Photographer, writer and National Geographic Young Explorer Max Lowe will be at the Tennessee Aquarium IMAX 3D Theater on March 22
National Geographic Young Explorer Max Lowe has been climbing mountains around the world since he was able to walk. But, he never imagined he’d be clinging to an icy waterfall more than 150 feet above Lake Superior while waiting for a brutal winter storm to pass. “Temperatures with wind chills were below minus 30 degrees F and I struggled to hold onto the ice in the face of increasing wind and with fingers I couldn’t feel,” Mr. Lowe wrote in his National Geographic Adventure Blog. “It was, without a doubt, one of the coldest days I could remember spending out in the elements.”
Mr. Lowe and his climbing partners, step-father Conrad Ankar and friend Rachel Pohl endured the harsh elements while an IMAX crew set up a 3-D camera. The crew was waiting to catch the trio in action for the new film, National Parks Adventure 3D.
In addition to cross-country skiing and ice-climbing, this movie is an action-packed off-trail adventure that showcases many of the outdoor adventure sports that helped build Chattanooga’s reputation as “Best Town Ever.” Audiences follow Mr. Lowe and his partners as they go rock climbing, mountain biking, trail running, kayaking, hiking and whitewater rafting in some of the most scenic units of America’s National Parks.
For Mr. Lowe, memories of the U.S. national parks are like memories of home, and helped to etch his persona. “I actually lived in Grand Teton National Park in what they call the Climber’s Camp,” said Mr. Lowe. “I was lucky to have the very wild, idyllic childhood that a lot of kids just don’t get anymore. I would be running around exploring while my dad was off climbing and my mom was painting. It was a great gift; I was brought up to be independent, to explore and to pursue what I loved.”
Mr. Lowe was filming in Port Angeles, Wa., the runner-up city in Outside Magazine’s 2015 Best Town Ever contest. He’s looking forward to visiting Chattanooga on Tuesday and sharing his stories about his outdoor adventures around the world and being featured in National Parks Adventure 3D.
Meet Mr. Lowe at the Tennessee Aquarium IMAX 3D Theate on Tuesday from 5-7:30 p.m. Mr. Lowe will introduce the film and then mingle with guests at a special after-party at High Point Climbing and Fitness. Admission is $26 per person. Ticket price includes film, appetizers, cash bar, and after-party at High Point Climbing and Fitness. Register online here.
“I’m excited to share my personal connection with the parks,” said Mr. Lowe. “And because I love film and imagery and storytelling, it feels like a natural extension of everything I’ve been about all my life. IMAX is such an amazingly rich visual experience, it’s the perfect way to celebrate the importance of these largely untouched places that belong to us all.”
Most of all, Mr. Lowe hopes audiences will get a taste of what the wilderness has brought to him, even in times of tumult. “So many people today grow up in lit-up cities, where you can never even see the stars in the night sky. But I think it’s vital to humanity to see places that are so big and wild that we can hardly fathom them. I think humankind thrives on knowing wild places,” he said.