The Piste Marker

As much as Seth Morrison is one of the best and longest serving extreme freeskiers out there; we approached The Ordinary Skier with a little scepticism. With so much focus on one person the film could, on paper at least, not just have extreme skiing, but extreme doses of sycophancy contained within. Thankfully it’s not really like that at all. Of course there is an occasional homage from the great and good, but it doesn’t descend into anything more than the respect one of the greats deserves.

One of the keys ways it does this is to take the focus off just being a film about Seth Morrison. It might just be us Europeans (less likely), or it might be because the big studios are based in North America (more likely), but ski films in general are US/Canada-heavy. That’s where the split focus in this film comes in: it’s mainly shot in Chamonix. This means that although Seth is the main star, he’s not always the main draw. Well, at least to us Eurocentrics.

So, this is not a ski film in the mould of the average. Sure, it tells you about Seth Morrison’s life, tangentially touches on the growth of extreme skiing (see Steep for more), and even makes you sympathise for his mother (‘not enough focus on mothers in ski films’ would likely be a comment should this review be written by our mother – an unlikely scenario, we’ll admit). We’re also not going to lie: you have to put up with a lot of the customary pro skier talking heads. However, watching the guys rappel down into a couloir from the Auguille du Midi makes the occasional platitude worthwhile. N.B. the current slightly irritating adverb of choice for skier talking heads is: ‘super’, as in ‘super-awesome’.

The other main reason why this film does not descend into a Morrison love-in is that he comes across as a likeable, grounded guy. We all know pro skiers are slightly loopy (mainly in a good way) so it’s a pleasant surprise to find Seth Morrison to be focused and reserved character, committed to his job and appreciative of what it brings. In fact, what comes across more in this movie than most is the sacrifices that the pros make and their feelings towards those choices. Not that we’re advocating marching for extreme skiers’ rights here (we’ve not much truck with playing for the sympathy vote) but it is satisfying to have it confirmed that all jobs are frustrating in some way.

We realise that we haven’t talked much about the skiing, but we’re not going to in any detail. This film isn’t really about that. It’s not heli-drops, big lines, huge turns and massive jumps but mainly ski mountaineering in Chamonix. Segments that really bring home the dangers of the sport and the level of challenge – much moreso than many films we’ve seen. Be that the extreme slopes and poor snow conditions, or the dangers of glacial crevasses, there’s plenty to go at.  You even get to see JP Auclair sporting a fine moustache at one point.

The Ordinary Skier is clearly a must for Seth Morrison fans hungry for a bit of biographical detail, but its appeal does go much wider. We found ourselves really enjoying this film and regularly dipping into it over the course of this season so far. We suggest you do the same.

It’s with significant anticipation that we finally get round to watching the carbon-neutral All.I.Can., this season’s film from Sherpas Cinema. Will it live up to the hype we’ve seen and read about? Ski films come in many shapes and sizes: smaller, arty story-tellers like Sweetgrass Productions’ Signatures; to the big budget shred-fests from MSP and TGR and all sorts in between.

If you’re a picky ski film watcher, like we are, it’s often a Goldilocks problem in finding a film that is ‘just right’. Too much big mountain and all mountains sections look the same, or perhaps too much park action (and the corollary of too many young jibbers giving us a great view of their boxers) and tricks lose their lustre. What we’re keen to find out is if All.I.Can. really is a step forward in ski film, a new benchmark by which to judge what’s to come after and to re-evaluate what has gone before. Not so much whether it solves the Goldilocks problem, but whether it makes the question irrelevant.

Even without the action shots the film is beautifully shot. Time-lapsed motifs of seasonal changes such as ice floes rising and falling and trees bowing under snow pressure set the individual sequences up perfectly.  The repeated use of reflected images in water droplets and peoples eyes also make the cinematography really stand out. And in terms of the action, it’s all there: hiking, steep couloirs, big wide mountain shots, and a brilliant ‘in town’ section where JP Auclair flips and grinds in the most intricate of places. We occasionally find ourselves skipping through ‘tricks by number’ sections but definitely not in this case.

One of the key strengths of All.I.Can. is the edit timings. From headcam shots of Eric Hjorleifson and Chris Rubens climbing (‘Hoji’ probably has the most Canadian voice of anyone we’ve ever heard by the way!) to Kye Peterson being picked off an avalanche prone slope by a plucky ‘copter pilot; you seem to feel closer to the action than in most films. Each section leaves you wanting that bit more, ensuring that you’re not de-sensitised. Quite often we see a hike and leave a skier perched somewhere to come back to them later on. The best case in point being Callum Pettit in Greenland – about to drop in halfway through the film, and then you just have to wait…

The only (very minor) issue we have with this great film is related to the environment angle. Part of All.i.Can.’s mission is to bring environmental problems to a wider audience and it does this through a variety of means: splicing shots of logging, shipping freight etc. along with a little commentary on the issues from the athletes themselves (notably JP).  We’d add that it’s pretty successful in doing this, and as with the rest of film, it’s artfully shot. It just doesn’t seem to come out quite right somehow: the message that we shouldn’t shy away from the problems; and within that to acknowledge where things need to improve, and be active and creative in doing so is just a little lost.

