Hopefully there are ski movies that make a difference, and SWIFT.SILENT.DEEP is absolutely one of them. The story of the legendary Jackson Hole Air Force it so fascinating, inspiring and cool that I found myself watching the film over and over again.

SWIFT.SILENT.DEEP is a great story of brotherhood

Jackson Hole Air Force was a tight-knit, underground group of skiers who pushed the boundaries at Jackson Hole ski resort and redefined the possibilities of what resort skiing means. Back in the early 70s people only skied slopes, but Jackson Hole Air Force members wanted to explore the backcountry and find the freedom and joy or freeskiing. Unfortunately this was illegal in United States, so sometimes they had to break the law in order to initiate the big-mountain ski culture we know today. For example Doug Coombs was arrested and banned from skiing in Jackson Hole. He was welcomed back in early 2000, only few years before he suddenly passed away.

What makes SWIFT.SILENT.DEEP really interesting is the “battle” between Jackson Hole Air Force and ski patrols. While the patrols did their best to keep people inside the boundaries the Jackson Hole Air Force skiers managed to slip to the other side of the rope. The best part of the story is that some patrols actually wanted to ski the backcountry with Jackson Hole Air Force, and one of the patrols was fired because of breaking the law with the renegades.

SWIFT.SILENT.DEEP ski movie opens the history of Jackson Hole Air Force from the beginning to the present including all the highlights and lowlights. It all started in the early 70s when a group of ski bums hang out together and started exploring more challenging ski terrain such as Corbet’s Couloir in Jackson Hole.

During the years Jackson Hole Air Force became well known and respected. If people saw lines in the backcountry they immediately thought “wow! Jackson Hole Air Force guys must have done that”. During 90s and early 2000 extreme skiing became popular and the first World Extreme Skiing Championships were organized in Alaska. Top five places were all taken by Jackson Hole Air Force members. After a while everybody wanted to join the Air Force.

SWIFT.SILENT.DEEP is a ski documentary that has been created from the archival footage of Warren Miller, Roger Brown, Dick Barrymore, TGR, Howard Henderson, Rick Hunt and few others. SWIFT.SILENT.DEEP is not only the best ski documentary on planet Earth but also the greatest story in the ski world. It is absolutely fantastic. Hometown Boys strongly recommend watching SWIFT.SILENT.DEEP!

Buy SWIFT.SILENT.DEEP ski movie from Amazon.

TGR’s RE: Session is a their newest 16mm and HD film, shot on location in Jackson Hole WY, Alagna Italy, Last Frontier Heli-Skiing, Poland, Slovakia, Haines AK, North Cascade Heli-Skiing, Colorado, Stevens Pass WA, Utah, Montana, and Pemberton B.C.

TGR’s RE: Session takes viewers beyond the traditional ski and snowboard movie into a revolutionary realm of action sports entertainment. Shot on both film and RED ONE high definition camera technology, RE: Session documents the true wealth of the mountain experience.

TGR’s films are known for their list of best riders in the world. RE: Session is no different. The all-star roster includes TGR regulars Sage Cattabriga-Alosa, Seth Morrison, Jeremy Jones, Kye Petersen, Ian McIntosh, Dana Flahr, Dylan Hood, Erik Roner, Wiley Miller, and Dash Longe rounded out with the fresh faces of Tanner Hall, Sammy Carlson and Callum Pettit.

So kick back and check out the RE: Session trailer and prepare for the upcoming ski season. Summer is over. It’s time to get ready for some powder action..

If you don’t want to read this review and you just prefer downloading the movie, click this link and download ski movie TEN right away.

First impressions of the Ski movie TEN

I had some doubts concerning ski movie TEN, just because it’s downloadable for free. Many times free movies are not so interesting, because if content is good producers prefer making money by selling it. Naturally there are some exceptions like Solid Powder movie series, but in most cases I have found free ski movies a bit boring.

Ski movie TEN is an exception. It’s not boring at all. Instead it is an interesting ski/snowboard documentary with a number of awesome shots of powder skiing and brutal avalanches. Ski movie TEN includes many interesting comments of pro freeriders and skier as well as photographers and camera men.

