Stoke level rising at 2024 Banff Mountain Festival

Oct 30, 2024

As another ski season crests upon us, the Banff Mountain Festival has served up yet another selection of the best of ski and snowboard film making, worldwide. Whether or not you can travel to ski in Hokkaido, Japan; Revelstoke, BC; East Burke, Vermont; La Grave, France or Antarctica, you can get there virtually.

Seeing those journeys, and the ways they inform the lives of those who undertake them, might inspire your own. You can check out the festival in person, online or on tour for stoke you can't beat (keep reading for more details on how to access the fest below).

Five Banff Mountain Festival snow films to watch

With explorations of personal limitations, ambition, relationships, risk and the purpose of being, here are five flicks from this year's Banff Mountain Festival to challenge you to kickstart, grow and deepen your 2024-25 ski season.

Boundless: A Portrait of Sam Anthamatten

Photo: Frederik Kalbermatten

Sam Anthamatten, in a moment of reflection.

Full throttle, or easing off the gas? Which makes sense for an adrenaline junkie seeking longevity? What's the secret to staying healthy and on skis, while taking risks?

On guiding and being a pro-skier, Sam answers honestly, at 38: "I'm glad I'm still a skier."

It shows in this stomp fest.

2 legs 2 easy

Photo: Tamara Susa

Adaptive athlete Steve Karchevsky, about to shred.

Follow Steve Karchevsky as he pushes adaptive sport beyond preconceived limitations in this short, endearing film. The guy does on one leg what many of us can't do on two, and makes it look good.

Home from home

Photo: Cam Campbell

Yu Sasaki's perspective as he attacks a powder line in "Home from home."

How does our home mountain shape who we are and how we shred? Pro ripper Yu Sasaki explores place while stomping the big lines, all wrapped up in a stylish package that brings Japanese and Canadian ski culture together.

The Meaningless Pursuit of Snow

Photo: Sweetgrass Productions

Behind the scenes with a backcountry skiing couple, homesteading in La Grave, France.

Man, Sweetgrass Productions… #iykyk, amiright? If you don't know: rarely has any ski film producer so powerfully woven narrative complexity and cinematic beauty so elegantly within the genre.

Feeling sendy?

Get the 2-minute weekly newsletter that connects
3k+ readers to winter stoke in Western Canada

Through the eyes of five different characters, The Meaningless Pursuit attempts to answer a deep and abiding, and very individualized question.

Despite its lack of big-name pro skiers or riders, Sweetgrass somehow manages to convey yet again the joy of skiing in a genuine, effusive way.

Of a Lifetime

Victor De La Rue about to load into the boat after having descended an Antarctic mountain face.

Who would you take on your dream ski trip? How do you cultivate deeper connections with your loved ones?

Through the Drake Passage into Antarctica, father and pro snowboarder Xavier De La Rue pursues big lines, engages in brotherly competition with his fellow pro rider and brother Victor, and the biggest challenge of all—inspiring and nurturing his daughter, emerging pro freeskier Mila De La Rue on the cusp of her 18th birthday.

The meditations here on fear, transcendence and relationships are poignant. And that's just a taster of the 90 films in this year's juried film competition.

In its customary pre-season slot, the #nineepicdays of the Banff Mountain Festival is more than just a ski revue, covering nature, culture and four seasons of adventure.

And you don't have to be here to soak it in. You can stream the shows online to stoke your shred ambitions. Or catch the tour when it makes its rounds (details on that below).

But being in Banff pre-season for the premieres is kind of special. The buzz, the vibe is cooking. The makers and the athletes are here. Everyone knows the slopes are soon to open. And the big screens are blowing up with big mountain thrills.