Crisp air and the changing of the leaves – that’s how you know Fall is upon us and Winter isn’t far behind. It was the perfect backdrop to stoke the fire of excitement for the upcoming winter. So, how do you get energized for the season when there isn’t snow on the ground yet? By going to a ski movie premiere of course!
First premiere of the season
The first one of the season for Tahoe was the Level 1 Productions’ movie called Pleasure, hosted at the Moment Ski factory. Driving through a quiet warehouse district in Sparks, NV, each side of the street was lined with parked cars, all with the same idea as us. Unsure of where EXACTLY the film was showing, we followed the sound of music and voices – drawing us in like the Pied Piper. Wandering through the warehouses, we spotted flashing lights, caught a delicious whiff of the Nom Eats food truck, and heard the Moment Ski Co. flags flapping in the breeze. With two storms already sprinkling a bit of snow on our Tahoe peaks, the excitement of Winter could be seen and felt with the crowd that showed up for this event. The place was packed with every age group from little tikes to older cats. The energy was electric so we found a spot to park our chairs and were ready to go.
Red Bull® in a shoe and Eating a Raw Onion – A Skier’s dream date or what?
As with all good ski movie premieres, you need to have some sort of contest to bring out the wild in the crowd. Someone definitely deserves credit for using their creative juices and coming up with a couple awesome challenges. The first one didn’t sound too crazy until the final part – First, run across the warehouse yard, wrestle your competitor for a Red Bull®, run back across the yard to the stage (pretty normal so far), then take off your shoe and fill it with your Red Bull®…and then drink it! But don’t stop there… any good date needs food and drink so why would the second contest be anything other than eating a delicious raw onion as quickly as possible. Yummy! The faces and voices expressed by each person attempting to eat their onion were priceless. And those that did both contests – Ladies watch out! Those guys know how to take you out – a Red Bull®, an onion and a Ski Movie – what more could you want? As the free swag started launching into the crowd, everyone was ready for some movie clips.
Warm up the Crowd with some Moment Pro Flicks
Before Level 1’s main feature, Moment got a chance to show off a few of their team’s season edits which included:
Tyler Curle
His part was fun because it mainly consisted of shots from the Tahoe area. Instead of the typical street/big mountain segments, his started out with some steep technical tree lines followed by hitting every classic feature from the Palisades at Squaw to Chamois at Kirkwood. His segment was fun to watch for sure.
Cody LaPlante
Cody’s footage was fantastically put together. It felt like he was slowly ratcheting up the amps in his part. Starting out with smooth clean tricks, progressing into bigger and more technical tricks, and ending with some massive spins off huge jumps in Mammoth, it was jaw dropping!
Casey Hakansson
Last but not least, we got an opportunity to see the founder of Moment Ski’s part from the film Butter, circa 1998! From the beginning, you could tell he goes for it. From every flip, spin, and jump, he pushed the envelope on what was possible. It was a cool glimpse into the past and showed how hard-charging the founder truly was and is.
Seeking out the spices in Life
From there it was onto the main show. Immediately as the film begins, I’m impressed that the film isn’t of the normal “snow-porn” variety. A woman’s voice begins to explain what Pleasure is and how it relates to skiing like a documentary. She articulates that the goal as skiers is to seek the spices of life. As the first segment opens you’re treated with mind-blowing technical rail wizadry that has never been seen before – and that’s hard to do. From attacking a rail that makes four 90-degree turns to an S-rail with at least five or more curves, the pros looked like they were riding see-saws and bending like noodles.
Filled with creativity the likes I haven’t seen in years
We were then transported into the backcountry of the Powder Highway BC. A place filled with thick forests, lots of snow, and most importantly hearty skiers, they hit the trademarked Kootenay pillows and heavily pitched forests, each line uniquely chosen. Instead of ski poles, Sami Ortlieb wields a walking stick like an oar and skis down the slopes as if he was kayaking! The crew continues their search for Pleasure not just hitting the traditional spots or times of the year. Exploring areas and locals of the world less traveled like Gulmarg in Northern India to time in Japan in the Spring rather than mid-Winter – what a refreshing take on the sport. The Gulmarg segment was shocking to see what their idea of “avalanche control” is inbounds. It was also fun to see the locals going for it on the kicker they built risking life and limb for a bit of bragging rights to their friends – something I know each one of us has done when we started out (and if you disagree with that, you’re nose is growing Pinocchio.)
Pushing the Boundaries… in a different way
Does this film have the steepest most technical big country lines you’ve ever seen? No. Is it filled with 2800 spins or jumps with a 500 foot gap? No. Are they pushing the boundaries on what we consider normal in the sport of skiing? Absolutely! In fact, it injects energy and creativity that both skiing AND snowboarding are lacking in this day and age. It isn’t always about powder. It’s about having fun even if the snow isn’t perfect. It’s about the friendships you make. Personally, I hope this revolution of film making catches on and we see more videos like this.
Dinner and a movie – my kind of night!!