The first seconds of ski movie TEN were somehow boring. I thought “this is going to be full of cliches and old tricks, but I was wrong. After the first minute ski movie TEN starts with impressive mountain scenery. It goes straight to heli-ski action and freeriding.

What somehow annoys me is “I think freeriding for me is..“-type of discussion. Yeah, I know this movie is a documentary, but still I find such sentences annoying. Anyhow. The point in the film is that pro skiers and riders as well as camera men discuss about what freeriding mean to them. People like Xavier de le Rue, Jack Shaw,  Geraldine Fasnacht, Guido Perrini and Jancsi Hadik talk about freeriding with their own words. Although my first impression was annoyed, the discussion turned out to be pretty interesting because they talk much about their daily life in the mountains.

Powder, powder and more powder..

What I really like in ski movie TEN is that it is full of awesome powder skiing, incredible freeskiing shots and really impressive avalanches. Although people continue talking in the background, I love watching people riding stunning mountain faces and couloirs. Watching the Falquet brothers skiing the Luisin couloir and jumping 60 feet backflips is simply beautiful.. It really makes me feel like hitting the road immediately to drive down to Chamonix.

There is a lot of nice powder skiing in ski film TEN, but the film also includes few incredible recordings of brutal snow avalanches. People who got buried in an avalanche tell about their experiences and feelings in relation to avalanches and the dangers in the mountains. It’s really interesting to hear and watch these gigantic avalanches rumbling down the mountain face.

Real life stories are touching

Ski movie TEN includes few real life stories of people who got killed or seriously injured in the mountains. Although it is sad to hear these stories, it also reminds us the dangers of the mountains. People might think freeskiers just climb up there and do some fabulous skiing, but they tend to forget that every single run is carefully planned and thought, and that there are easily dozen other people and helicopters around. If something happens, help is near.

I suggest you to download ski movie TEN to watch the stories of Gilles Voirol who got killed and Jean-Yves Michellod who got paralyzed in the mountain. Especially the story of Jean-Yves is really encouraging and amazing. This man really has a ton of motivation to live and get back on skis. Impressive.

Ski movie TEN is really worth of watching

Ski movie TEN is really worth of downloading and watching. Not only because it contains lots of good skiing and interesting discussion, but also because it is totally free. Although ski film TEN costs nothing, you also pay something. 50% of all profits are going to be given to Swiss Parasport which is a charity helping athletes like sit-skier Jean-Yves Michellod. If you prefer having a physical DVD, you can order it for 10 euros.

All in all, ski movie TEN is really cool. 30 minutes full of good stuff. Go and download it now (link above). You won’t be disappointed.

Pictures: Guido Perrini

The freeski movie Roots was released just a few days ago. We watched the trailer and became interested in interviewing the director Lasse Nevantausta who also lives here in Finland. After a couple of emails the interview was confirmed. So who is Lasse Nevantausta, and what is it like being a freeski movie director?

From cross country skiing to alpine skiing and the ski movie industry

Lasse Nevantausta discovered alpine skiing pretty late at the age of 13 years old. Before that he had done only cross-country skiing, but just like many other Finnish kids he finally found himself skiing the slopes.

“I started skiing when I was 13 years old, but I immediately fell in love with the sport. I wanted to take skiing seriously, but after years of jumping and a number of injuries I decided to focus on freeskiing and forget the races“, says Lasse Nevantausta.

Several years went by and Lasse developed as a skier. As he put aside his racing goals, the artistic side of Lasse Nevantausta flourished. At the 2005 SkiExpo fair in Finland, Lasse, Oskari Raitanen, Iisko Heiskanen, Risto Korhonen and few other new school skiers decided to make a ski movie. So far Lasse has directed three freeski movies, and a fourth one is currently on the drawing board. One can see that Lasse is a man of action. Releasing a complete movie once a year requires hard work.

“I have no leisure time in the winter, but in summer time I go mountain biking, swimming and playing frisbeegolf. You know, all that same stuff other kids do with messy hair and muddy knees“.

If you have watched ski movies such as those made by TGR, Poor Boyz Productions and Warren Miller, you might wonder what the driving force behind making these movies is. Where does Lasse Nevantausta’s motivation and enthusiasm come from?

