Ski Movies For All

Snowboarding Movies

The new winter brings with it a host of fun snow activities. And it also heralds the time to show the great work filmmakers and producers have been working on. Like ski movies, snowboarding movies tease fans at the start of each season to soak up a “see all you can” smorgasbord of fantastic stunts and amazing talents, and encourage them to get out to the ski resorts featured in the films. Busy planning ski and snowboarding trips?

Alterna’s Alternative – 13 Oclock

As an addition to their movie line ups of bold and daring snowboarding movies, Alterna Films presents “13 O Clock.” To remind you, this is the same action sports filmmaker that produced great works such as; Apples & Oranges, ELektro, Knockout and Hello World to name a few. This latest movie release is equally as promising as previous works. Combining the technicality of filmmaking and featuring the fantastic freestyle of snowboarding, Alterna Films is known for coming up with movies that amaze and leave the audience in wonder and delight.

“13 O Clock” was shot at the most amazing snowboarding locations including China and Iceland. It features a variety of snowboarding talents which include Jesmond Dubeau, Chris Rasman and a ragtag crew of familiar suspects. “13 O Clock” is based on these personalities with their undeniable character, determination and passion for snowboarding which they open up to the fans through this film.

Transworld’s 20 Tricks

While some people enjoy being a bystander witnessing how others conquer the challenging slopes and altitude, other people are simply made for snowboarding. They live for the sports. And that is what Transworld shares in their most recent release, “20 Tricks.” It is divided into several volumes which basically feature and share the best tricks of the trade.

Volume II for instance, takes you to the learning process, featuring the experts of snowboarding themselves. They will show you how things are done step by step. It included tricks like jibs, spinning 900s and some freestyle trickery!

But… word has it that Volume IV is the best yet. It involves an all star cast of world class snowboarders. It also includes new features and footages of premiere competition. Talented snowboarders from the cities to the back country teamed up for this project. It stars Jake Olson-Elm and Darrell Mathes, along with Eero Ettala, Heikki Sorsa and a cast of dozens. And they serve as teachers to the world of snowboarding tricks. They showcase some of the best moves such as jumps, rails, pipes and jibs.

Out of the Sandbox With Day and Age

Another snowboarding movie maker that has made a mark in this filmmaking industry is Sandbox. Featuring a crew and a team of Canadians, Sandbox is one of the respected brands in the industry. Because this team consists of people who have first-hand experience at snowboarding, Sandbox showcases an understanding of the elements involved and present in a way that is entertaining, pleasing and surprising to the audience.
This year, they proudly present another work of art in “Day And Age.” The team of snowboarders includes, amongst others; Scot Brown and Steve Cartwright.

Will the Snowboarding Movies Get You Out on the Slopes? They Should!

It looks like being another thrilling year for snowboarding. This year’s crop of movies are amazing, exhilarating and will have you gagging for the snow. Presenting a world of adventure and mind boggling tricks and stunts; that leave the audience stunned and unable to wait to see what’s next. One thing is for sure, they will be coming back for more… snowboarding movies and the snow!

Technorati Tags: 13 Oclock, 20 Tricks, Alterna, Day and Age, Sandbox, Transworld

My ski movies on the couch are a far cry from what Richard Permin gets up to in this powder and park fest.  This season’s athelete trailers from MSP have been particularly classy.  I think the visual impact has been helped – just a little bit, by the Nina winter that buried the western USA’s mountains deeper than Pompeii after Vesuvius!  One of the things I like about young Mr Permin is that he seems pretty gob smacked that it’s him that’s about to be choppered up the hill to star in a film doing what he obviously loves best of all.

With Europe suffering a serious lack of the white stuff last winter, Richard Permin’s choice to head to the States certainly turned out to be the the right one.  This trailer has him flying across all sorts of  country.  Some of the big wall skiing looked pretty ferocious with huge drop offs into man deep powder.  And these are only the leftovers, in this footage!  The terrain park skiing didn’t really do anything for me personally, however eerie the slow motion interplay of rotors and rotating skier might have been.   What did it for me in this little video was the huge faces that were run.  Look out in the final couple of minutes for the razor’s edge.   Permin took the crest of an incredibly narrow ridge with steep rocky drops either side and somehow managed to keep his skis on top and avoid the  ”a cheval” nutcracker scenario.  It ain’t something I’ll be trying any time soon.

“Attack of La Niña” Athlete Extra – Richard Permin from MSP Films on Vimeo.

