COEUR d'ALENE - For three nights, Coeur d'Alene residents will be able to ride a mountain bike in Scotland, swim across the Indian Ocean, free-climb Patagonia and run trails with one of the world's most promising trail runners.

It's a vicarious experience brought to audiences through the Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour, which will be celebrating its 18th year in Coeur d'Alene with 28 exhilarating, breathtaking and exciting films that will play at the Kroc Center Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. This is the first year the festival will span three days.

"It's very special; it's been a dream of mine to get it up to three nights," said tour host Michael Boge of Sandpoint.

Boge started the program in Sandpoint 19 years ago "just on a whim," he said, and it has become a highly popular, well-attended and many times sold-out event.

"People get excited about the Banff Mountain Film Festival. It's different than watching television or a documentary. It's the outdoors," he said. "There's culture, there's adventure, there's sport."

The films provide an expansive lineup of diverse mountain culture, human interest and travel, with scenes from all over the world. The films range from a journey through an amazing period in the climbing history of Yosemite ("Valley Uprising - The Golden Age") to a Buddhist monk's courageous social experiment to transform the lives of children in the mountains of the Himalayas ("Tashi and the Monk.")

Boge discussed the film "Mending the Line," the tale of a World War II veteran who revisits Normandy with his wife and son to fly fish in the streams he once battled through in 1944.

"70 years later, the guy's 90, he moves around like he's in his mid-60s," Boge said. "He's showing them these streams and where he was during the war. It's an incredibly touching scene."

The Banff Mountain Film Festival, presented by the Banff Centre, is an international film competition featuring some of the best mountain footage on Earth. It began in 1976 and is annually held the first weekend in November in Banff, Alberta, and became more widespread in 1986. The festival can now be found in hundreds of cities worldwide. The films chosen by the hosts are hand-picked, tailoring to the interests of the individual communities.

"The best part of all is I feel it really empowers people because they see people out doing things and they say, 'Why can't I do that?'" Boge said. "That's the most powerful thing, it's for the most part average people doing incredible things. They have a dream and they follow it."

Proceeds from the event in Coeur d'Alene go to support the Kroc Center's third-grade swim program and the Satipo Kids Project, which funds 40 school-age children from Peru to attend elementary school. Boge and his wife and colleagues travel to Peru to encourage the children to perform their best in school and ensure the items they need - shoes, clothing, etc. - are directly delivered to them.

"It's been real fun," Boge said. "We get together and it's kind of a celebration of what we do."

Doors open for the Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour at 5 p.m. each evening with films beginning at 6 p.m. Tickets are $15 in advance and $16 at the door and are available in Coeur d'Alene at Zip's Drive In on Sherman Avenue, Vertical Earth and Camera Corral. Tickets are also available in Hayden at the Two Wheeler Dealer. Any tickets left will be sold at the door the night of the show.

Info: www.banffcentre.ca/mountainfestival

• Banff Mountain Film Festival Film Lineup:

SUNDAY, JAN. 25

"Sculpted in Time: The Wise Man"

Classification: General, no advisory

Film Synopsis: Eddie Hunter is 88 years old and has skied more than 2,500 days during the past 79 years. Follow him as he continues to shred on the hometown mountain where he just can't seem to get enough.

"Sufferfest 2: Desert Alpine"

Radical Reels People's Choice Award at the BMFF sponsored by Deuter

Classification: Parental Guidance, coarse language

Film Synopsis: Cedar Wright and Alex Honnold are back! This time, a month riding their bikes and climbing desert towers in the American Southwest should be a piece of cake for these fast friends. Or will it?

"Touch"

Classification: General, no advisory

Film Synopsis: "Touch" is a colorful and spectacular flying tour of Santorini in Greece, the Aiguille du Midi above Chamonix and the Col du Galibier in France, with a bit of cheekiness added just for fun.

"DRAWN"

Classification: General, coarse language

Film Synopsis: Four years, four cardinal points, four epic adventures - acclaimed climbing artist Jeremy Collins embarks on four journeys, from the Venezuelan Amazon to the China-Mongolian Border, to the northern reaches of Canada and closer to home in the Yosemite Valley.

"Danny MacAskill: The Ridge"

Classification: General, no advisory

Film Synopsis: World-renowned trials rider Danny MacAskill is back! Filmed on the stunning Isle of Skye in Scotland, MacAskill returns to his childhood haunt for a new challenge: riding a mountain bike on the infamous Cuillin Ridge.

"Love in the Tetons"

Classification: General, no advisory

Film Synopsis: A former resident of south-central Los Angeles and a park ranger from a family of Mexican-American migrant workers share their vows in Grand Teton National Park. This is not your average wedding video!

"And Then We Swam"

Best Film - Exploration and Adventure - sponsored by MSR

Classification: Parental Guidance; coarse language, nudity

Film Synopsis: Most adventurers who try to cross the Indian Ocean have some rowing experience. For two blokes from the U.K., that seemed like a minor detail, not a death wish.

"Wild Women" - Faith Dickey

Classification: General, no advisory

Film Synopsis: Smile and laugh along with slack-liner Faith Dickey as she shows us just how fun life on the line can be.

