Banff’s Final Skijoring Event Is Coming To The Big Screen.

When Katie Burrell clipped into her skis behind a horse on Banff Avenue in January, she had no idea she and her crew were filming the last skijoring event the town would hold.

Burrell, a B.C. filmmaker, comedian and skier, was in Banff shooting a segment for "Days Off," the 77th film from Warren Miller Entertainment. 

Burrell hosts and directs the film, and the concept was hers. Outside, which owns Warren Miller Entertainment, approached her while looking for a new host for the franchise.

She pitched following skiers, snowboarders and other mountain personalities on the days they aren't competing, shooting for sponsors or working.

Burrell said ski and snowboard media has leaned hard into extreme footage, dramatic stories and high-pressure shoots in recent years. She wanted to bring back some of the humour and escapism of the older Warren Miller films.

"We just wanted to create something that was, like, a little easier on the nervous system," Burrell said.

The film's eight segments take viewers from Alaska and Japan to the Alps and several mountain communities across Western Canada and the U.S.

In each one, the athletes decide how to spend the day, with no result to chase and no brand footage to deliver.

Burrell used Canadian snowboarder Craig McMorris as an example. His ideal day off might mean early-morning pickup hockey, some laps in the terrain park, a backcountry jump and drinks on a patio.

"It's still maximizing our time, but it's less stakes," she said.

A day off in Banff

Banff offered its own version of that, with skiing, horses and a street party downtown.

"Banff is just such an iconic town," Burrell said. "So Canadian, so iconic for its position in the park, its history."

The crew first planned to build the segment around athletes competing in skijoring. That changed once Burrell started talking with Skijor Canada founder Sam Mitchell.

"As soon as we started talking to Sam, we were like, 'You're the character. You're the centre of this entire thing,'" Burrell said. "She's the heartbeat of that event."

The roughly 7 1/2-minute segment was filmed over four days in January, starting at Warner Stables at Banff Trail Riders before moving to the Banff Avenue course and eventually a private ranch southwest of Calgary.

Park Distillery Restaurant + Bar also appears in the segment, with Burrell and part of the crew watching the event from its deck above Banff Avenue.

Behind the scenes on Banff Avenue

The cameras caught things spectators on the street didn't see. Operators filmed the course being built, rode along in excavators and sat in on safety and production meetings.

Mitchell talked Burrell into trying skijoring herself. After a practice run, Burrell took part in the public event and found out the horse had another gear once it got near the crowd.

"I completely understood why some of the guys doing the tricks were totally clearing the jumps," she said. "Those horses are moving. It was wild."

When the event was over, Mitchell took Burrell and the crew on a sunset horseback ride at a private ranch.

For Burrell, the ride became Mitchell's own version of a day off after putting on an event for thousands of people.

An accidental record of the final event

In June, Banff and Lake Louise Tourism announced skijoring won't return. A review found bringing the popular event back would require controlled access, ticketing and a major redesign to address issues including traffic.

Burrell said nobody on the crew knew at the time that they were filming the last Banff edition. The news didn't change the narration or the edit, since the segment was always about Mitchell and the skijoring community, not where the event was headed.

The rest of "Days Off" works the same way.

"Sometimes it's about skiing and snowboarding," Burrell said. "But more times it's about getting your friends and family together to just go play outside."

When and where to see the film

"Days Off" will screen in Alberta this fall, with shows scheduled in Lethbridge on Nov. 5, Edmonton on Nov. 7 and Calgary on Dec. 12.

Watch the trailer here.