BY KAREN BOSSICK

You wouldn’t normally include the word “kayaking” in the same sentence as Alaska’s Denali.

But that’s what you’ll find in the film “Wild Days,” which follows four friends from the Savoie region of France who embark on a grueling wintertime 50-day journey involving skiing, climbing and Alaska’s Denali massif.

This story won the 2024 Best Film on Snow Sports during the Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival in November. And it will be among 21 films being shown Jan. 31-Feb. 2 in Sun Valley during the Banff Centre Mountain Film Festival World Tour. The films start at 7 p.m. each night at the Sun Valley Opera House.

“109 Below” traces how the attempted rescue on Mount Washington, N.H., in 1982 changed not only the course of two climbers’ lives but also the lives of the rescuers who attempted to save them and the future of prosthetics. COURTESY: Cam Riley of Stept Studios/Banff Film Festival

Tickets are $25 in advance, available at at https://www.showpass.com/banff-centre-mountain-film-festival-world-tour-2/. They’re $30 at the door. This year, for the first time, ticket purchasers have the opportunity to save by buying a three-day festival pass.

In addition to “Wild Days,” this year’s slate of films include “Welcome to the Pit,” which focuses on a father who builds Yellowknife, Canada’s first rope tow so that his children and others can ski and snowboard.

“The Bird in My Backyard,” the Best Short Film in 2024, revolves around a window salesman-turned-hummingbird expert. And “Keep It Burning” follows a multi-generational family tackling Nameless Tower, a towering wall of rock in the Karakoram Mountain Range of Asia.

One short film even purports to show you how to sled “Idaho style” in the Swiss Alps.

“The Bird in My Backyard” tells the story of a window salesman who created a living laboratory to investigate hummingbird behavior in his garden on Canada’s West Coast. COURTESY: Ryan Wilkes/Banff Film Festival

This is the 26th year that Sandpoint’s Michael Boge has brought the film festival to Ketchum and Sun Valley. Early on, he fought to show two and three nights of films, compared with the one night other areas get.

A portion of the proceeds have always gone to a local nonprofit, and this year they will go to the Rota-Rippers afterschool program at Rotarun Ski area three miles west of Hailey. The tuition-free learn-to-ski-and-snowboard program serves 250 five- to 11-year-olds this year, according to Scotty McGrew, executive director of the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation.

The Banff Centre Mountain Film Festival World tour reaches more than 550,000 audience members through 1,100 screenings in 500 locations in 40 countries each year. Some year the films are even shown in Antarctica.

THE LINEUP:

“River Mamma” depicts how nature can help a mother and daughter reconnect. COURTESY: Sarah Hamilton/Banff Film Festival

FRIDAY, Jan. 31

THE STREIF--Fabio Wibmer is back on snow!  This time “crashing” the preparations for the most legendary ski race in the world: the Streif.

RIVER MAMMA—River Mamma follows Elisha McArthur, a lifelong raft guide and single mom with her relationship with her teenage goth daughter, Charlotte, who has zero interest in rivers or the river culture of which she grew up in.

109 BELOW  (2024 BEST FILM – MOUNTAIN SPORTS)--109 Below tells a tale of resilience and grit when elite rescue volunteers go out of their way to save the lives of strangers.

“Wild Days” follows four friends on a grueling overland journey in Alaska’s Denali massif, a large block of granite that includes Denali—the highest peak in North America, as well as Mount Foraker and Mount Hunter. COURTESY: Wild Days/Banff Film Festival

KEEP IT BURNING--The Karakoram is the wildest mountain range in the world and Nameless Tower beckons to climbers who approach.  Edu Marin, his brother Alex and father Novato attempt the second free ascent of Eternal Flame 33 years after the first ascent by Wolfgang Gullich and Kurt Albert, and 13 years after Alex and Thomas Huber’s first free ascent.

WELCOME TO THE PIT--In 2011, Steve Matthews had a bright idea.  With his kids completely hooked on snowboarding, he rallied a few friends and set out to build Yellowknife’s first and only rope tow.

