Fort William Mountain Festival

14/02/2026

Saturday at Fort William Mountain Festival is packed. Here’s a taste of today’s adventures and talks.

🌅 Morning Explore & Workshops
08:00–17:00 – Winter Skills 101 (two‑day full course)
08:30–17:00 – One Day Winter Skills Course
09:00–10:00 – Blue Mind Open Water Swim
09:00–13:00 – Aim High: Crafting & Pitching Outdoor Stories
09:00–13:00 – Drawing the Mountains with Jack Spowart
09:00–13:00 – Painting the Mountains with Phoebe Sleath
09:00–15:00 – Winter Run
10:00–14:00 – Lochaber Dig Day
10:00–15:15 – Try Climbing!
10:00–11:00 – Adventures in Publishing
10:00–11:00 – Technical Trail Run with Altra
10:00–14:30 – The Power of Ice & Water – Lochaber’s Glacial Lakes
10:00–12:00 – Guided Rainforest Exploration
10:00–12:00 – Winter Foraging with The Wild Cooke
10:30–13:30 – FWMF26 International Film Night Redux
10:30–13:00 – Weave the Mountain View
11:00–14:00 – Lochaber Environmental’s Repair Café
11:00–12:30 – Our Seas Seaful: A Line in the Sound
12:00–13:00 – Downhill Running Workshop with Altra
12:30–14:00 – Scotland The Big Picture – Riverwoods Film Screening
12:30–14:00 – Tribute to David “Heavy” Whalley
13:00–15:00 – Creative Rainforest Exploration

🗣️ Afternoon Panels & Talks
14:00–15:00 – Altra Athlete Panel
14:30–15:30 – Behind the Lens: Scottish Adventure Film & Photography
15:00–17:00 – Champions of the Golden Valley + Compass Collective
15:30–16:00 – The Great Mixed Climbs of Scotland: Book Signing
15:30–16:30 – The Pine Hunters screening + Q&A
16:00–17:00 – Ultra Women: Trailblazers Defying Sexism in Sport

🌇 Evening Sessions
17:00–18:30 – Bothy Session
17:00–18:30 – Risk, Reward and Extremes
17:30–18:30 – More Than Mountains: Masa: 居場所

⭐ Night Highlights
19:00–22:00 – Your Hills (evening adventure tales)
19:00–22:00 – Climbing Night (stories & awards)

🕺 Late Night
22:00–00:00 – Festival Ceilidh at the Alexandre Hotel

We can’t wait to enjoy it all with you!

13/02/2026

Fort William Mountain Festival is in full swing — here’s what’s happening today:

10:00 – 11:00
Explore: Flat Trail Run with Altra — A social run with Connor Smith and Sarah Thi on easy trails around Fort William.

10:30 – 12:30
Explore: Training With Your Hormones — Hands-on workshop on how hormones affect climbing and somatic awareness.

11:00 – 11:30
Explore: Swim with Saz — Progress your outdoor swimming in a fun, supportive session.

11:00 – 12:30
Explore: Introduction to Bike Maintenance — Hands-on bike maintenance with Lochaber Environmental.

13:00 – 14:00
Explore: Navigation for Runners Workshop with Altra — Learn navigation skills with Nathan Lawson and Hugh Chatfield.

13:00 – 14:30
Explore: Gears Set Up and Problem Solving — Gear setup and troubleshooting with Lochaber Environmental.

13:00 – 15:00
Explore: Winter Foraging Workshop with The Wild Cooke — Introduction to seasonal foraging in Glen Nevis.

13:30 – 16:00
Explore: MWIS Inversion Hunters — Classroom session on weather inversions for better mountain planning.

13:30 – 15:00
Explore: Mobility Workshop — Improve movement freedom through guided joint mobility.

14:30 – 15:30
Explore: Foot Health with Altra — Foot and lower-limb strength session to boost mobility and performance.

15:00 – 16:30
Explore: Brakes, Set Up and Problem Solving — Brake setup and troubleshooting with Lochaber Environmental.

16:00 – 17:00
Holly Wootten: Breaking the Dragons Back — Holly shares her story from the 2025 Dragon’s Back Race.

17:00 – 18:30
Bothy Session — Celebrate Scotland’s bothy culture through shared stories.

17:00 – 18:30
Explore: Petzl Night Run — Torch-lit run on Cow Hill above Fort William.

17:00 – 22:00 (Fri–Sun)
The Shape of Summits: Mountain Exhibition — Artists inspired by mountains and wild places.

17:00 – 19:00
Shape of Summits: Opening Night — Exhibition opening at the Nevis Centre.

17:30 – 18:30
Skiing the Highlands — Al Todd presents a visual journey through the Scottish Highlands.

19:00 – 22:00
FWMF26 International Film Night & Awards — Adventure films and International Film Competition awards.

19:00 – 22:00
People Power — Three speakers share the motivations behind their biggest achievements.

19:00 – 22:00
Mountain Voices: Stories & Song — Music, storytelling, and creativity inspired by mountain culture.

Can’t wait to welcome you all for an amazing weekend!

12/02/2026

Join us for an inspiring evening of adventure, endurance, and extraordinary stories at ‘People Power’ Fort William Mountain Festival!
Three incredible speakers will dive into their motivations behind their biggest athletic accomplishments yet:
Alex Stainforth: Record-breaking adventurer. Ultra-runner. Mental health advocate.
By 19, Alex Staniforth had survived the two biggest disasters in Everest history. He’s since climbed all 100 UK county tops in 72 days, run the National 3 Peaks (452 miles in 9 days 12 hours), and completed all 446 Nuttalls - 3,000km and 100,000m of ascent in just 45 days - raising awareness of su***de in young people on his 30th birthday.
Founder of Mind Over Mountains.

