Nicolai is a panelist for a Breakfast Talk, entitled Africa’s Challenges, sharing the stage with Dr. Rick Hodes and Prudence Mabhena to discuss what life is like for people with disabilities in Africa. Hodes is a surgeon specializing in spinal reconstruction who lives in Ethiopia with his adopted family of twenty performing free operations to straighten crooked backs. Prudence is the lead singer for the band Liyana featured in the Oscar Award winning short documentary Music by Prudence. Born without legs and one arm, abandoned by her parents, she has risen to fame on the wings of her angelic voice.
Film screening is suspended mid afternoon for an ice cream social at the center of town. Nicolai and I meet a number of great people while enjoying the music and splendor of the day.
The winds today are gusting to 30 mph and Nicolai and I watched in amusement as the huge tent we were sitting next to was lifted off its stakes and propelled down a side street with great speed.
Alex Honnold is like no other athlete I have ever met. He does not know fear. This 23-year old free solo climber (no ropes or special gear) is featured in the film Alone on the Wall in which he climbs Yosemite’s Half Dome. I was terrified just watching the film and cannot comprehend the focus and drive necessary to accomplish such a feat.
With no speaking responsibilities today we elect to take in a little photography and make the short drive to the end of the box canyon in which Telluride is situated. Here we are treated to a view of Bridal Veil Falls which are full with spring runoff on this warm and sunny day. This two pronged waterfall is the tallest free standing in Colorado at 365 feet and is capped with a power generating station which produces 25% of Telluride’s electricity. The marmots here are abundant and show little respect for the law.
Hot chocolate and a freshly baked chocolate croissant, comparable to what he remembers from France, has Nicolai very happy with our choice of restaurant, The Butcher and the Baker. He is less pleased by the delay to his food enjoyment imposed by the taking of this photo.
Our hotel is located in Mountain Village, a 15-minute gondola ride from downtown Telluride at an elevation of nearly 10,000 ft. Today we have no speaking engagements and we start the morning enjoying the spectacular views from our balcony.
After an enthusiastic response to the film, Nico and I take the stage for a ten-minute Q&A session with the audience. Nicolai seemed very comfortable and did a great job responding to questions. He became a little tongue-tied, however, when he was asked by the mother of two teenage girls, seated beside her, if he was currently dating anyone.
By show time the intimate theater is packed to its 200 person capacity. Nico and I join the audience for what will be our first viewing of the film on a big screen.
As guests of the festival we have four assignments to complete. The first is an interview with Outside Television during which we respond to questions about the film, our climb, and future plans. The crew included two cameramen, a sound engineer, a producer, the interviewer (pictured here) and several assistants.
Nicolai and I have been invited to attend the Mountainfilm Festival where the short film documenting our climb of Mount Kilimanjaro will be screened. Nico’s Challenge, masterfully edited by local producer, Steve Audette, was one of ten documentaries selected from a field of 600 entrants. Even before picking up our credentials, which gave us Carte Blanche access to the entire festival, Nicolai is stopped several times on the street by local students and Mountainfilm volunteers who recognized him from an advanced showing of the film at the high school earlier in the day. I felt like I was traveling with a rock star.
This website is dedicated to sharing, with family and friends, the day-to-day adventures of the Calabria family.
