Bigger, better and with more visitors than ever - Kendal Mountain Festival 2010 scaled new heights.

Staged across several Kendal venues, some of the world’s greatest international adventurers, climbers and outdoors stars descended on the town, with the heart of the high altitude gathering at the Brewery Arts Centre.

More than 40 lectures and 80-plus films featured as well as the world’s most respected mountain literary award, the Boardman Tasker Prize.

Recognised as the biggest mountain festivals in the world in terms of scope and audience, festival director Clive Allen said ticket sales had been quite slow initially: He added: ”However, things really started to take off with a couple of weeks to go, and by last Friday we knew we had a real tiger by the tail as day tickets for films sold out.”

Mr Allen explained that more than 7,000 visitors attended the festival, with more than half of those coming from outside Cumbria. Many visited from further afield, including France, Scandinavia, Germany, Spain and even Nepal, reflecting the international status of the event.

Continued Mr Allen: “Regarding economic impact I have no figures yet, but given that we beat last year’s ticket sales by a country mile I’d be amazed if it was less than last year’s input figure of £1.5millon. As ever, it was impossible to find a room in Kendal to stay in.”

This year’s festival saw a real mix of outdoor-related lectures, films, performances and exhibitions. Climbers and mountaineers like Dave Macleod and Peter Habeler shared the stage with adventurers such as round-the-world cyclist Mark Beaumont and wild swimmer Kate Rew. “We aimed to involve as many people as possible this year and it really worked, with youngsters enjoying our Family Friendly film programme and literary enthusiasts attending the book events at K Village.”

Summing up the event, KMF patron Sir Chris Bonington said: “In all the years I’ve been coming to the festival – and I was at the first one on 1980 – this was by far the most impressive, enjoyable and memorable.

“For me it’s just unmissable – it’s the tribal gathering for anyone who loves the mountains whether you’re a climber, biker, skier or just enjoy walking in the outdoors.”

What the audience thought...

Kate Rew is the prime mover behind the Wild Swimming phenomenon, which is encouraging thousands of enthusiasts across the UK to take to our chilly waters. In conversation with Lake District National Park chief executive Richard Leafe, Kate talked about her love for wild swimming and described how it literally immerses you in the outdoor environment. “It allows us to view things from a completely different direction, one where you become part of the outdoors and much more connected to the landscape” she says. In particular, Kate told of her love for the Lake District and its myriad hidden waters. “Swimming in these lakes and rivers is such a special experience, and helps you to understand in even greater clarity how writers like Wordsworth felt about this place” she added. Written by Cheryl Frost.

Famed for his long-time partnership with Reinhold Messner, Peter Habeler made the first ascent of Everest without bottled oxygen in 1978 with his fellow Austrian. Never having lectured before in the UK, Habeler drew a big audience of over 400 people to the Kendal Dojo venue to talk about this experience and other ascents that have influenced him over the years. In particular he was able to give the audience a feel for the excitement of new possibilities that their ‘alpine style’ climbing in the Himalayas opened up. Before then, expeditions had relied on a huge ‘pyramid’ logistical structure to get one or two climbers to the summit. Habeler and Messner climbed by themselves, with one rope, from the base of the mountain to the summit – a much purer style, but much riskier. Written by Ian Gray.

Self-styled comedian, climber, canoeist and coffee drinker Timmy O’Neill certainly set Kendal alight with a hilarious, quick-fire performance at the Kendal Dojo venue. In front of a sell-out crowd this one-man tornado from the US kept the audience in stitches from start to finish, whether talking about climbing or (more likely) some tale or other that was completely unrelated. However, Timmy is much more than a lecture phenomenon and he proved this at the end of his performance by hopping behind a drum kit and jamming with a scratch team of musicians. Unpredictable? Certainly. Unrepeatable? We hope not! Written by Ian Henderson.

Fresh from a Children In Need appearance on Friday night, where she re-created the Flashdance film routine, Helen Skelton was on home turf in Kendal on the Sunday to talk about her adventures in recent years. The Penrith-born Blue Peter presenter described how she became only the second woman ever to complete the Namibia Ultra Marathon, then two weeks later she was back in her running shoes taking part in the London Marathon for charity. However, the audience was amazed by her most extreme challenge to date - kayaking 2,010 miles down the Amazon in support of Sport Relief. Along the way she broke two Guinness World Records: the longest solo journey by kayak, and the longest kayak by a woman in 24 hours. The capacity audience included many youngsters who were keen to ask her questions and collect autographs. Written by Debbie McGowan.