MONDAY, JAN. 26

"Happy Winter"

Classification: Parental Guidance; coarse language

Film Synopsis: Being grateful makes you happier, and there is so much for which to be grateful. Especially if you spend as much time in the mountains as Andreas Fransson did.

"14.c"

Classification: General, no advisory

Film Synopsis: Kai Lightner discovered rock climbing at the age of 6. Now 14, he is pushing the limits of hard climbing and trying to staying focused, all with his single mom on belay.

"Sun Dog"

Classification: General, no advisory

Film Synopsis: What could be better than riding gorgeous lines of untouched snow with your best friend at your side?

"Cerro Torre - A Snowball's Chance in Hell" (special edit)

Full feature film won Best Film - Climbing - sponsored by the Alpine Club of Canada

Classification: Parental Guidance; coarse language, nudity

Film Synopsis: Storms are expected in Patagonia, but the drama that ensued during the big-budget filming of David Lama's quest to free climb the infamous mountain brought a new level of controversy. Challenge, scandal, adventure and transformation on a mountain often said to be the most difficult in the world.

"Caleb"

Classification: General, no advisory

Film Synopsis: Paralyzed in a skiing accident in 2007, Caleb has defied the odds and continued to thrive in his chosen passions. Learning to kayak after his injury, Caleb is positive, inspiring and one epic human!

"Into The Empty Quarter" (special edit)

Classification: General, no advisory

Film Synopsis: Inspired by their hero, Wilfred Thesiger, adventurers Alastair Humphreys and Leon McCarron attempt a trip into the Empty Quarter desert on the Arabian Peninsula. The 1,000-mile journey sometimes puts the cart before the camel, and then, all you can do is laugh along the way.

"The Little Things" - Meghann O'Brien (special edit)

Classification: General, no advisory

Film Synopsis: Six years ago, snowboarder Meghann O'Brien started delving into her First Nations roots. She sold her sled, said goodbye to Whistler-livin', and headed north to learn from her Haida elders the fine art of weaving.

"Mending the Line" (special edit)

People's Choice Award at the BMFF Festival - sponsored by Treksta

Classification: General, no advisory

Film Synopsis: In 1944, 20-year-old Frank Moore landed on the beaches of Normandy. Now, at the age of 90, he returns with his wife and son to heal the wounds of his past by fly-fishing the streams he once helped free.

"Tumwater Solitude"

Classification: General, no advisory

Film Synopsis: With peak flow levels in Washington's Tumwater Canyon, Sam Grafton sets out to kayak massive waves and Class V+ whitewater.

TUESDAY, JAN. 27

"ARCTIC SWELL - Surfing the Ends of the Earth"

Classification: General, no advisory

Film Synopsis: Surfing photographer Chris Burkard loves capturing cold-water surfers. He's prepared to venture to the ends of the Earth to snap that once in a lifetime shot.

"Delta Dawn"

Best Short Mountain Film - sponsored by The North Face

Classification: General, no advisory

Film Synopsis: During an experimental pulse flow in the spring of 2014, filmmaker Pete McBride packed up his stand-up paddleboard and headed to the Colorado River Delta to investigate how we use and abuse Western water - and how restoration is possible.

"Africa Fusion" (special edit)

Classification: General; coarse language, nudity

Film Synopsis: Climbers Alex Honnold (USA) and Hazel Findlay (U.K.) team for a journey into the exotic landscapes of South Africa. Breathtaking scenery and some of the best climbing in the world await.

"Tashi and the Monk"

Best Film - Mountain Culture - sponsored by Helly Hansen

Classification: General, no advisory

Film Synopsis: There's a brave social experiment taking place on a remote mountaintop in the foothills of the Himalaya. A former Buddhist monk is seeking to transform the lives of abandoned children through love and compassion. Tashi is especially vulnerable as she struggles to make friends, and learns that love can help heal even the saddest memories.

"Vasu Sojitra: Out on a Limb"

Classification: General, no advisory

Film Synopsis: Vasu Sojitra lost his right leg to a blood infection at 9 months old, but that doesn't stop him from venturing deep into the backcountry to ski challenging lines - entirely unassisted.

"Valley Uprising - The Golden Age"

Feature film won Grand Prize - sponsored by MEC

Classification: Parental Guidance; coarse language

Film Synopsis: "Valley Uprising - The Golden Age" takes us on a journey through an amazing period in the climbing history of Yosemite, from the counterculture lifestyle to the legendary big wall rivalry of pioneers Royal Robbins and Warren Harding.

"Just Keep Running"

Classification: General, no advisory

Film Synopsis: Ruby Muir is one of the world's most promising young trail runners. Ruby shares her journey of love and loss and the inner struggles which have helped shape her into the running sensation she is today.

"Forgotten Dirt" (special edit)

Classification: General, no advisory

Film Synopsis: A small team of mountain bikers travels to the remote Wakhan Corridor of Afghanistan in search of remote cultures and trails that are thousands of years old.

"Afterglow" (special edit)

Classification: General, no advisory

Film Synopsis: Afterglow turns big mountain skiing on its end, and then turns it upside down again, heading into the night through a wintery glow of trippy technicolor.

Note: Films or programs can be changed by the Banff Centre staff if necessary.