“I don’t really look for motivation, because skiing the mountains is already so motivating and close to my heart. The driving force probably comes from seeing the concrete results and going over my abilities year after year“.

Propaganda by Poor Boyz Productions triggered the director in Lasse Nevantausta

How did it all start?

“I think the first ski movie I saw was Propaganda by Poor Boyz Productions. It contained such mind-blowing imagery that I got interested. Especially I got interested after appearing myself in a few Finnish ski films. I always thought what I would do different. This is a great way to express my viewpoint on skiing“.

Propaganda was a progressive and perhaps revolutionary ski film back in 2001. Propaganda was one of the first Poor Boyz Productions ski movies, but it contained big names such as Jon Olsson, Eric Pollard, CR Johnson and Tanner Hall. Propaganda contains many record-breaking tricks and lots of air. It is no wonder why Propaganda triggered Lasse’s desire to direct his own ski films.

As a ski film director Lasse Nevantausta must have a vision of the future of ski films. We asked Lasse how he sees the future of ski films and where the industry is going.

“I consider the future of ski films bright. We are going more and more towards an Internet-oriented world where people buy and download ski movies from online shops. People will purchase fewer physical DVD’s, and producers will provide more downloadable movies. I have believed in this since I started shooting ski films. The first two movies are completely free, but Roots is the first one for which we charge 5 euros per download“.

Lasse is on the right path. It is obvious that DVD format will disappear one day and digital distribution will dominate the industry. For producers this means that new business models have to be figured out. Not many people spend months filming for free, so it is natural that the film crew aims to make a living out of filming.

“This year our customers get even more value for the 5 euro price. After downloading you can print out the graphics and burn the movie on DVD. This way it looks like a traditional ski DVD“.

That makes sense. Asking 5 euros for a quality freeski DVD is not much, and, what’s best, the customer can get it in couple of minutes! No waiting until the DVD is shipped between continents. Quick delivery is one of the best things in digital distribution.

What do you think about other players in the ski movie industry?

I am a big fan of TGR movies and big mountain skiing, and I dig TGR movies. I wanted to know what Lasse thinks about other players such as TGR and Poor Boyz Productions in the ski movie industry.

“TGR movies are a bit too long and epic for my taste. I prefer more action and fast changes which you can see much in Poor Boyz Productions movies. Unfortunately I’m not familiar with Warren Miller movies, but I would say the very best movie I have seen is Believe by Tanner Hall, although it’s also a bit epic. It is simply so well done, and there are amazing amounts of snow“.

This is exactly what I expected from a director of freeski movies, but how about big mountain skiing?

“Personally I don’t get much kicks from big mountain ski films because I would be dead scared skiing such mountains. I prefer more not-so-serious-skiing, you know. Anyhow, I give a lot of respect to those who ski big mountains. Powder skiing is yet another thing. Once you touch powder, you love it till the end of your life“.

There is the audience for all these types of ski movies. One loves big mountain riding, while another is keen on parks and pipes and so on. This is a matter of taste and personal interest.

We here in the “Hometown Boyz Headquarters” know many professional photographers. Many of them are fashion or art photographers as well. Shooting only ski pictures is not enough to make a living. We wanted to know what Lasse anticipates from his future, and what his biggest challenges as a ski movie director will be.

“Well, I would like to become a respected director who wouldn’t always need to describe the whole background story. You know, describing who I am, what I do, etc. When skiers come to talk to me, then I know it’s going in the right direction. Of course I would also like to make better films than ever before and develop with filming and editing“.

I hope you will make it one day. We Finnish skiers would be damn proud of having a widely known and respected ski movie director coming from our home country.

Being a ski film director must be pretty interesting work, or should I say lifestyle? As a director you go skiing with pro skiers dozens of days every year. You travel a lot and explore new places to ski. It must be fascinating, or what do you think Lasse?

“Naming the single best thing in this lifestyle is not easy. I love making new friends, travelling, finding filming spots, finding good music, seeing skiers giving their best. They all form great memories. Anyhow, naming the single worst thing is easy, and it’s finding royalty-free music. We spend hundreds of hours finding music every year“.

Roots freeski movie – The first real Finnish ski movie

Roots freeski movie was released just few days ago. I watched the trailer and got really interested. It looks like a “big world” ski movie with good riders, lots of air, very nice camera work and angles, and damn good music. Lasse, why people should see Roots freeski movie?

