Extreme adventure mountaineers film coming back to Bragg Creek

Outdoor enthusiasts looking to indulge their love of adventure will have the opportunity to be inspired by like-minded explorers from around the world when the Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival (VIMFF) comes back to the Bragg Creek Community Centre on Sept. 14.

It’s a rare chance to spend an evening clinging to a cliff face without risking a broken nail.

The film follows world-class adventurers as they conquer impossible feats, endure heart wrenching losses, or open their hearts to help a cause.

While organizers are still finalizing the list of films their presentation will draw from this year, they promise this year’s feature will inspire, scare, thrill and warm the heart with a lineup hand selected from the VIMFF sharing life altering experiences and cultures from all corners of the globe.

Shaun Peter of Bragg Creek and Kananaskis Outdoor Recreation said the event has become a favourite of outdoor enthusiasts in the hamlet.

He’s working with his team to select the best of the best footage to narrow it all down to about a two hour show.

“It’s a bit of everything and we’re just kind of combing through it and trying to find what’s going to feel the best to our audience,” Peter said.

He said he’s in awe of the elite adventure athletes from all over the world, and how they push the envelope.

“The mental stamina to get out there and do insane things. . . the people are just very, very high calibre athletes doing amazing things up in the mountains, whether it be flying to hike a mountain peak and skiing off of it, or with a paraglider to get up and then ski down, people walking a highline that’s one of the longest in the world or amazing mountain bikes,” he said.

“Last year they had a highline run between two hot air balloons, which is at first for me. I’ve never heard of that happening.”

Peter said humour often goes hand-in-hand with extreme adventure athletes.

“I think you have to have a bit of a twisted mind. So I think that humour kind of follows naturally,” he said.

This is the 12th year for the film coming to Bragg Creek, apart from a couple of years off due to COVID-19.

The full VIMFF 2024, which this presentation draws from, includes more than 70 thought-provoking and action-packed mountain films celebrating climbing, snow sports, biking, the environment and more.

A taste of what types of subjects the VIMFF typically covers includes the following films.

A Bear’s Necessities: One scientist’s decades-long mission to understand the secrets of black bear dens – and how to protect them before it’s too late.

Cross Countries: Featuring some of the most beautiful North American trails. From the roots of mountain biking in the USA, to dense Canadian forests and rock slabs of British Columbia, the best spots are all on show – the steep chutes of Sedona, Squamish Jurassic Five, bike-life in NYC, the Pemberton train gap, slick rock in Moab or a Honolulu ridge line.

Driving Sweep: Few river guides ever get the chance to drive Idaho’s iconic sweep boat. Driving Sweep follows Katie Veteto as she learns how to “drive sweep” down the Middle Fork of the Salmon River. She’s learned the rapids and the river. Now she learns to drive a 4,000 lb sweep down steep rocky rapids.

23.4: Journey with professional skier, Anna Segal, across the valleys, forests, boulder fields and mountain summits of British Columbia, as she explores her affinity with seasonal change, and the role it plays in connecting our modern lifestyle to the natural world.

The ephemeral (fleeting) seasons that punctuate our year come courtesy of the Earth’s elliptical orbit around the sun, and the tilt of its axis—23.4 degrees. This poetically phrased short film explores the transformation of mountain landscapes and how humans are both internally and externally affected by these changes.

Doors open at 6 pm on Sep. 14, show starts at 7. Children are welcome to attend, with parental discretion due to occasional coarse language and mature subject matter. For tickets go to BCKOR.ca.