In answer to the question posed at the beginning - is it ‘just right’ or is the question irrelevant? To a certain extent the question is irrelevant - we never found ourselves contemplating the balance until we started this review, and we can count the amount of times we’ve gone through a ski movie withouta minor moan about balance on one finger. Metacritical questions aside and above everything, All.I.Can. is just a positive celebration of the mountains with a dose of worldly realism that we’d all to do well to take some heed of. From happy smiling guides in Morocco and Chile, the relaxed affability of Mary (powder skiing at age 74) and friends clocking up 100 days a year in BC, to the athletes themselves not resorting to hyperbole at every opportunity (though admittedly occasionally – it is a ski film after all!) it’s a joy to watch.

Trailer below, and you can buy it from the Sherpas direct or through itunes etc.

If you can make it through Light the Wick without contemplating whether or not Sage Cattabriga-Alosa gets annoyed with his hair you’re a better man than we are. It must get seriously wet pretty much all the time.

The start of this review is in complete contrast to the start of Light the Wick, however, with a bone-crunching crash reel kicking things off, and doing an excellent job reminding us that chucking yourself down a 60 degree slope on regular basis is, let’s face it, madness. This film only gets going about a third of the way in, with the sections preceding the Cascades segment feeling jumpy, hanging together only loosely. Perhaps TGR films only really start when Seth Morrison does a backflip, which is essentially the case here. The Cascades segment also shows up some seriously flawed reasoning on the part of Erik Roner, who is reluctant to drop in to a small, but racy couloir but then happily skis off a cliff for a base jump in the next round of shots!

The first Alaska segment is literally a damp squib, and we definitely do not agree with the assertion by one of the voiceovers saying that heliskiing in Valdez et al is now just like going off to any other ski area. Really?! Pettiness aside, the partner segment to this, which is right at the end of the movie is most certainly worth the wait, with almost track perfect lines down picturesque, yet bleak scenery. Sage also manages to not worry about his hair long enough to find a line to savour (we won’t spoil it if you haven’t seen it).

Apart from the obligatory big mountain shots this film also has some great little connecting motifs, with a neat edit from a shot of a bee to a helicopter being a particular highlight. There’s also plenty of powder runs in the trees across many of the locations, and we won’t lie to you when we say we’re a complete sucker for this kind of thing – the small, but perfectly formed Croatia segment being perhaps the pick of the bunch.

Light the Wick also features only one main park sequence, or as we may call it in future, gratuitous shots of kids with their arses hanging out. Not that we have anything against park (far from it), just that it’s hard to appreciate the beauty of a switch 720 with an Iron Cross when all you can see is some grey boxers.

Light the Wick surpasses its traditional rival from MSP (review for The Way I See It coming soon) and showcases most of the things that are good about big(ish) budget ski films, with some strong segments and some commendable context-setting. This is perhaps let down a little by a less than fully gripping opening, but one which the second half more than makes up for. As will become customary we also have to mention the soundtrack, which will undoubtedly be a grower, and has an Apparat track on it, which is always nice.

You can buy Light the Wick from TGR’s web store - here.

This is probably our pick of this season’s films so far, though admittedly we’ve still got a fair few to wade through (ok, we admit it, we’ve only just got our act together to start this site up!). It was filmed in BC on no budget by Nicolas Teichrob and Athan Merrick, well when I say filmed, I actually mean produced, directed, shot, and edited. 

Apart from the action, which features some largely forgotten skiers, and some less well-known newcomers, the main talking point about this movie is the price. Or lack of one. You can pay what you want, direct to the studio, with the rock bottom price being $1.99 (CAD), which you’d hope might mean some people might actually buy it instead of just downloading it for nothing (not that we’d ever condone such behaviour…).

As for the skiing, there’s no park action here, just some great mountain lines.  The lack of budget precludes the big mountain heli-shots you get from TGR and MSP, but what they lack in funds they make up with some lovely editing. Helmet cams are becoming more and more prevalent as the technology upgrades and this film makes full use of this development, interspersing standard panoramic zoom with seamlessly edited action shots. We could pull out loads of examples but will make do with one - Jake Cohn’s front flip (about 25 mins in), which almost had me going head over heels on the sofa. Our other highlight was in the Christian Boucher section with the paraskiing shots interspersed, some great timing, especially on the second run.

Not too much to criticize, the soundtrack isn’t amazing, but has some decent tracks, but that’s probably a function of the lack of funds more than anything else. Overall then, a really enjoyable movie, which shows just enough of what it is like under the surface trying to make a life from skiing. Definitely worth the humble price, and more, if you’re feeling kindhearted.

p.s. They also get respect for including a UK skier in the mix, Ian Watson (good work Cheddar).

You can buy Out of the Shadows here, and there’s a trailer below.