Whatever your taste in skiing or boarding movies, this season’s crop of leftover clippings still manages to put to shame (almost) some of those 80′s nonsenses that supposedly told a story.  MSP and their TGR rivals as well as the other video gangs out there last winter have produced an incredible crop of ski movies this year; so buy them, watch them, dream them and then get out and track some snow!

Technorati Tags: athlete trailer, big wall, richard permin, ski movies, skiing, Terrain

Ski Movies can’t ever be a substitute for the real thing, but they sure as hell can get yu psyched for it! The thing about skiing is that it is so exciting to watch that it is a natural candidate for film. Sliding and gliding through the slopes looks so easy and cool. The fact that skiing is thrilling is one of the reasons why people are hooked into the sport. And there is nothing more amazing than to see what you love on the big screen. Ski movies are dreamy in a way that would make you want to go out there, brave through the snow and do your own stunts and tricks. They represent a dream, an inspiration and in this way, they never fail to entertain.

The Grand Bizarre (Official Trailer) from Poor Boyz Productions on Vimeo.

ESPN named Poor Boyz Production of “The Grand Bizarre,” as the “Ski Movie With the Most Unreal Tricks Crammed Into One Film.” And it’s jam packed with eye boggling and gut churning stunts. It is sufficiently amazing you would feel like these skiers are from a different planet. They look like they have powers that defy gravity. It is unreal from start to finish. It features Bobby Brown’s unbelievable triple cork 1440 where he manages to float and spin on air for what seems like forever.
Another ski wonder and the second major segment of the movie present Simon Dumont in his amazing cubed halfpipe. Towards the middle to wrap up, the skiers do not stop at showing thrilling footage of their mind boggling stunts. It also stars Byron Wells, Sean Jordan, Dane Tudor and Sammy Carlson.
“The Grand Bizarre” revolves around a carnival theme which makes it all the more fantastic. You will be at the edge of your seat while watching the movie. And you should not dare miss it.

ESPN named two breakthrough skiers for the Teton Gravity Research’s “One for the Road” which is the latest addition to their amazing movie line up. These two skiers are Todd Ligare and Griffin Post who may have been considerably unknown until this movie. They pleasantly surprise the audience with their outrageous skills. The other skiers present equally riveting performances but these two just nail it.
The fantastic talent showcase coupled with the wild or cutting edge built locations where the movie was shot, as well as TGR’s creative take and cutting edge filmmaking is a recipe for success on the big screen. It is no wonder TGR has been collecting awards for their ski movies. And the audience cannot seem to get enough of what is next to come from Teton Gravity Research.
But that is not all. Another action sports filmmaking movie power house; Matchstick Productions also made a release this fall with their latest, “Attack of La Niña: The Bitch is Back.” To say that the movie is exhilarating is probably an understatement.
As the title itself suggests, the movie presents how the phenomenon La Niña affected the North American slopes – probably the biggest dumps of snow in living memory, I would guess! Such an event forced skiers to search for other locations and steeper slopes. This led to them having stumbled upon some amazing alternative locations for skiing: places that would normally be too thin and sketchy for the big lines and pillow thumping that went on this year.
Speaking of exhilarating, Level 1 Productions’ “After Dark” should be watched out for. It showcases the filmmaker’s interesting take and vision for the world of skiing. The trailer itself is out of this world – leaving the audience wanting more.
In contrast, Sweetgrass Productions’ “Solitaire” takes you on the other side of skiing. It is one with a touch of humanity. The filmmakers attempt to take the audience in a journey and immersion to the Andes’ way of life and skiing as a part of it. Another noteworthy movie along this line up is The Sherpas: “All.I.Can.” that attempts at skiing for environment protection. In which case, they take the fun sport of skiing to another level, one with a cause.
Whatever it is that you like about skiing and ski movies and however you like them, this line up should not be missed. Otherwise, don’t dare call yourself a fan or a ski enthusiast!

Technorati Tags: attack of la nina, Grand Bizarre, Matchstick Productions, one for the road, poor boyz, skiing, Teton Gravity Research, todd ligare

After a supposedly La Nina induced winter, of record snow dumps in the US, the title for MSP’s 2011 thrillfest was a little obvious. Teton Gravity research, however, went a bit off beat with their “One for the Road”! There is plenty of adrenaline fuelled flight, puffed up pillows and some horrendous wipeouts that the athletes can be grateful they walked away from.

Now who can name the skier who took the big wipeout then? as he lucky or what?

