Riding Giants - are you paying attention TGR?

[Twoplanker]

If you haven't seen it, then for god's sake go see it. Fucking fantastic.

TGR, if you're not currently planning to make a documentary about the history of big mountain skiing, then you're missing out on a great opportunity to bring attention to the sport and your other films. Seriously. If nothing else, just hire Stacy Peralta and just hand over the footage to him.

[Woodsy]

If you haven't seen it, then for god's sake go see it. Fucking fantastic.

TGR, if you're not currently planning to make a documentary about the history of big mountain skiing, then you're missing out on a great opportunity to bring attention to the sport and your other films. Seriously. If nothing else, just hire Stacy Peralta and just hand over the footage to him.

2p.
check out the Kent K video Reverence, it lays a good start.

I think some one should make a Doug Coombs retrospective, it would be exactly what you are looking for as he is the man in AK it seems.
but one sarting with the early pioneers here and in Europe up to today would be cool

[Twoplanker]

2p.
check out the Kent K video Reverence, it lays a good start.

I think some one should make a Doug Coombs retrospective, it would be exactly what you are looking for as he is the man in AK it seems.
but one sarting with the early pioneers here and in Europe up to today would be cool

That's exactly what I am thinking. A full retrospective done intelligently but with style. Hire Peralta to do it. Whatever it would cost TGR to make such a film would easily be made in additional ski-porno film sales alone.

[kailas]

The term 'Big Mt. skiing' is just a Madison ave. marketing term
invented to sell city slickers ski equip.

[Twoplanker]

The term 'Big Mt. skiing' is just a Madison ave. marketing term
invented to sell city slickers ski equip.

You're joking, right? There are big mountains and they have been furiously skied. Call it what you want, someone should document its history.

[Dr. Gaper]

In comparison, Dogtown and Z-boys was a good flick on the history of skateboarding. It's wierd how they actually made you interested in the story of a bunch of young Californian dirtbags.

[The Suit]

Hire Peralta to do it. Whatever it would cost TGR to make such a film would easily be made in additional ski-porno film sales alone.

It would be nice if that were true, but I don't think it's even close. Hopefully a big mountain skiing history is in TGR's future. It's bigger leap of faith than you might guess to take on a project like that.

[Buzzworthy]

If you haven't seen it, then for god's sake go see it. Fucking fantastic.

We just got that blockbuster deal to be able to rent tons of movies for the month, for Erica. I try to get that every time I am in and it is always out.

Im jonesing to see it. Gotta go back today, maybe today is my lucky day!

[Twoplanker]

It would be nice if that were true, but I don't think it's even close. Hopefully a big mountain skiing history is in TGR's future. It's bigger leap of faith than you might guess to take on a project like that.

Giants in on the shelves at Blockbuster, showing at Sundance, aking headlines. That's some pretty serious exposure.

[Trackhead]

What is the definition of "Big Mountain Skiing"?

Like skiing Shishipangma or Cho Oyu?

[Trackhead]

Is this a Big Mountain?

[Twoplanker]

What is the definition of "Big Mountain Skiing"?

Like skiing Shishipangma or Cho Oyu?

Call it something else if you like. The subject is the history of sk alpinism - not in bounds, not park skiing, etc.

I was thinking more like the history of ski alpinism in the Alps, the Chugach and other ranges in Alaska. Big mountains. You know, like this:

[Twoplanker]

Is this a Big Mountain?

Yes, they look big to me. If you're skiing with supplemental oxygen, it's big. I want to hear these stories, documentary style.

[Trackhead]

To me, Alpinism does not include helicopters. It includes ice axe's and crampons.

There are several low budget ski flicks out about real ski mountaineering. A good one on Shishipangma, etc. I've got a decent one that includes a nice descent of a 20k peak in Peru, etc. Filmed by climbers and skiers, not rotors.

The skiers in the mainstream films are hyper talented!! Imagine if they took their skills to the Himalaya.

[Trackhead]

I was thinking more like the history of ski alpinism in the Alps, the Chugach and other ranges in Alaska. Big mountains. You know, like this:

The history of ski alpinism in the Alps goes WAAAYYYYY back. That would be very cool to see. Those folks have been tearing it up for a long time.

[kailas]

A history of Ski Alpinism, now that's a term I can live with. I'm so
tired of all the bro-bra terms out there these days, everybody wants to
be a rock star.

[Crinkle]

history of big mountain skiing would be a VERY tough venture. Think of all the footage that is out there. Ok now think of who OWNS all the footage out there....lots of people, right? Now ask all those people to borrow thier footage for a film that you are going to put out under the name TGR. Not going to happen. The only way you would to do it with private footage and pics and story telling by those that were involved, otherwise there are too many copyrights involved.

[Karl Stall]

It would be quite an endeavor, and it would require securing the rights to a considerable amount of media, but it could be done.

