Deeper In The Alps

Timeline with Xavier de la Rue - Right Place Right Time

It's time for the latest installment of Timeline with Xavier de la Rue. The ballsiest big mountain skier in the game. Enjoy!

Xavier de la Rue - The Man, the Mountaineer, The Legend

Watch out for the drop.

Jacob Sutton's L.E.D. Surfer

Jacob Sutton’s L.E.D. Surfer on Nowness.com. So simple. It's almost too easy. Daft Punk. Snowboarding. Done. Well, I guess not technically Daft Punk. But you can't honestly tell me you saw that dude in the L.E.D. jump suit and you and didn't think of Daft Punk. Fact. Right? Well, this is certainly a visually stunning video. I personally would have liked to have seen Travis Rice hooked up in this suit, but hey, the concept is cool on it's own right. I will also say that I was impressed to see this dude in the woods. I mean I thought it was tame until he hit the glades, that was pretty cool.

Red Bull Supernatural

Red Bull Supernatural 2012 from Lib Tech on Vimeo.

Ice Laboratory - Xavier de la Rue

GoPro HD: Winter X Games 2012 Moments

And this is GoPro's slightly more cinematic highlight reel. Just making everything epic. Can't get much more slow-mo than that.

Winter X Games 2012 - Top Moments

Shaun White Scores A Perfect 100 at the X Games

Early Colorado Snowboarding in 1986

The way it should be.

Powder Alert with Xavier de la Rue

At this point, you should already know that we are big fans of Xavier de la Rue. The guy is going bigger and ballsier than anyone else. He is not just a snowboarder but a true mountaineer. He climbs, repels, camps on gnarly faces. He does it all in search of the perfect piste. And he rides stuff no one else is their right mind would ever consider. Last season, he undertook his own project called Timeline. This year, he continues that project with a series of videos chronicling his season. The final product last year was far more impressive than his video part in the bigger budget film TB20. So we will be anxiously awaiting this year's series. Here is the first of many.

The Future of Snowboarding Competitions

It's pretty clear at this point that when Travis Rice, Brain Farm and Red Bull team up, the end result is epic. They have produced two of the most groundbreaking snowboard films of all time in That's It, That's All and Art of Flight. Now they are taking their show to competitions. On February 3rd through 8th at Baldface Lodge in Nelson, BC, Travis and 17 of the world's best will have their way with the ultimate backcountry park. On TV. I can't wait.

2011 Was Rad - According To Quicksilver

This Is My Winter - Full Length Film

If you haven't heard of Xavier De La Rue, now you have. He is by far the ballsiest and most badass mountaineer in the snowboard world right now. And I say mountaineer because that is what he is. He is descending some of the gnarliest terrain on the planet in ways that the world has never seen. I attended the premiere of TB20 last week in New York and had a chance to see Xavier's part in that film. It's about 5 minutes long. It does him no justice. This film, This is My Winter, which he made about his season and the search for getting his video part shots is far more interesting and thrilling. Give this a watch when you've got a good half an hour to fully appreciate what this guy is doing. It's white knuckle stuff. My hat is off to Xavier and his gang. Great work guys. Keep pushing forward.

The Powsurf Chronicles

This looks like a damn good time. And I have a sneaking suspicion nowhere as easy as they make it look. Bravo. From the director: Grassroots Powdersurfing presents the official teaser for “The Powsurf Chronicles”, an upcoming series of short films about Powdersurfing. No bindings, no handles, no ropes or gimmicks. Simply the purest mix of skateboarding, surfing, and snowboarding on earth. Freeriding has never felt so free.

Killer POV Footage From Alaska

Taken from TGR's One For The Road. Just another day at the office for Sage Cattabriga-Alosa. It's time to put your gnarly boots on and get ready for this season!

People Are Awesome

Seems kind of cheesy. But there's no denying the epicity of this video. Yep, I said epicity.