“Roots freeski movie is the first quality ski movie made in Finland. Riders and tricks are world-class, and it’s no longer Finns riding in Finland, but international riders riding in various European ski resorts. There are big drops, huge backcountry jumps and beautiful landscapes. We’ve got riders like Andi Ambühl (Armada Europe team rider), Patrick Hollaus (Line Europe team riders), Roy Kittler (Dynastar and Nike team rider), and many other interesting and skillful riders“.

Man, that sounds good! It’s absolutely great to see Finns producing a world-class ski movie . Lasse, could you describe some of the highlights of Roots freeski movie?

“Well, there are many of them, but for example the huge drops of Klaus Finne and Christoffer Gjerden are pretty cool. Also the Switch Double Rodeo (double backflip) and huge backcountry frontflip done by Matti Räty are awesome. It’s also cool to see the unbelievable style of AJ Kemppainen as well as the awesome rail skills of Oskari Raitanen“.

As I have already seen your movie, I must say Finne’s and Gjerden’s drops were absolutely cool. As a big mountain riding fanboy, I really liked Räty’s backcountry frontflip. Anyhow, there are loads of great moments in Roots freeski movie. I strongly recommend watching it.

Shooting a freeski movie like Roots must be a helluva big job. Lasse, how much time did you spend working with the film and how big a team did you have working with you?

“Filming took four months for two men to complete, but in addition to that I spent two months filming rails in Finland. Editing and other “homework” was done by five persons. Two people took care of marketing and two took care of graphics, while I was responsible for editing and music“.

It’s a bit surprising to me that there are so many people working on the movie. I expected Root freeski movie to be more like a one-man show. Anyhow, I can see that making Roots ski movie was not a quick, easy job. In fact it sounds like running a small start-up company with a number of challenges and evolving market situations. What were the biggest challenges in making Roots freeski movie?

“The biggest challenge was keeping the group together. There are already so many people related to the project that it takes lots of effort to lead and guide the group. Another big challenge was to help people find their ways to filming locations. Also finding new filming locations was not that easy either“.

Sounds like you might have had a headache sometimes. Running a project like Roots ski movie must be challenging, but rewarding. I can imagine how good it feels to finally release the movie. Now you can kick back and enjoy the well-earned break. Knowing creative people like you, Lasse, I believe you won’t take too long a break, because you have the desire to start creating your next, even better ski movie. Anyhow, it’s great to do something you really love.

Lasse, it has been interesting to discuss about skiing with you. Before ending this interview, I would like to ask you a different question. What would you do if you were broke and you had no legs?

“Well.. about a year ago I broke my hip. I spent three months walking with crutches and I wasn’t able to work. Basically I was broke, although I had enough money to enjoy beer and sunlight. Naturally I spent my days thinking about my next project and what would happen in a few months… So, something really interesting finally happened. You can read more at www.skimovieroots.com!“

Thanks Lasse! It was great talking with you. I wish you all the best and lots of success with your Roots freeski movie project. See you soon on the slopes!

Please note that you can read more about Roots freeski movie project in www.skimovieroots.com. Downloading the whole movie with DVD graphics costs only 5 euros!

Last February we posted about the new European Freeskiing Movie Project by filmmaker Lasse Nevantausta. The working name for the flick was “Phoenix”, which has changed to the Roots Freeskiing Movie. The trailer of the movie is out, so enjoy.

The Scrapbook Project

To be honest Lasse’s effort was not bad at all but I enjoyed watching this trailer even more. I guess you can still see the difference; Finnish new schoolers are pretty damn good but our boarders are among the world’s best. The difference is probably not big but still clearly noticeable. Scrapbook’s production company, HDP Films, also has much more experience under their belts than Lasse’s young team which shows in the end result for sure.

Here is a quote from Scapbook.fi site to tell you what this is all about:

“Northern Scrapbook is a new snowboard documentary from Finland. The movie is going to be different from standard interview-based documentaries and traditional snowboard movies. In addition to snowboarding we capture what is happening behind the scenes, and in making of a snowboarding movie. We also show what is it like to be a professional snowboarder, with all the ups and downs, not just the final tricks that end up in the film.