DOLOMITES--Mountain biking free solo and more…Kilian Bron and his team take you on a thrilling and history rich adventure, riding the steepest trails of the Dolomites.

UNDAMMED--After witnessing a massive fish kill on her ancestral home waters, Yurok tribal attorney Amy Bowers Cordalis dedicated her life to reversing the generations-long destruction wrought by the Klamath River dams.  “Undammed” follows her journey to free the Klamath, from testifying before Congress to passing down fishing traditions within her young family.

SATURDAY, Feb. 1

HOME FROM HOME--Take a glimpse into the lives and hearts of some of the best Japanese freeride skiers in the world.  “Home from Home” explores the intersection between Japanese athletes and the natural world.

WOLF OF WINGSUIT--The beautiful and towering mountains of Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland, are a paradise for BASE jumpers and wingsuit professionals seeking thrills during the off-season.  Avalon, an American wingsuit pilot, and a Filipino-Australian documentary filmmaker unit set out to capture Avalon’s audacious quest to leap from the mountainside as many times as humanly possible.

CANYON CHORUS--Set against the backdrop of Desolation Canyon, Utah, Mikah Meyer, a world-record traveler and his friends reflect on their stories and the power of mentorship.

DROPPING MOLLY--Follow Molly Mitchell’s roller coaster journey to climb Crank It, one of Colorado’s most dangerous routes.  After breaking her back on the climb, Molly must face her rocky mental health and embark on a journey of therapy, self-discovery and growth.

ELIOT JACKSON-DROP THE MIC--Eliot Jackson has sneaky superpowers.  He is on the of the most badass riders to ever scrub-whip a mountain bike.

THE BIRD IN MY BACKYARD (2024 BEST SHORT FILM)--Follow Eric Pittman, a window salesman turned hummingbird expert, as he documents the secret lives of the hummingbirds that nest in his urban backyard.

WILD DAYS (TOUR EDIT) (2024 BEST FILM – SNOW SPORTS)--Four friends from Savoie have a crazy idea: 50 days of self-sufficiency in Alaska’s Denali massif.  Wild Days takes us overland on a grueling journey to a place where time drifts, spirits wander off, and where friendships are created and then tested by; commitment.

SUNDAY, Feb. 2

ANYTIME – SWITZERLAND (TOUR EDIT)--Set in the Lenzerheide Bike Park, this segment will highlight the fact that good times are at the core of it all.  Leave your preconceptions behind and join the revolutions as these women prove they’re not just riding – they’re reigning.

JAMROCK: THE BIRTH OF JAMAICAN ROCK CLIMBING--Kai Lightner, a 12-time national U.S. climbing champion, embarks on a transformative mission into the heart of Jamaica’s emerging climbing community, where passion and determination thrive despite limited resources and recognition.

OF A LIFETIME—“Of a Lifetime” chronicles the renowned De Le Rue family’s journey as Xavier, Victor and 18 year old Mila sail across the Drake Passage to ride the unimaginably steep icy line of the white continent.

THE SMOKE THAT THUNDERS (2024 CREATIVE EXCELLENCE AWARD)--Aiming to paddle the fabled Minus rapids at the base of Victoria Falls on the Zambezi river, Ben Marr’s biggest challenge is to access them by trekking upstream.  A total assault on the senses awaits as the force of the river speaks for itself.

THE LAST OBSERVERS (2024 SPECIAL JURY MENTION)--For decades, every third hour around the clock, every day of the year, Karin Persson and Lennart Karlsson have gone outside to observe and record the weather.  At one of the last manual weather stations on the planet, there are no days off.

REEL ROCK: JIRISHANCA--Renowned alpinists Josh Wharton and Vince Anderson attempt a free ascent of the Jirishanca, an epic 6000-metre peak in the Peruvian Andes.  The duo will have to tackle 5.13 face climbing, horizontal ice roofs, technical mixed terrain, and treacherous snow mushrooms as they reconcile the inherent risk of climbing with their love of alpine adventure.

SLIDING—A female athlete skips the crowded ski slopes to traverse the Swiss Alps on her sled…Idaho style, headfirst.