Just thinking of the Valdez segment is pretty cool: it would, I suppose, start with the Exxon Valdez oil spill, when a number of skiers (I think Coombs was there to help clean up - could be wrong) were stunned by the magnitude of the terrain, and towards the latter days of the clean-up procured an air-taxi lift onto some peaks. You could interview Cozad, Brewer, Lisa Wax, on-and-on-and-on (I'd like to interview the photog that was on Dimond Peak when the thing ripped class five and he went 3500 feet in like 15 seconds), and really build the story behind the skiing.

The problem is that a film like that would require a lot of writing and additional creativity and research that the mainline ski porn of today does not possess - it's easier to put rock stars on epic terrain, in epic conditions, mix it with some kickin' tunes, and oila! ski movie.

Anyway, it would be a cool project.

[Woodsy]

see rieing Giant's take on big waves, that will answr a lot of the "big mountain " questions.
Europe is the start of course, then you would have to tick off big western US decents then the expansion out across the world, with a focus on Alaska much like Hawaii gets a focus in Riding Giants.
Again I think Reverence hit me in the similarity to Riding Giants the "first wave" of guys on the North Shore seemed very similar to the "first wave" of guys in AK.
as did the commercialization and hyper tourism hat followed.
maybe its just me.

[Shredgar]

Riding Giants is a great movie. The movie spoke to me. I feel like I'm riding giants when skiing the backcountry. Now I really want to learn to surf. It will happen.

Watching the movie strongly reminded me of the Wasatch backcountry ski scene. Even some of the characters; wra ~ Greg Noll. Laird Hamilton & tow in surfing at Jaws ~ Andrew Mclean & kite skiing at Baffin Island.

Lou Dawson has done the research & wrote the book on the history of ski mountaineering in North America. His "Wild Snow" is a great read:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...060460-2720905

That would be a good starting point.

FYI AK ski mountaineering was going on long before the first heliskiers.

[Pura Vida]

Sketch... makes me pucker sitting here

[Karl Stall]

FYI AK ski mountaineering was going on long before the first heliskiers.

Obviously. I think that it's imporatant to include ski mountaineering's contribution, but that would be a whole other film. The VDZ heli-scene was like the tow-in scene in Maui, and would have similar segment in film, like Woodsy said.

[snorkeldeep]

trackhead makes a good point, and i think thats what it sounds like you're getting after 2p. history of "big mountain" skiing really is more a history of alpinism and the use of skis in the mountains first as a means to an end, and more recently as a singular pursuit. how about early pioneers in the alps, the history of guiding as a profession (IFMGA etc. ), and how its now spread into popular culture and splintered off of a segment of the normal ski demographic (cue coombs et al. then helicopters, tgr, crazy huckfests and straightlines in the chugach etc. ). think about the decision making process when you watch ski porn - would you attempt that line when you know its only you and your partner and you dont have an a-star waiting in the wings to whisk you to safety when you compound fracture your tib/fib and cant move? think how much kreitlers injury last year sucked, but how much more like touching the void (for example) it could have been without the support structure.

[SLCMunchie]

yes! someone definitely needs to get on this project.
first,
dogtown and z boys- great movie, great era, very very colorful characters. over the years i have had a chance to meet wentzle ruml, steve olsen, mofo, and dave hackett (altough only wentzle was the only true z boy). they definitely have a character that is different from ski culture. very crazy very desperate people that add good characteristics to a movie about being radical.
riding giants- good movie. i like how he went back to the roots of hawaii in the 50's. it added a lot of creditability. "roots" would be a hard subject to tackle with big mountain skiing, mostly because it includes alpinism which dates back centuries. who do you credit and discredit? who were the leaders and who was just doing it? i would imaging riding giants left out a lot of riders, but generally i think they hit the nail on the head with the pioneers.

it would be interesting to tackle the different aspects of big mountain riding liek big wave surfing. you have the motor junkies (helicopters and waverunners) and you have the soul people (paddlers and hikers/alpinists). neither are particularly bad or exclusive, but both have distinct aspects that tend to exclude each other.

it would be way radical to see a movie about this though. get all the alaska peaks in there, much like todos santos, mavericks, and cortes banks. get the characters to lament in front of the camera like coombs, krietler, and whomever else. however, in ski porn it seems that the "front" factor is always high. that means blowin up your shit to seem that much more hardcore. riding giants seemed to lack that, except in the case of the 50's hawaii riders. they were really doing some crazy shit! loose the additude for a big mountain riding documentary. is there any old footage of people skiing big mountains?

TGR- get on it!

[Jiehkevarri]

is there any old footage of people skiing big mountains?

I believe French TV did a quite big budget documentary about Vallencant, Boivin and Saudan (or Saudain?) skiing their legendary first descents in the late 70´s/early 80's.

Can anyone confirm this? Or have any other information...?