“The first principle of ecology is that ‘everything is connected to everything else’, or as John Muir famously put it: ‘When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe.’ Yes, we are all climbers together on this Earth, joined to one another by ropes visible and invisible. The theme of this year’s Kendal Mountain Festival is solidarity; we want to celebrate and affirm the immense webwork of connections and relations that extends across and between the human and more-than-human worlds. As any mountaineer knows, solidarity is strength and solidarity is safety. Each is responsible for the other and reciprocal with the other. Successfully to traverse a heavily crevassed glacier, or to top out on a big-wall climb, requires an intricate dance of taking-in and paying-out rope, of togetherness and teamwork, of duty to the group. So this year we come together -- our writers, film-makers and artists, and you our audiences -- to recognise the vital importance of unity, mutual support and generosity of spirit. Viva!”