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	Festival Overview Nominated Films Book Winners Kropp on Tour Banff Scene Live Reports Film Tour Schedule Photos

But, good news for snow riders, this heavy snowfall in the Canadian Rockies has led to the to the earliest opening ever for Ski Louise. Skiers and snowboarders are scrambling to get up the slopes.

This, the 24th year of the film festival, has been described as particularly competitive as more than 40 films vie for top prizes. Tom Hornbein and Kitty Calhoun, both judging this year's films, said they expect the final decisions to be tough.

On the book festival, which is less than 10 years old, the big news is four new books recently released regarding the discovery on Mount Everest of George Mallory's body last spring. Eric Simonson and Jochen Hemmleb, who were part of the Mallory & Irvine Expedition and co-authored a book about it, are present, as are David Roberts and Conrad Anker, who collaborated on a second book, and David Breashears and Audrey Salkeld, who collaborated on yet another. The authors will all be on hand this week to talk about the British climbers who disappeared in 1924, and the aftermath of last spring's discovery.

It's a quiet time of year in tony Banff, with the summer crowds gone and the skiers just arriving. The streets last night were full of cars spinning their wheels and kids throwing snowballs, but the upscale shops were mostly empty. The MountainZone.com rental from Calgary – an all wheel drive van – was pressed into service ferrying folks up the slick streets. It may be needed again today as the festival gets underway in earnest – with more snow predicted to fall.

— Peter Potterfield, MountainZone.com Staff