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[quote="rughty"]
That's the kind of argument I'd expect to hear from a hippy who drives an old gas guzzler to the trailhead, then hikes because he's saving the earth!

[quote="chrishamiI haven't seen any other Sweetgrass films but I agree about Solitaire, where is the riding?

...it still felt like a college film student project.[/quote]

Totally Agreed! I unfortunately paid cash $$$ to go to the premiere, and was thinking the whole time, where is the riding? And the voice over was super cheesy.

The worst was, they'd have a great line of a skiier ripping down a chute, and then cut to another shot before he's halfway down. ????? They did this over and over.

I felt like I was taking crazy pills!

Good cinematography, but otherwise one of the worst ski films I've seen. And I did like their Japenese one...

Pros are required by their contracts to appear in anything 'promotional' using their sponsor's gear. Theoretically this is why they are sponsored...

I don't feel too bad for those guys tho, as they are getting paid to get flown around the world, endorsing a (usually substandard) product...

I guess my vision for my own backcountry experience is more Solitaire than Further...

Well personally I thought Deeper had a more cohesive story than Further. You got the feeling of the progression of the project through the film's editing. You got the feeling of being out remote and trapped in a storm on a 21 day trip - as the viewer you were worn out when the team was worn, and picked up when the riding was going down.

With Further, they got a lot of rad faces done, but they just blew through the last bit so quickly that I felt it more about banging out lines and less about the project as a whole. I did love the Norway stuff for its uniqueness, but seeing that slab go down, and then not seeing anything in the final edit about ReO or Jimmy Chin ...

Am I the only person who is left feeling uninformed and questioning about the project's objectives and attitude about safety? I can count four near-fatal instances deep in the BC as part of the Further project. Shit happens, I get it. But it's almost completely ignored in the editing and construction of the film, whereas it was discussed and represented significantly more in Deeper.

Of course, for Solitaire, someone actually DID lose a life. Arne Backstrom died on the first day of filming. But to be fair, Solitaire and Signatures aren't films about lines or objectives. They are films about a sense of place.



As someone who struggles to creatively tell mountain stories through images, I take partial offense to "college film student project." The level of creativity, thought, and quality that these guys have delivered is truly incredible. They're not trying to create more of what is already out there from other outfits. Waggoner and crew are blending literature, culture, music, visual composition, and riding in their films: it's a really hard thing to do well.

If you want sick riding, go watch TB5 and TB6.
If you want sick riding in the middle of nowhere, watch Deeper and Further.
If you want pure human powered adventure, watch Greg Hill's videos on his youtube page.

If you want to know what it feels like to be and harmonize ski and board movements in a place like the Andes, watch Solitaire. It's like what Shelter did for surf films, and then taken to a whole other level.

I can tell you that when I first saw Solitaire in a theater, I wasn't sure what to think. And then I watched the DVD on my HDTV and with my quality sound system, and the thing works like magic.

Nice look on it Schralp.

My dream movie would be a homegrown, Sweetgrass type flick filmed entirely in the Southern Sierra with the likes of local riders. Off the top of my head: Dan Mingori, grangero, J Morrison (yes I want skiers too), Tom Burt, Zellars, J Jones. Something visually stunning featuring lots of granite faces in alpenglow with big steep lines and multi day adventures.

YUP

But then it would have been called "Closer".

I'm really not missing the point. I was sayin for cinematography sake, and my truck/carpoolin gets better gas milage than yours Fuster

And BTW...JJ did use snow machines to get out for one of the segments...Just sayin

I keep sayin ths same thing about the cascades...

Id actually like to see something like that from every region. Local dudes showcasing prime terrain.

But yeah. I liked further.

I would have to ask anyone critical of this movie " did you smoke crack within 12 hours of your post?" just asking. This movie was off the hook amazing. That said my #2 movie of all time would be 'signatures" then maybe "art of flight" right behind this and signatures. I'm speechless. I loved the japan section you could tell the first day after the wind storm was a wind buff type snow, sticky, super hard to ride, upside down. One night of clear skies sucked the water out of the surface snow making day two set-up, right side up and perfect for shredding. Something most riders don't get ( I wouldn't have put myself on that slope after that wind storm). These guys make funky snow conditions look so easy to ride. I love there honesty, if you don't question every decision you make in the mountains then you probably shouldn't be there. I loved the stoke, I ride solo but anyone I've spent a day in the mountains with is immediately a best friend of mine.

Well, that depends on how much veg oil I have on hand. I also have 1200' vert in my front yard, no driving required.

I do kinda like BG's idea, maybe someone is motivated enough to put together an SB.com season long film with some local gnar shredding. There can even be a bonus chapter featuring some splitbooting.

Terje's andrect on the snow mound in the credits made me happy.