Short film pays tribute to mountaineer who died while hiking B.C. peak

For the Thrill of Stopping Time pays tribute to Vancouver mountaineer Jonathan Büchner. (Courtesy: Matt Sorensen)

It was never meant to be a tribute, but when mountaineer Jonathan Büchner died while on a challenging climb near Squamish in the summer of last year, the film his friends had been making to showcase the magnificence of the local mountains naturally took a new direction.

For the Thrill of Stopping Time had been brewing for years between cinematographer Matt Sorensen and photographer Kieran Clarke. Both avid outdoorsmen enamoured with the B.C.’s snow-capped ranges, it was inevitable the two would combine their loves of adventure and film.

“We just wanted to convey how special it is to be able to capture the mountains through a camera,” says Sorensen, a few days after the film’s release.

Shot mostly in Chilliwack across a seventh month period, the seven-minute long film follows Clarke as he traverses mountainous terrain, camps in remote, breathtaking locations and photographs the rugged beauty of each icy peak. He talks of his own natural inclination to be outdoors, before mentioning Büchner, the person who was “monumental” in the formation of his love for exploring.

Clarke had gone to school with Büchner, but it wasn’t until he developed a love for hiking in later life – an adventure hobby introduced to him by Sorensen – that the two would truly hit it off.

“We met up and did a hike together at Crossover Peak, our first one, and that’s really where our friendship grew. It was an awesome start to my more intense hiking journey, to be able to do my first big adventure with him,” says Clarke.

Büchner was warm, funny, and filled with knowledge of photography and the great outdoors. Conversation between the two, says Clarke, always flowed naturally. He describes Büchner as being one of the most generous friends he has ever had, always so willing to lend his camera equipment and a helping hand.

It was a striking personality trait that had the whole outdoor community enchanted, he says.

“He just wanted to see me progress and do well. No matter what, he wanted to help everyone out. He’d give you the shirt off his back, essentially,” he says.

When Büchner died Clarke wasn’t sure if he would ever have a desire to return to the outdoors in the same way again. So much of his passion for the mountains had been inextricably linked to spending time with his best friend.

He says he was wary of the difficult emotions that revisiting some of the regions they had travelled together could surface, but ultimately the trip reignited his love for the wilderness and left him feeling more inspired to continue a life of adventure.

“It was a powerful experience to go back to those same spots I saw with Jon, lots of memories came flooding back through that,” he says.

“I felt inspired to keep getting out there when I was in those moments, it didn’t feel sad in any way to me. I still feel like he’s with me out there when I go, it feels like he lives on through my journey.”

Both Sorensen and Clarke say they hope Büchner’s life encourages others to experience the beauty of the outdoors. His life was tragically cut short, but the life that he led was one full of zest and adventure that many would do well to embrace, they say.

“What happened on Atwell Peak was really tragic, and I think it affected everyone in the outdoor community,” says Sorensen.

“But we wanted to show, through the film, that even though there is always going to be that inherent danger and risk that comes with being in the mountains, some of the best things in life can also come from them.”