Katie Mackay: Climber. Mountaineer. Endurance-driven.
Katie Mackay has climbed across the UK, Patagonia and the Alps, and was the first woman to complete the Lake District Classic Rock challenge in under 24 hours.
With Kirsty Gillan, she linked 100 climbing routes across the UK, travelling 1,600km by bike and climbing 10,000m in 32 days. A huge effort driven by grief, fuelled by friendship, and grounded in the belief that hard things are worth doing simply to prove they’re possible.

Markus Stitz: Ultra-endurance racer. Explorer. Route designer. Storyteller.
Markus Stitz cycled 34,000km unsupported around the world on a single-speed mountain bike. He’s since founded Bikepacking Scotland, Dirt Dash events, and the Edinburgh Dawn Patrol, and designed countless bikepacking and gravel routes across Scotland.
An author and filmmaker, Markus has written Great British Gravel Rides, Bikepacking Scotland, Gravel Rides Cairngorms & Perthshire and Gravel Rides Loch Lomond & The Trossachs, and co-edited Big Rides: Great Britain & Ireland. His adventures have taken him from Norway to Canada, the US, and Spain.

11/02/2026

Who are the Cholita Climbers? Why do they climb in skirts? How is climbing changing their lives?

In 2024, Anna went on expedition to Bolivia to meet and climb with the amazing Cholita Climbers, a group of Indigenous Andean women who climb high-altitude peaks in huge colourful skirts. Be inspired by these remarkable Bolivian women and discover their astonishing journey into alpinism and the tops of the world.

This talk by traveller, climber and writer Anna Fleming, will take you up Pequeno Alpayamo – a 5370 metre glaciated peak – in the company of 4 women: 2 Scottish winter climbers and 2 Bolivian Cholita Escaladoras in their full skirts and petticoats.

09/02/2026

Join record-breaking endurance athlete Holly Wootten as she recounts her remarkable performance in the 2025 Dragon’s Back Race, one of the world’s toughest multi-day mountain challenges.

In this inspiring talk, Holly shares the highs, lows, and defining moments of her journey across Wales’ rugged spine.

Whether you’re a runner, adventurer, or simply someone who loves an extraordinary story, Holly’s reflections will leave you motivated to chase your own mountains.

Holly Wootten: Breaking the Dragons Back
Nevis Centre, Studio 1
Tickets just £7.50
Friday 13 Feb, 4pm — 5pm

09/02/2026

Inspired by Banryu, the monk who first summited Japan’s iconic Mount Yari, this film follows four runners on an ambitious fastpacking journey through the heart of the Japanese Alps, traversing the dramatic Daikiretto Ridge and culminating in a fastest known time (FKT) attempt on Yake-Dake.
@‌sfm_films
@‌cakebaggaley
Photo Credit @‌jakebaggaley.photographer
This film is an Award-Winner at Fort William Mountain Festival, screening as part of our International Film Night.
International Film Night Redux
The Highland Cinema
Tickets just £15
Saturday 14 Feb, 10.30am — 1.30pm
The International Film Competition is sponsored by the @‌JohnMuirTrust
Book your seat > Link in bio

09/02/2026

08/02/2026

A live panel discussion that explores the balance between risk and reward through the eyes of those who live for adventure. Brought to you by a podcast that captures unique perspectives from people who have tested their limits, from frozen summits to ocean adventures and every extreme in between.

Risk, Reward and Extremes
Nevis Centre, Studio 2
Tickets just £7.50
Saturday 14 Feb, 5pm — 6.30pm

07/02/2026

The Fort William Mountain Festival Paddle Sports Film Session is a selection of the best Paddle sports films submitted to our International Film Competition.

Freeland – A Blackwater Story (50 Minutes)
This film dives into the history of the Blackwater River in the Monongahela National Forest in West Virginia, and the kayaking community that has developed around it. Blackwater Canyon contains world class whitewater, with 17 miles of Class IV-V+ rapids. This river is home to the birth of steep creeking, and A Blackwater Story reviews the early history of the sport, told by those who were here to live it. The film explores the topic of death in whitewater, and the impact social media plays on the next generation of whitewater kayakers.

To The Sea (32 Minutes)
Two friends aim to complete a 6 year journey – to travel down the Vindel River near Sweden’s arctic circle on their homemade pallet-built raft. Encountering rapids, swarms of mosquitos and friendly locals, this is a story that explores the meaning of adventure and friendship over a journey of years.

Gabon Unchartered (44 Minutes)
The SEND Collective — the closest thing to social media stardom the kayaking world has ever seen — embarks on an unknown river deep in the jungles of Gabon. With no wifi and no turning back, they plunge into ten days of raw whitewater, relentless jungle, and uncomfortable honesty.

Gabon Uncharted is a wild, unfiltered, and occasionally damp exploration of what happens when online legends are dropped into offline chaos.

Featuring the SEND team: Adrian Mattern (GER), Dane Jackson (USA), Kalob Grady (CAN), Bren Orton (GBR) .orton
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Paddle Sports Film Session
Nevis Centre, Main Theatre
Tickets just £7.50
Sunday 15 Feb, 12.30pm — 2.30pm