Ski Porn Smackdown: Instant vs Edge of Never

Charlie Sarragalet (RIP) – 'Instant' by Perfect Moment / Nuit de la Glisse

Yeah, yeah, I know. I’ve been a bit slack lately getting the posts up and the backlog is building. Anyway, in this installment of the Ski Porn Smackdown you’re getting two different vids and they’re both tied to Chamonix. First up is Thierry Donard’s Perfect Moment / Nuit de la Glisse film, Instant.

Now, I’ve always wondered why a filmmaker who lives in Chamonix would travel to the far corners of the earth when the best lines are certainly here. I mean that’s why we live here, right? Well, the epic season of ’08/09 was just too amazing to neglect and Thierry stayed home to shoot local hellmen like Mic Devor, Karsten Gefle, Mike Lamy and Fred Syversen shredding their home turf where they charge hardest.

Now for the benefit of those who live outside the valley I should stop right here and mention that conditions are never like this in Chamonix. In fact most of this film was shot either on bulletproof blue ice with Thierry’s battalion of special FX logging some serious overtime to magically create the untracked, deep powder imagery that appears on the screen. Either that or it was shot in the Arlberg where they have waaaay more powder and much smaller lift queues and complimentary weiss beer served by flirtatious young fräuleins at the bottom of every lift. Man if I wasn’t stuck here in this dump that’s where I’d be for sure.

Anyway, there’s also some amazing base jump, wingsuit, proximity flying, and speed riding courtesy of Chamonix’s resident lunatics Jean-Noël Itzst, Robert Pecnik, Alex Aimard and recently deceased Charlie Sarragallet that is simply not to be missed. The progression of these … erm … leisure activities is mind-blowing.

There’s a free preview in Annecy at the Pop Plage on 30 October at 23:00 and a premiere in Chamonix on 31 October. These nights are not to be missed.

Edge of Never

And our next entry in today’s Ski Porn Smackdown is Edge of Never. “A documentary feature film set in the world of big mountain skiing, The Edge of Never is a real life coming of age saga about the tribe of skiers who challenge the biggest, most dangerous mountains…”

[Cue scary music] … “In the World’s MOST DANGEROUS Mountains. No one rides ALONE.”

Oh my.

Anyway don’t let the spray put you off this vid because it looks like it’s a great story. Extreme skier Trevor Peterson died back in the day while filming in Chamonix leaving behind a wife and a few children. His son Kye grows up and turns out to be what looks like a pretty solid little ripper. He bravely decides to follow in his father’s footsteps and travels to Chamonix. With Glen Plake, Mike Hattrup and others (rare cameo appearance by Nate Wallace!) as his mentors, he prepares to ski the line that killed his father, the Glacier Rond.

Reviews on the net are super positive. There’s evidently a book about the story as well and Steve McQueen gives it two thumbs up. Or was that the conversation about Steve House’s new book? What the heck, read ‘em both and cover all the bases.