The movie presents the pros and the talented up-coming stars of Finnish snowboarding scene. We will take you on a journey to show where the Finnish pros are coming from.

Movie begins in fall and ends in summer showing all of the four seasons in Finland. Genuine Lapland culture and lifestyle are going to have their own place in this production. Besides Lapland we have chosen other exotic filming locations around the world.”

Well, Idea was something different. And it has raised a lot of discussion around ski community. A good thing for sure. It is really good someone to really shake up the “given” norms from time to time (examples: the first “hot doggers”, Plake & co, snowboarders in the 80′s, Jeremy Nobis’ first time on the fat skis in AK, the first new schoolers etc.).

Then, there are time likes Sunday mornings. You just want it like it always was and how it should be. Seven Sunny Days is just like that. It is straight ski porn the way you like it -the quick fix, gets the job done etc.

The format is pretty obvious already. Matchstick Productions makes pretty damn good ski movies. Ok, they might not be art. But you sure want to go skiing after watching them. Skiing too fast, too big, too recklessly…

There’s the Shane McConkey James Bond imitation, the ski base segment, the best jibbers on huge obstacles, the helicopter filming on Whistler booter session (almost like an institution already on MSP films), the new breed of the do-it-all skiers like Eric Hjorleifsson and Mark Abma, the most interesting new-comers like Colby West and James Heim, the trendy (but not too experimental) music etc.

So, you really get what you expect. The list of skiers on MSP is pretty impressive and the filming just oozes professionalism through the whole flick. And that’s maybe the only complaint – some “edge” here and there might make the film even better, perhaps?

Skiing wise, hard to complain because the stunts and lines are just mindblowing. This is a matter of taste too though…IMHO Idea and Tanner Hall’s Believe were fresh because they were showing some of the more “normal” skiing too.

But for its intended purpose Seven Sunny Days is a sure winner…again, if you want to get some kicks to go skiing, buy this movie! (btw. you can buy it from our online shop too).

Oh, and I almost forget! MSP also dropped Seth Morrison a couple of years ago (or vice versa). That is one permanent loss for their films for sure. But I guess you just can’t have it all at once?

From the all-star team of MSP skiers to my I eye the most interesting was Mark Abma. It has been nice to see his development through the MSP films in latest years, from a jibber to a real allrounder. My racer friend pondered that the guy must have some mogul background, meaning he might not have the racer like use of the hips in the turns but on the other hand very smooth and neutral looking more “straight” stance. The same guy analyzed that today’s skis and skiing style allow that kind of style, and that actually it is pretty good looking and very effective. I couldn’t said it better. Abma is smooth and his airs in the gnarly terrain something very few have the balls and skills to do.

Billy Poole was filming with a crew when the accident happened. Billy jumped off a cliff and hit rocks while landing. He was taken to hospital in extremely critical condition about 12:30 p.m. A hospital spokesman confirmed he died at 1:30 p.m.

Billy Poole’s accident happened in the backcountry between Brighton and Solitude Ski resorts from where Poole was taken to hospital by helicopter. Poole was the first person to jump over the telephone wires at Cardiff Pass.

As you see in the video below, Billy Poole took skiing to the far extreme. (The video is not related to the tragedy). Billy knew the risks, but now the sad thing happened. Extreme skiing can be dangerous and risky, even though top skiers practice years and are well prepared. Death is part of this sport. Many top extreme skiers, such as Doug Coombs and Trevor Petersen, have died in the mountains. Now also Billy Poole.

Image source: BigLines.Com

What I really like in War ski movie are those huuuuge jumps and big mountain skiing in Alaska. See Seth Morrison and other dudes riding steep powder fields in big mountains, making backflips and huge jumps with high speed. Avalanche-triggering big mountain lines and backcountry skiing forms the best part of this DVD for old farts like me.

Poor Boyz Productions has done good work also before. Check out Janne’s review of the Idea ski film from Poor Boyz Productions. I also recommend you another great ski movie from Poor Boyz Productions, Yeah Dude.

War ski movie is available in Amazon.

Poor Boyz have done good work also before. Check out Janne’s review of the Idea ski film. I also recommend you another cool ski movie, Ski Porn!