Steamboat Film Festival: Friday November 21st

I was able to attend the Friday event for the Steamboat Film Festival in town, which featured a variety of films to get people stoked on winter.

I made my way to the film after enjoying a much-needed happy hour in town and caught up with Chad to catch the flicks.

Mike Martin and Tim Widmer
Mike is the man behind the Steamboat Film Festival and runs MMP.
Tim is the man behind Steamboat’s Surefoot.

Liberty Skis were on show in the lobby

Mike Martin introducing the films

Friday’s showing were 3 films: Rage Films’ “Such is Life,” Rocky Mountain Sherpas’ “The Fine Line” and Teton Gravity Research’s “Out There”

The best part about Such is Life was seeing the filming at my old home mountain, Stevens Pass. While the film was a skier flick…it was awesome to see them hucking off a huge booter below Skyline Express.

Other cool things I saw was the skiing and playing basketball. Two sports at the same time….genius
Overall I liked the film, cool effects but also a bit artsy and different. It was a bit long and repetitive though, that was the only downside.
So I had never heard of Rocky Mountain Sherpas’ “The Fine Line” before…and yet it totally won me over. Oh yes and Travis Rice was in it…

Here’s the synopsis of the film: Rocky Mountain Sherpas Inc is proud to announce an alliance with the Canadian Avalanche Foundation, Red Bull, Black Diamond, and Backcountry Access in the quest to make a comprehensive avalanche education DVD package targeted at youth and designed for curriculum integration.

The film really dove into avalanches and the power of them, showcasing footage of skiers and riders getting sucked into avalanches or nearly missing one. These weren’t tiny avalanches, these were huge avalanches being shown.

The film showcased creativity from drawings on paper to bringing them to life. Think A-ha and their music video for “take on me”.
From there it went onto a history lesson but not a plain boring one…this was rad, showcasing how skiing and snowboarding got it’s start and all the different fun factors along the way.
After all the fun and jokes about winter sports past…it was time to go into the serious business, staying safe on the mountain and preparing for avalanches.

One of the most memorable parts was the stories of avalanche survivors as they talk about the avalanche, being buried and being found. One guy was talking about how his legs were behind his head buried in the snow. This is the stuff never really talked about in films…the dangers and fears.

Most films get you stoked on the season and don’t tell you about the dangers of hiking backcountry or out of bounds with friends…this film gives you the honest truth of those dangers.

From seeing a in-bounds line be safe all season to seeing the out of bounds line just beyond it…start to slide.

In the end it’s about being prepared and saving lives

By the end of Rocky Mountain Sherpa’s it was pretty late so I called it a night and headed home so I could be awake early to meet at Breckenridge on Saturday.