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From: Jimbo June 01, 2010 |
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Patagonia is still pristine - perhaps not for long.
In 1968 American adventurers Yvon Chaunard and Doug Tompkins embarked on a six-month odyssey from their home in Ventura, California to the wilds of Patagonia in South America. Both were forever changed by the experience and returned with inspiration to found two legendary companies: Patagonia and The North Face, respectively.
40 years later another band of bliss-seeking surfer-mountaineers, inspired by Chaunard and Tompkins, set out on a similar mission, with a twist.
Photo: 180 South
Dams threaten Patagonia
Released this week in select theaters nationwide, and directed by acclaimed surf filmmaker, Chris Malloy, the documentary 180 South chronicles adventurer Jeff Johnson and friends on an exhilarating 5,000 mile trek including being shipwrecked on Easter Island, surfing unridden waves and summiting massive Chilean peaks.
Photo: 180 South
Jeff Johnson and Timmy O'Neil summit hike.
At journey's end Johnson meets up with Chaunard and Thompkins in Patagonia, bringing each expedition full circle and uniting their efforts to expose the modern threats to Patagonia's natural environment in the form of a series of hydro-electric dams planned by international energy interests.
Patagonia is one of the last pristine places on Earth, says Malloy. Once these dams are built the fragile ecosystems are never going to be the same.
Photo: 180 South
Local rancher with Keith Malloy
The film highlights a local grassroots effort, Sin Represas (Without Dams), advocating the protection of the affected river watersheds as well as large swaths of native forest in danger of clear-cutting to accommodate 1,500 miles of transmission lines.
For Chaunard the message is simple. Preserve the few remaining pristine places that can inspire current and future generations.
Photo: 180 South
Yvon Chaunard
I named my company after Patagonia, says Yvon Chaunard. The place is like Montana was 100 years ago. We gotta have places like that. We gotta have really wild places to have a baseline.
For a list of theaters playing 180 South, visit www.woodshedfilms.com. A DVD release is scheduled for June 8th.
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Great. I live in Chile here in Patagonia and I run trips so for me this like a dream., To promote what Endesa is trying to do with the rivers. But the root of the problem is deeper , where are er going to get the energy from?? There are many other options. At the moment comments say that the Baker dam is a fact. Sad! But I keep fighting against it. All the best. I wold like to get a copy of the film. Wehre can I get it. do you think the office in Puerto Varas will have it in the future?