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It would be easy to underestimate but, 10 years really is a lot of time… This is the amount of time we have had the privilege to enjoy the amazing Banff Mountain Film Festival in Mexico, due to the great effort from my friends from El Séptimo Grado.

I’ve been fortunate enough to attend each of the 10 editions, which have always been a great opportunity to reconnect with old climbing friends and to get loads of inspiration from many adventurers from around the world.

This year I won’t be writing a brief review of each of the films but will only highlight the special guest we had: Reinhold Messner. Indeed, the greatest mountaineer from all times visited Mexico and gave a special conference before the festival’s closure.

For many of us who have been wandering around the mountains it was a truly unique occasion, the author of many revolutionary climbs and of classic mountaineering books came here to share with us not his accomplishments but his profound insights after a whole life dedicated to adventure. It was really great to see such an icon in his most down-to-earth form, a mature and sober human being

After 2 weeks nursing my knees and a few short (6-9 km) and easy runs (my short hike at the Q50 La Sportiva México included), I can say that I’m feeling about 95% recovered from tissue damage in my legs. I still need to re-develop muscle mass in my quadriceps (specifically in the right Vastus medialis), but that’s something doable in the short term. What will definitely require a lot more time is the accumulated fatigue my body has. This hasn’t been an issue during these short outings but I’m pretty sure this will arise as long as I attempt to do more distance. Racing is out of the plans from now until mid-November at the best. More to report in the upcoming weeks…

Octavio and I got another night of the best technical death metal worldwide. Decapitated came back to Mexico City for their 2nd show ever and they didn’t disappoint as always. The act took place at Multiforo Cultural Alicia, which got really crowded. Two Mexican bands opened the show.

Decapitated’s setlist was short but extremely powerful. A little more than 1 hour of brutal music, with special emphasis on their latest album Carnival Is Forever. One of the highlights of the gig was the amazing performance of Krimh, the band’s new drummer (after the tragic loss of Vitek in 2007), but most importantly, their relaxed attitude with us after the show. Almost everyone got an autograph, a picture or a short chat with any of the band members. Really humble folks

Here’s my trophy from yet another night of musical ecstasy, a signed copy of their new album, which along with my previous souvenir from their past visit will make a valuable collection in the years to come:

decapitated – a view from a hole

so what do you do for a living?
i dug holes
and what do you put in there?
i bury hopes

born in the shadow of babylon
i speak in tongues but don’t understand a word
i know how to wield a sword
but never learned how to plough
i know how to build castles mountain high
that are bound to fall
i’m not a coward but i hide behind the words
i play my songs, winds carry them home

i know the science but the science doesn’t know me
and every now and then i burn rome
my children rule this world
but they’re raised to fail

world owes you nothing
promised you nothing
and nothingness swallows it all
don’t curse, don’t run
don’t fight, don’t fear
grow up before you grow old

i really hoped that if i dig long enough
i’d find hell-fire, pain and death
but it’s just mud and some plastic bags…

After I don’t know how many years, Caifanes got reunited and started touring around the country, delighting all-time fans with their now-classic songs.

Last night, Octavio, María Ana, Viridiana and I attended one of the many concerts from their current tour. It was a really great show which encompassed almost every song of their 4 studio albums. Almost 3 hours of some of the best Latin-American rock music from the late 80′s and early 90′s. A night to remember, with the following setlist:

So it’s been a week that I returned from Utah, after accomplishing my goal of running 3 hard mountain ultramarathons in a little less than a month. Getting my knees thrashed while running the Bear 100 last week was the definitive call to stop doing ultras for a couple of months at least…

My right knee is doing better, but I’m still on anti-inflammatory treatment and icing as much as possible to get rid of the enormous swelling. I can say that it’s about 70% back to its normal size by now, but it still hurts while trying to bend. Rehabilitation exercises will be needed…

Seems like attempting the Q50 La Sportiva México ultramarathon next week is still totally out of the question. Nevertheless I’m considering “hiking” a little bit of the course and helping my friend Marcos with race duties. It’s time to take things slowly and continue towards a great recovery. Also, the panorama of being a slacker for a couple of months seems pretty attractive…