Skis, ice picks and exotic backdrops from around the world: Add a get-up-and-go beat and some heart-stopping sporting feats and you'll get the Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour.
It's a recipe that has kept viewers coming out to the tour's stop in Whistler for the last 16 years. For the first time in its history, the festival's "best of" tour is making its way down the road to Squamish.
Each year, more than 245,000 people around the planet view approximately 635 screenings of a selection of the festival's best films. After the event ends in the Rocky Mountain community in November, the tour travels to Scotland, South Africa, China, Japan, New Zealand and many points in between.
"There will be room for 250 people [in Squamish]," Escape Route employee Nathalie White said.
Having hosted the event in Whistler, the outdoor equipment store is bringing the film fest to Quest University on Thursday (Feb. 16). With spring just around the corner, the flicks will get any sports or outdoor enthusiast ramped up for the summer, White said.
"If anything, we try and find movies that would be the most inspiring," she said.
The features include All.I.Can and COLD. All.I.Can is a two-year project that fuses skiing with exploring opportunities to help the environment. Multi-award-winning directors Dave Mossop and Eric Crosland journey to Chile, Morocco, Alaska and into our own backyard with a slew of snow riders.
COLD is a documentary that follows Simone Moro, Denis Urubko and Cory Richards on an expedition up a 8,000-metre-tall peak in Pakistan in the midst of winter. The dangerous venture was captured on Richards' small camera, as he documented the ordeal.
"I get stoked to see [different parts of] the world in these films," White said.
The film fest will be presented in Quest's multipurpose room (below the cafeteria) at 7:30 p.m. Doors open at 7 p.m. Although tickets will be sold at the door, White suggests buying them beforehand, noting that the events often sell out. Tickets are on sale for $19. They can be bought at Escape Route (40222 Glenalder Pl.) or online at www.escaperoute.ca.
