to hear people coming out of the theatre talking about Baldwin and Cooper and the story – it’s incredible.

Pique

: When it took the 2003 Whistler Film Festival by storm were you convinced that people did indeed "get it?"

IH

: That was an incredible response that we got up there. I heard people in the local pub up there in Whistler talking about the film and again, that just felt fantastic to me. Part of the draw to making the film was making sure Jim Baldwin and Ed Cooper’s story was told and people would remember them – so many of the young climbers today have forgotten all about them. To actually hear people in a pub afterwards talking about them and their story was incredibly rewarding.

Pique

: So as far as you’re concerned, if that had been all that had happened to the film, that would have been enough?

IH:

Yeah, that was fantastic. Yes.

Pique:

Have you gotten that degree of response from the climbing community as a whole?

IH:

Absolutely. The same sort of response from young climbers who didn’t really know the Baldwin and Cooper story and from people of that era who were very excited to see the story being told again and very excited to see the footage from that era.

There was a woman who came up to us after one of the screenings and said: "I used to cook meals for those boys!" Another guy came up to us after a screening and said: "My father was the guy who made those pitons for the climbers!" Things of that nature. We met more people after the film came out who felt they had a connection to the story – they wanted to share that as well. I think it’s brought back a lot of memories for a lot of people.

Pique

: It’s understandable that this area would relate to the film and support the film, but what about the response you’ve been getting outside this area?

IH:

We took the film to Toronto and showed it there. There’s an Alpine Club out there and a lot of them came out to watch. I got the feeling that very few of them had ever been out to Squamish, so I was a little nervous watching with a crowd that had never been to Squamish and wondering whether they would relate to the story at all. But they really enjoyed the film as well.

Pique:

So you found a Canadian identity with the film as much as a Sea to Sky identity?

IH:

Absolutely, a Canadian identity with the Canadian history part of it. It’s a story about Canadian history, not just a story about Squamish climbing.

Pique:

Have you had a chance to talk with Ed Cooper about how well the film has done?

IH:

We just got an e-mail from Ed today, actually. He heard that it was going to be shown on the CBC. He’s very excited about it...

He loves the film. He loves the way the story was told and he’s excited about the fact the story is being relayed to a new generation of climbers.

I remember when we first approached him, which now was a couple of years ago, one of the first things he said was: "It’s about time this story got told." I got the feeling he’s not one to beat his own chest and throw his story out there, so I think he was kind of happy someone approached him.

In The Shadow of the Chief

will have its broadcast premiere this Thursday, July 8 at 7 p.m. on CBC television in British Columbia as part of Docs On The Coast .

Ivan Hughes is currently working on a film project about the underground urban "buildering" subculture with the working title The History of the Human Fly .