Technorati Tags: one for the road, ski movie, Teton Gravity Research, TGR

Japan’s Resorts Surprise the Powderwhores

Japan’s not a place that springs straight to mind when I think of Powder! I tend to be thinking Alaska or the Alps.  But these guys decided to whip themselves off from Switzerland (I think) to Hokkaido where they get a pretty decent dollop of powder, a touch of Japanese culture and plenty of sushi by the seaside.

Hokkaido the northernmost of Japan’s main islands is one of the secret snow locations as it gets dumped on directly by winds straight from Siberia.   There are 5 large ski resorts on Hokkaido: Rusutsu, Niseko Grand Hirafu, Sapporo Teine, Furano and Alpha Resort Tomamu.

Brief Ski Resort reviews for Hokkaido

Rusutsu is one of Japan’s popular resorts all year long.  It’s only an hour and a half  by coach from Chitose International Airport, near Sapporo and an hour from Niseko. If you’re selfish about your un-tracked powder, Rusutsu is the place to be.

Rusutsu’s main advantage over its neighbours on Hokkaido is proximity to the trees and off-piste. You can ski straight from the lifts and into the best tree skiing in Hokkaido and when you run out of tree turns – bang you’re skiing straight back onto the uplift.  On any one day,  you should be able to get more powder turns in  and far more value.

Alpha Resort Tomamu is one of the coldest parts of Hokkaido. It’s not uncommon for daytime temperatures to drop below -20C.  This brings in visitors from  the world over who are attracted to possibly the best snow conditions produced by the ultra cold Siberian air streams that sweep across it.  For those who aren’t part of the skiing snowboarding tribe, there are all kinds of other winter activities in the resort areas around the mountain.

One of the most famous “touristy” attractions is the ice dome village that is put up each winter.  That alone makes the place worth a visit for the non- skiers.

Furano’s mountain has two linked areas, the Furano Zone and the Kitanomine Zone. The resort gets buried each year in around  8 meters of snow- it’s almost Alaskan like last year’s El Nino snowfalls!. Tterrain varies between long groomed twisting wide trails, challenging steeps and open raw powder fields. As you’d expect from Japanese technology, the uplift is fast and efficient.  Furano does get crowded at the weekend, but if you go midweek, you can easily escape the mob.  If it’s the  powder you’ve come for (and why else would you be here?) head across to the Freakozawa area under the immense 3km long Kitanomine Gondola where  excellent un-pisted powder turns and awesome trees for  skiers or boarders awaits you.

Sapporo Teine is wins in some ways because it is the closest hill to Sapporo.  It consists of two linked networks, Highland and Olympia.  Although Teine has the advantages of  proximity to  Sapporo; the ski field is easy to get to; has pretty decent powder for most of the ski season; is affordable due to the joint ticket for the two parts; has excellent floodlit night skiing with superb views over the city; superb off-piste powder right underneath the ropeway and a good beginner’s  area in Olympia; it is hard work to pole yourself  between the two. and the vertical distances aren’t that fantastic.   It is definitely worth a visit though.

Arguably the best ski resort area in Japan, never mind just Hokkaido,  is Niseko.   It’s reputation is due to three main reasons: the weather, its overall size and the quality of the infrastructure. Australian skiers in particular, who can ski here  in their summer, have homed in on Niseko.

Sizewise , there are actually four resorts in one at Niseko.  Niseko Moiwa is the least developed of the four main areas.  Niseko Annapuri is the Cairngorms of Japan and is typically hit by the strongest winds and most unfriendlyweather. The  higher chairlifts tend are often closed when the winds sweep in from Siberia and the Sea of Okhotsk. But, what the weather takes away, the weather gives back: Annapuri has the best snow conditions which can be enjoyed once the staff  decide it’s safe enough to open the course and unleash the hordes on the fresh untracked powder that has just arrived.

If you want the kind of adventure that the guys in the video have enjoyed then Hokkaido is waiting for you!

In the middle can be found Niseko Higashiyama, managed by the Prince Corporation. With a large Prince Hotel located at the bottom of the gondola, the mountain is catered to families and touted as a major ski destination.

To the right is Niseko Hirafu, the most well-known and popular of the three main resorts. Fast and efficient chairs offer excellent access to this large resort that consists of two main subsections – Kokusai and Hanazono. Hanazono itself is being rapidly developed by Australian and other foreign investors into becoming a ski resort to rival Annapuri, Higashiyama and its parent, Hirafu.

Technorati Tags: powder skiing, powderhounds, resort, reviews, skiing, snowboarding