The Cleanest Line

On the Road with Solitaire, Episode 2 - In the Cradle of the Cordillera

The second in a series of posts from Nick Waggoner and the crew at Sweetgrass Productions. They're currently hard at work on their third movie, Solitaire. Cleanest Line readers are invited to join them on their journey to produce their most ambitious film to date.The second trailer from the upcoming film, this latest installment focuses on the crew's launch point in June of 2010 at the start of the austral winter. Look for monthly updates here on TCL shortly after they appear on the Sweetgrass website, scheduled for the 21st of each month . - Ed

From the Sweetgrass crew:

This second episode sets the South American stage, in Huaraz, Peru, and explores the emotions of hopping off a jet plane into a world totally unlike your own… and the challenges and rewards involved with attempting to fully experience and capture it. At the end of the day, most things that go into making a ski film like this often have very little to do with skiing. It's important to acknowledge the many flavors and emotions going on behind the scenes that inform our ideas as filmmakers, and that will eventually give life and texture to the final product– even if none of those images ever show up in the film, directly. So, witness June of 2010, the genesis of Solitaire, and take the leap into Huaraz.

On The Road with Solitaire Episode 2: In the Cradle of the Cordillera from Sweetgrass Productions on Vimeo.

On the Road with Solitaire

In the high desert of South America, winter takes hold, devouring bleached bones and abandoned shacks. Into these most inhospitable of lands, a handful of drifters emerge from the whiteout, ready to cast their lot on forsaken peaks both merciless and magnificent. Venturing beyond the frontiers of most mountain films, Solitaire is backcountry riding forged in the tradition of Western cinema. Born in the spires of Argentina’s legendary Las Lenas, a lonely two-year journey begins through an abandoned world, wandering the length of a continent from Peru’s Cordillera Blanca to Chilean Patagonia.

Lost in the winds of snowbound badlands and the blizzards of primordial forests; seen from a horse’s saddle and a paraglider’s wings; ridden on ski and board and telemark...

[Today, we're pleased to bring you the first in a series of posts from Nick Waggoner and the crew at Sweetgrass Productions. They're currently hard at work on their third movie, Solitaire, and have graciously invited Cleanest Line readers to join them on their journey to produce their most ambitious film to date. The story just gets better as it unfolds; hit the jump to keep reading and check the first trailer from the upcoming film. And don't forget to check back: Sweetgrass will be releasing updates on the 21st of each month. - Ed]

Solitaire fuses western-inspired tales of backcountry gambles into landscapes never before visited on film.

Or so goes the elevator speech for our new film Solitaire: fairly romantic, dreamy, concise. But it doesn’t tell the full picture, and neither will the film itself. Because before any polished product meets the light of day, there are a million complications to overcome on the back end, infinite catastrophes exploding on a daily basis that one can only hope to steer in the right direction. South America itself often seems to operate on a similar program, teetering right on the edge of insanity-- more often than not-- but somehow always holding the course.

[All images courtesy Michael Brown and Sweetgrass Productions]

Arne Backstrom Revelstoke Tribute

[Arne Backstrom Revelstoke Tribute. Video: Subaru Freeskiing World Tour.]

The Subaru World Freeskiing Tour put together a nice tribute video for our late friend and ambassador Arne Backstrom. The video was released in conjunction with this week's Revelstoke leg of the World Freeskiing Tour which Arne won last year. Head over to the official website to catch up on the standings and watch the live stream from Canada.

Border Problems – or, What a Man Will Go Through to Film Gerry Lopez

Editor's note: Fitz Cahall joins us today to share another behind-the-scenes story from the making of Tracing the Edge.

Winter was fickle last year. Bryan and I were set to work with surfing legend Gerry Lopez. I’d already spent a day filming with him in Bend. He’d shown me every powder stash available on Mount Bachelor, his local stomping ground. We shredded six inches of light snow. I broke a helmet cam (that’s cool). We aggravated the marketing department (that was cooler). The ski patrol just shrugged off the marketing director’s radio calls (that was the best). Gerry introduced me to every liftie by name. The teenage rippers hucking rodeos asked his opinion on where to go based on the direction of the wind. An old retiree in a one piece stopped to share a joke. One thing was clear, Gerry was king. Mount Bachelor was the kingdom. If a run was great, he’d smile. If a run was littered with moguls, he’d smile and shrug, imparting some tidbit of wisdom. Like:

“At the end every season, I make sure that I buy the patrollers a keg of beer for the end-of-the-year party. They work hard. It’s a way of thanking them … (pause) … and, you know, when they, maybe, find me some place I shouldn’t be, it’s not a big deal.”

[Gerry Lopez, still hucking cliffs in his 60s. Photo: Fitz Cahall and Bryan Smith]

Skiing Alpha's Ivory Shoulder

Days of big powder, multiple laps, burning legs (and full-on treeside safety meetings) will soon be here. 'Til those show up, we're trying to tide ourselves over with a few quick hits here an there to keep the spark lit. Patagonia skiing ambassador JD Hare is kindly helping us out today with a short vid documenting his trip into British Columbia's Tantalus Range to see if the line he's been eyeing on Alpha's prominent shoulder will go.

Skunked or Scored? Summer Ski-Gear Testing in Chile

How do you get to work in morning? Are you stuffed into a sweltering New York subway car? Crammed fender-to-fender along LA’s mind-numbing 405? Either way, our morning commute to work was way more stressful than yours. I promise. We chased the sun across the Inca Lake in Portillo…

Editor's note: Freelance writer Greg Fitzsimmons shares a story today about summer skiing and Patagonia product testing in Chile.