The Denali Experiment

Yet another awesome film coming out that you should go see. This looks intense. Denali is a beast. I went to Denali when I was 14 and it was by far one of the coolest trips of my life. We spent a week in the park and it's outskirts. One of best memories from that trip for me was taking a prop plane out of Talkeetna, AK. We had a total space cadet for a pilot, but I guess you kind of have to be to be a pilot based out of Talkeetna. He let me grab the stick for a bit and literally fly through the mountains. I was 14. Probably not the safest thing to do. But certainly the coolest. We flew right over and around Denali. It was majestic and completely awe inspiring seeing planes landing on the base camp dropping off hikers and supplies, I knew I had to go back someday. I have not been back yet, but fully plan on it some day before I die. This is lighting the fire.

Solitaire - A Backcountry Skiing, Snowboarding and Telemark Film

SOLITAIRE: A Backcountry Skiing, Snowboarding, and Telemark Film from Sweetgrass Productions on Vimeo.


I apologize for the overwhelming amount of snow related posts lately, but I mean come on! Aspen is opening in a week. Killington is already open and has been since October! Global warming who? I am amped for this season, and if the weather kooks are right, it should be just as, if not more epic than last season with La Nina coming back for round two. Get your gear right.

Solitaire looks visually stunning and like it's definitely worth a watch. A little about the film from the producers:

In the high desert of South America, winter takes hold, devouring bleached bones and abandoned shacks. Into these most inhospitable of lands, a handful of drifters emerge from the whiteout, ready to cast their lot on forsaken peaks both merciless and magnificent. Venturing beyond the frontiers of most mountain films, Solitaire is backcountry skiing forged in the tradition of Western cinema. Born in the spires of Argentina’s legendary Las Lenas, a lonely two-year journey begins through an abandoned world, wandering the length of a continent from Peru’s Cordillera Blanca to Chilean Patagonia.Lost in the winds of snowbound badlands and the blizzards of primordial forests; seen from a horse’s saddle and a paraglider’s wings; ridden on ski and board and telemark...
Solitaire fuses western-inspired tales of backcountry gambles into landscapes never before visited on film.

Shot on location in: Las Lenas, Argentina; Portillo, Chile;
Nevados de Chillan, Chile; Patagonia, Chile; Bariloche, Argentina; Caviahue, Argentina; Huaraz, Peru; Iquitos, Peru; Uyuni, Bolivia; and Sajama, Bolivia.

Warren Miller's "Like There's No Tomorrow" - Review

I am a child of the 80's and 90's. That is to say, I grew up watching Warren Miller films. I remember those winter nights sitting in my basement, watching the latest Warren Miller flick, getting amped up to head north to Stowe or Loon the following morning at 4am. Those were sleepless nights. The adrenaline already pumping as I lay awake, picturing myself in his films, shredding Loon like it was Squaw Valley or Revelstoke. And for more than two decades, Warren Miller films were the gold standard; the measuring stick. He had mastered the art of the story. He had mastered the quirky comedy and epic pow shots with the music to match. He basically created the mold.

This is the most painful post I have ever written. I went to see his latest film "Like There's No Tomorrow" last night and I must say the torch has been passed. I'm not saying Warren needs to hang them up, but the formula is old and outdated. The films are still edited and cut exactly the same way they were in 1987. There has been no progression. It's the same story as it was 20 years ago. And that's not a good thing. The cheese level is high, the forced comedy skits are brutal, and aside from one Tuneyards track, the soundtrack was completely bland and forgettable. So was the footage. There was nothing epic to speak of. My jaw never hit the floor. It was just a collection of slow motion powder turns and some low level kickers. It worked better when Warren narrated the films himself.

The one highlight was the section on Tuckerman's Ravine, the southeast face of Mt. Washington in New Hampshire. A right of passage for any east coast skier. The fact that they devoted 10 minutes to that part of the world was very cool. And they managed to make it look as epic as any piste around. I give them props for that. As an east coaster I can appreciate that.

Anyways, it's pretty clear to see the game has changed with the likes of Travis Rice and Curt Morgan, TGR, Jeremy Jones, Matchstick Productions and any of the progressive filmmakers out there: the torch has been passed. Warren Miller set the standard for decades, but the bar has been raised. We can all tip our hats to Warren for showing these younger guys the way. It is progression. They took what they learned from him and have built on it. It's how we get better. Thanks Warren.