From the iconic waters of Maligne Lake to the towering heights of Tsar Mountain, the Canadian Rockies have inspired adventure for centuries. Now, you can experience the timeless wonder like never before with FlyOver’s latest flight ride, Windborne: Call of the Canadian Rockies.
Windborne transports riders over majestic Banff, Jasper and Yoho national parks among other spectacular locales, offering an unprecedented bird’s-eye view of alpine scenery. Along the way, FlyOver’s massive 20-metre spherical screen, flight motion seats, weather-simulating special effects and original musical score immerses you in an exploration of the Canadian Rockies’ most incredible scenery.
Ahead of your Rocky Mountain journey, we’ve collected five fascinating elements that make FlyOver’s latest flight ride unlike any other adventure. Here are five things to know about Windborne: Call of the Canadian Rockies.
While shooting for Windborne began in September 2021, the inspiration behind the film was decades in the making.
Windborne director Dave Mossop of Sherpas Cinema was born and raised in Alberta and grew up with a deep appreciation for the majesty of the mountains. The connection, however, goes deeper than proximity — Mossop’s father, Grant Mossop, was a leading expert in Rockies geology throughout the 1980s and ‘90s. He can be seen during Windborne ’s pre-show through archival 1980s educational film footage. “This whole project is, in a way, a homage to my father,” says Mossop. “He taught me a lot about the mountains and really shared the love for this place.”
“What's really exciting about Windborne is that this was a story like never before,” says Mossop. Three narrative through-lines help guide the experience: a Blackfoot knowledge keeper sharing wisdom of the Rockies, a young person encountering the mountains for the first time and an invitation for each rider to discover their own calling among the peaks.
Collaboration with Indigenous athletes and knowledge keepers, who shared stories and teachings about the Canadian Rockies, was central to Windborne’s creation. Narration by Blackfoot Elder Peter Strikes With A Gun leads guests throughout the experience, and Blackfoot horsemanship, powwow dancing and drumming add further power to the Windborne experience.
Moreso than any other FlyOver film, Windborne puts the spotlight on an extremely specific geographical area — the Canadian Rockies. Those parameters, however, did not limit the landscapes Mossop and his team were able to capture. Snowy peaks and pristine white glaciers transition to alpine meadows and sky-scraping rocky summits as you soar through the skies. No two shots are quite alike as the adventure flows through contrasting seasons and geological marvels.
Windborne captures moments and landscapes that can’t be found anywhere else. Part of the uniqueness, Mossop notes, comes down to the one-of-kind magic of mountain light. “There's a quality of light that happens at dawn that is just so beautiful,” says Mossop. “There's just this simplicity to pure beauty the Canadian Rockies have like no other place in the world.”
Windborne ’s epic, soaring scenes of towering glaciers and glistening lakes deserve an equally grand soundtrack. To make it happen, FlyOver partnered with Calgary-based music and sound house 6 Degrees — who crafted the original FlyOver Canada music — to compose a sweeping score that captures the essence of the Rockies. “6 Degrees know how to score for motion, and how to have the music drive that momentum,” says Mossop.
Led by composers Andrea Wettstein and Alec Harrison, 6 Degrees weaved together classical instrumentation, Indigenous drumming and ‘80s inspired synthesizers to compliment and elevate the FlyOver experience to even greater heights.
Beyond the beautiful vistas and serenity of the alpine air exists another draw of the Canadian Rockies: the challenges the rugged terrain presents. Windborne brings these challenges to life by capturing world-class athletes doing what they do best.
Throughout the film, FlyOver riders get a front-row seat to incredible feats of human ability. In one scene, Sonnie Trotter — one of the world’s most accomplished rock climbers — ascends his route on Mount Louis’ massive, detached flake. In another, ice climber and renowned Red Bull athlete Will Gadd makes his way up the stunning Curtain Call in the Columbia Icefield — a climb Mossop says was completed 27 times to get the shot exactly right. Elsewhere, internationally acclaimed freeskier Christina Lustenberger carves among cascading snow in an adrenaline-inducing sequence.
Throughout the experience, each athlete connects with the landscape in their own way, but a unifying spirit ties it all together: discovering — and answering — the call of the Canadian Rockies.
Experience Windborne: Call of the Canadian Rockies, showing December 1 to May 30 at FlyOver Iceland.
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