PowHo's Review: Flakes (Permier 2nite @ Brewvies)

**lemon boy** · 09-30-2009, 08:42 AM

Heh, I went and checked back at my old reviews to see if I’m going to have to really turn the hyperbolic and rhetorical amp to 11 to out amp last year’s review, and the year’s before and the answer sadly appears to be…yes. Damn. So instead I’m gonna walk back a little before we walk forward…

See, I always love the PWs movies. What’s not to love really, they’re all great guys and gals that really love telemarking (okay, so they’re not so bright perhaps) and every year they send us this little missive from some sort of mutant self powered pow universe where almost every day is a bluebee overhead blower pow day. And so by virtue of who they are and what they do, what they ski: I’m gonna love the product. It’s a line thrown from some better universe, not the universe of paid ski pros with spancered heli junkets and a huge production budget. More like a universe where it snows all the time, everyone is infected with a genuine good cheer and you really can dedicate yourself to skiing all the time and you really can be damn good at it as well.

And it’s also a universe where everything gets better year by year in little increments and occasionally in big leaps. I’ve run them down before; the cinematographic advances, the skiing (and skis) and the pow to skiing ratio etc… So it should come as no surprise that this year is has that quality too. The images, shots and exposures really are the next level. I find it amazing that these are the same people filming as the epileptics in charge of the camera for the first flick. Probably the time for a H/T to trackhead’s heli here as well, there is some great stuff coming off that little rig but I won’t be happy until they figure out getting a good followcam shot worked out for that rig, I have a perfectly formed vision of a shot zooming down wolvie cirque desperately trying to keep up with someone. And I had advance warning that the shots from SA were going to be in a word “epic” but still. Also, hail mary full of grace: no oddball editing!

As for the skiing, while I’d like to see a little more gnarly billy goat, it is undeniable that the state of telemarking is good and that rockered skis have fundamentally changed the sport for the good. Brick by brick, year by year we’re getting there… Where? I don’t know, someplace fun.

Somewhat amazingly, it also turns out that last year when I told Noah & Jonah that occasional showers and deodorant usage would probably go a long way toward getting some ladies to go skiing with them…well let’s say that I hit upon a solution to a long bedeviling problem and they actually got to ski with a bunch of ladies that rip. No joke, really.

As for the pow, do I even need to mention it? I guess. Let’s just say that by my unofficial count they filmed 6ish days of comparable blowertude to the fire stair scene from the first (?) year. And a couple three were pure-d blue bird. When a six and a half foot tall dude on giant rockered skis gets totally whiteroomed on every single turn, you know it’s deep. I even captured some photographic proof for those doubters. (see below).

All in all, yet another sweet, sweet siren song from the life you wish you had: two big ass skis up.

Now for some really crappy screen captures of some powtastic powaction:

**hop** · 09-30-2009, 08:51 AM

I eagerly await this movie.

**lemon boy** · 09-30-2009, 09:30 AM

you back from haggis land yet?

**Onward** · 09-30-2009, 12:46 PM

Can't wait for the dvd to arrive here in scandi land!

**hoarhey** · 09-30-2009, 05:20 PM

Originally Posted by lemon boy

And I had advance warning that the shots from SA were going to be in a word “epic” but still.

Is this the Fitzroy area footie?

**Trackhead** · 09-30-2009, 09:29 PM

After watching the vid:

1. The Butler Fork segment always delivers. I loved the glide cam, and something about the aspens always make it look artsy. The music was great in this segment too.

2. That 19 year old kid from AK rips!

3. It's nice to see a huge line being skied that goes on forever, and then see a skin track next to the slayage. Puts it in perspective vs. the heli films.

4. Jason West is a ripper, and we need to see more of him. His daughter's segment was pretty hilarious.

5. I think the P-ho's ski more perfect snow than 99% of the population.

Nice work guys.

**ski_adk** · 09-30-2009, 11:33 PM

I really liked the movie tonight. Great pow shots and scenery. I liked the balance between the "ripping the gnar" shots and deep faceshots. TH...I think I could tell which scenes were yours and wow, nice stuff. The panning shots were really cool.

**lemon boy** · 10-01-2009, 07:31 AM

Originally Posted by whorehey

Is this the Fitzroy area footie?

Yes

Originally Posted by Trackhead

After watching the vid:

1. The Butler Fork segment always delivers. I loved the glide cam, and something about the aspens always make it look artsy. The music was great in this segment too.

2. That 19 year old kid from AK rips!

3. It's nice to see a huge line being skied that goes on forever, and then see a skin track next to the slayage. Puts it in perspective vs. the heli films.

4. Jason West is a ripper, and we need to see more of him. His daughter's segment was pretty hilarious.

5. I think the P-ho's ski more perfect snow than 99% of the population.

Nice work guys.

Indeed, as for the glide cam was that using one of your gimbal deals? And yes, jake (19yo) kills hard I was amazed.

**skifishbum** · 10-01-2009, 08:06 AM

kick ass flick
Trackhead summed it up pretty well.
My fave was the night time over the head blower segment.

**Trackhead** · 10-01-2009, 08:07 AM

Originally Posted by lemon boy

Indeed, as for the glide cam was that using one of your gimbal deals? And yes, jake (19yo) kills hard I was amazed.

No, it was a mechanical contraption that Rosenberg made.

**Alexander1310** · 10-01-2009, 08:13 AM

So I had a good time last night. I had to go to the 7pm show and it ended up being the geriatric showing; it was so damn quiet and I felt damn young with compared to those around me.

1. This years film was definitely artsy and showed a lot more than just ripping it up. I think the PW06 had the best "ripping" factor out of all the vids so far.

2. Jason's segment was killer and hopefully he's brought in more. Surprised they didn't get him dropping his 70 to 100 footers I hear of him doing.

3. Chris Erickson is definitely my new favorite rider to watch. His POV footage was AWESOME!!!! The shot/line with his speed was definitely TGR quality.

4. The camera work was definitely progressive from previous movies, not just PW movies.

5. The AK kid definitely is a ripper.