Intelligence Squared discussion: 'Because it's there' Mountain Festival June 15, 2010

Intelligence Squared's 'Because it's there' Mountain Festival will take place on 15 June 2010 at the Royal Geographical Society in London. It will be a one evening-only exploration of what mountains represent to humanity. From mountains' place in literature to how they shape history, from providing sublime nourishment for the soul to fuelling mountaineers' addiction to vertigo, the festival will combine the IQ2 tradition of debate and discussion with film, photography and literature.

For more information and tickets please visit the IQ Mountain Festival website at http://www.iq2mountainfestival.com/

Timetable

18:30 - 19:15
Short Films, 'Pecha Kucha' style presentations by mountaineers, explorers, authors, film-makers and photographers. Confirmed speakers: Andy Kirkpatrick, others TBC.

19:15 - 19:45
Keynote address. Speaker: Stephen Venables

19:45 - 20:45
Discussion: Close Everest (or peaks above 8000 meters should be closed to paid expeditions). Speakers: Rebecca Stephens, Doug Scott, George Band, Kenton Cool. Chair: Stephen Venables.

The discussion will take place at: Royal Geographical Society, Ondaatje Theatre.

Doors open at 6:00 pm. The discussion starts at 6:30 pm and finishes at 8:45 pm.
Speakers:

George Band OBE At the age of 23, George Band was the youngest member to be chosen for the first successful Everest Expedition in 1953. Two years later, he was the first to climb Kangchenjunga 28,169' (8,586m) the world's third highest peak, then the highest unclimbed.

Kenton Cool Currently one of the UK's leading alpine climbers Kenton is the first and only Briton to climb Everest three times. With his company Dream Guides' successful Cho Oyu expedition in October 2006, Kenton made the first British ski descent of an 8000m peak.

Andy Kirkpatrick Andy's speciality is big wall climbing and winter expeditions, which involves pitting himself against a vertical climbs of over 1000 metres (that's two and a half world trade centres), often in temperatures as low as minus 30 degrees.

Doug Scott CBE Doug Scott has made 45 expeditions to to the high mountains of Asia. He has reached the summit of 40 peaks, of which half were climbed by new routes or for the first time in Alpine Style.

Rebecca Stephens MBE Author, speaker and mountaineer, Rebecca is the first British woman to have climbed Everest. Rebecca then went on to become the first English-speaking woman in the world to climb the Seven Summits, the highest mountain on each of the seven continents.
Chair:

Stephen Venables Stephen Venables, mountaineer, writer, broadcaster and public speaker, was the first Briton to climb Everest without supplementary oxygen. His career has taken Stephen right through the Himalaya, from Afghanistan to Tibet, making first ascents of many previously unknown mountains.