Stand-up white water paddleboarding to star at Fort William Mountain Festival

New film to showcase exploits of Scottish pioneers of sport

One of the leading exponents of the nerves-of-steel extreme sport of white water stand-up paddleboarding (SUP) is among the stars of the Fort William Mountain Festival, whose 20th anniversary programme was announced on Monday.

Sam Garthwaite and paddleboarding partner Cameron Hopkin will present their short film Runnable at an event at the four-day festival in February. It will also feature Ardnamurchan-based wildlife cameraman and Strictly Come Dancing winner Hamza Yassin, record-breaking mountain runner Jamie Aarons and adventure filmmakers Emma Crome and Hamish Frost.

Mr Garthwaite, lead instructor at the Willowgate Activity Centre in Perth, who has been white water paddle boarding for five years, originally trained to teach kayaking. He said the new sport was similar but had greater edge.

He said: “You’re elevated, you’re standing, not sitting. Everything feels bigger – the consequences can be higher. Paddleboarding gives me the same feeling skateboarding used to give me.”