I was tagging along with Patagonia Senior Designer Glen Morden, Patagonia Ski Ambassador Robin McElroy, and a few others. Our room in Hotel Portillo was overflowing with Patagonia gear. The closet was stuffed with brightly colored technical pieces and time in between ski sessions was spent writing field reports (or playing soccer against the Chileans that work in Hotel Portillo’s ski shop). All week we were putting the soft goods through their paces, making sure that the soon-to-be-released ski jackets, pants, and layers were up to snuff. The conditions couldn’t have been better for a day of R&D. The air was bitterly cold in the mornings and it would warm up considerably in the afternoon, simulating mid-winter and spring conditions for the gear.

[Robin M close to the couloir; the conditions not looking as sweet as we thought. Photo: Frank Shine]

Flip Through the New Ridebook 2010 and Get Psyched for Ski Season

Today, I'm stoked to share our latest effort towards digitally evolving the Patagonia catalog -- hopefully you've already seen our Online Surf Catalog and Environmental Initiatives E-Book for 2010. This new little flipbook was designed for the Patagonia Facebook page -- see the Ridebook 2010 tab -- so it's not as functionally robust as the Online Surf Catalog but the content is no less inspiring. Inside you'll find a bunch of great ski and snowboard photos, a powder-filled video by Sweetgrass Productions and clothing recommendations for the upcoming ski season. Something else the Ridebook has over the Surf Catalog is the ability to embed with full functionality on websites and blogs.

We invite you to visit the Patagonia Facebook page and give us a quick Like. We share good stories and links without overloading your news feed, and answer your questions on our wall. Feel free to share the Ridebook with your Facebook network or by embedding it on your blog. And, as always, we appreciate your feedback on these new ventures.

Here's to a snow-filled season. Hope all of you get your fill this year.

Tracing the Edge - Episode 8 with Gerry and Alex Lopez

Whether he's on glassy Indonesian waves or fresh Bachelor powder, 61-year-old Gerry Lopez understands the ins and outs of carving. How did the Pipeline master end up landlocked in Oregons high dessert? It's a family thing.

The next episode of Tracing the Edge revists Colin Haley and will air on September 22. To catch up on the series, visit patagonia.com/tracingtheedge.

[With thanks to Bryan Smith and Fitz Cahall.]

Backcountry Film Festival - Call for Submissions

Time to dust off those great video clips you shot last ski season and polish up your best footage, because the Winter Wildlands Alliance is gearing up for their annual  Backcountry Film Festival and they're seeking your submissions by September 15th. Now in its sixth year, the Festival continues its focus on grassroots filmmakers who tell compelling and entertaining stories of backcountry, nonmotorized recreation and environmental preservation.

When they say "grassroots," they mean it. From the Festival website: "You don't need a degree from a film school. You don't need footage shot while dangling precariously, camera in hand, from an ice wall in the Rockies. All you need is a compelling story, some quality footage and a keen eye for a fun, educational or juicy topic."

This year's categories are:  Best Short Short (under 5 minutes), Best Environmental Message and Best of Festival.

Films entered into the festival should be short - no longer than 30 minutes. In keeping with the Winter Wildlands ethos, these films should share a thought-provoking, interesting story of backcountry, nonmotorized recreation. A strong focus on environmental themes is at the heart of the Festival and the Wildlands mission, so stories focusing on conservation, preservation and stewardship are encouraged. The sponsoring organization being the Winter Wildlands Alliance, aspiring entrants should heed their direction to only enter films that take place during winter, or have a very clear relation to winter. Regarding formats, the Festival warmly welcomes whatever your creativity can conjure - documentaries, fiction, experimental, you name it.

The Film Festival gets noisy in Boise starting November 4 before taking to the road and hitting over 30 locations throughout the nation.

Submissions must be in DVD format, received in Winter Wildlands Alliance's Boise office by September 15, 2010 and include three copies and a $20 submission fee. See festival rules for more information and address to which you may mail your submissions. You may also contact Shelley Pursell at spursell@winterwildlands.org  or 208-343-1630 for further details.

[Photo courtesy Winter Wildlands Alliance/Backcountry Film Festival. Skier, Sam Pope - KGB Productions. Photographer, Tuck Fauntleroy.]

Introducing Tracing the Edge a Ten-Part Video Series featuring Gerry Lopez, Colin Haley & Krissy Moehl

[Tracing the Edge playlist, kick back and watch episodes 1-5. Video: Fitz Cahall & Bryan Smith]

Our friend Fitz Cahall, who you know from The Dirtbag Diaries, and his partner Bryan Smith have created a new 10-part video series, Tracing the Edge, that peers into the lives of three Patagonia ambassadors. You saw the first four episodes in the Tin Shed. Today we're picking up the series with episode five. Read on for some background on the project from Fitz, then watch episode five with Gerry Lopez. You can look forward to a new episode every week from here on out.

Adventures don’t always begin at trailheads. They can start in the most mundane places. Take for instance this dorm room at the Banff Centre for the Arts I’m currently calling home. The bedspread is the most wonderful floral pattern. Just lovely. Canadian reality TV is just as inane as its American counterpart – you lose just as many brain cells watching it, so I don’t. Whenever I’m here, lovely Banff always provides perfect working weather – steady rain.