NOTE: “Today” and “tonight” refer to Friday, Nov. 21.
PORT ANGELES — Tonight’s Backcountry Film Festival will feature nine winter sports films while raising money toward keeping Hurricane Ridge Road open an extra day per week this winter season.
The 10th annual Backcountry Film Festival will be at 7 p.m. at The Metta Room, 132 E. Front St.
A $10 suggested donation will benefit the Hurricane Ridge Winter Access Coalition’s effort to fund four-day access to the Ridge.
Currently, Olympic National Park’s winter policy is to close the Ridge, which is at 5,242 feet above sea level, on Sunday evenings and then plow snow from Hurricane Ridge Road south of Port Angeles on Thursdays for a Friday morning opening.
The coalition is trying to raise enough money — $48,860 — to enable the park to keep Hurricane Ridge Road open Thursdays. The National Park Service won’t fund the additional day.
In addition to films, tonight’s event will include music and photos from Scott Sullivan and a raffle with prizes from snow sports companies, including Lib Tech, Gnu, Clif Bar, Pacific Alpine Guides and North by Northwest.
Films planned
Nine backcountry skiing and snowboarding films will be shown.
Presented by the Winter Wildlands Alliance, the film festival showcases backcountry skiing and snowboarding films, including the latest from Teton Gravity Research and Sweetgrass Productions.
They are:
■ “From the Road” by Fischer Creative, which follows the Dynafit ski team on a journey to Alaska.
■ “Afterglow” by Sweetgrass Production, described as a “spectacular film [that] lights up the backcountry like never before.”
■ “Backcountry Baker” by Jeremy Lurgio, which follows the story of Baker, a Labrador retriever, and his owner backcountry skiing in Montana’s Bitterroot Mountains.
■ “Out on a Limb” by T-Bar Films, the story of Vasu Sojitra, an amputee whose love for skiing and the backcountry helped him overcome his obstacles.
■ “95 to Infinity” by Doglotion Media, which follows brothers Andy and Mike Traslin through 95 months of winter turns.
■ “IRS Traverse” by Luc Mehl, an adventure in the Alaska wilderness.
■ “Powder Pilgrimage” by Joey Howell, which tells of two friends “ski bumming it” to Valdez, Alaska.
■ “Sundog” by Sturge Films, which captures the dog days of skiing in Patagonia.
■ “Higher” by Teton Gravity Research, which continues the journey of athlete Jeremy Jones.
Winter season
Park officials plan to have the 17-mile Hurricane Ridge Road open Fridays through Sundays beginning Nov. 28, the day after Thanksgiving.
They will wait for funds to add Thursdays, said Frank Crippen, a member of the coalition.
So far, the coalition has raised $13,000 through fundraisers and an online site, www.accesstheridge.org.
The group’s original deadline was Sunday, but that is less definite than originally thought, and there will be several more fundraisers, Crippen said.
Even though the organization has raised less than a third of what is needed, there is still time to get the mountain open an extra day a week this winter, Crippen said.
“People can’t lose hope yet,” he said.
Coalitions members have said that if the coalition fails to meet its goal for the 2014-15 winter season, all funds raised will go toward adding Thursdays during the winter of 2015-16.
Park officials have told coalition members they are willing to hire staff for Hurricane Ridge on Thursdays if funding for the road becomes available.
Earlier efforts
Earlier efforts, which were aimed at keeping Hurricane Ridge Road open year-round, failed.
In 2012, the National Park Service pulled the plug on a two-year experiment to provide weekday access to Hurricane Ridge, saying visitor counts were not high enough to warrant the expense.
In 2010, Clallam County civic leaders had lobbied the federal government for a two-year, $250,000-per-year grant to plow Hurricane Ridge Road on weekdays.
A community fundraising campaign came up with a required $75,000-per-year match, with the city of Port Angeles and Clallam County each contributing $25,000 per year and the city of Sequim providing $5,000 per year.
Many area businesses and associations, as well as individuals, also donated money.
The Park Service required an increase of 45 percent in visitors when compared with the previous five-year average but recorded only a 19 percent increase.
For more information, to make a donation for opening the Ridge or to watch the trailer, visit www.accesstheridge.org.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arwyn.rice@peninsuladailynews.com.
