Intro
To put it lightly, it’s been a busy past few months here at Blister while finishing up our 20/21 Buyer’s Guide and prepping for a whole lot of testing this season. But that’s also coincided with a metaphorical tidal wave of amazing videos, so we’re back with our “What We’re Watching” series, with a batch of awesome videos that have me extremely excited to get back on snow.
There are also several standouts that haven’t yet been released to the public or aren’t currently available, including Strictly’s incredible new film, Bermuda, the all-women film, Skivas, and several others that we hope to be posting in the coming weeks and months.
And for even more ways to procrastinate / get excited about getting outside, see all of our previous video roundups.
Dylan Siggers & Jake Strassman — Intent
I’ve mentioned many times how much I like Dylan Sigger’s style, and when he teams up with Jake Strassman, it’s basically guaranteed that they’re going to make a fantastic edit. Their new one, Intent, does not disappoint in the slightest. Dylan looks as effortless as ever and Jake’s filming and editing are super clean, making for a great combination.
Kye Peterson & Dendrite Studios — Numinous
Numinous is one of the best big-mountain skiing films I’ve ever seen, and I think one of the best ever made. It isn’t technically new, but it did just get added to Amazon so you can now rent, buy, or view it for free if you’re a Prime member. If you haven’t seen it, set some time aside and give it your full attention, because it is truly incredible. In a time when we’re seeing wild videos of skiers hitting huge lines all the time, Numinous still manages to blow my mind every time I watch it.
Salomon TV x Mali Noyes x Lani Bruntz — The WURL
The latest episode of the 2020 Salomon TV series follows Mali Noyes and Lani Bruntz as they attempt the “WURL,” which stands for “Wasatch Ultimate Ridge Linkup” and consists of a 58km circumnavigation of Little Cottonwood Canyon in Utah.
It’s a route that had previously only been done in the summer (Mali recently set the 2nd-fastest women’s time last summer), but the duo set out to be the first to do it in the winter. This episode does a great job of giving an inside look at what this sort of expedition consists of, and the chemistry of Mali & Lani (who is a bit of a local legend around Crested Butte and who we had the pleasure of skiing with via Eleven Experience / Irwin Guides) makes it a great watch.
Our founder recently recorded a conversation with Maili & Lani to discuss this episode, so stay tuned for that on our Blister Podcast next Monday.
Benshi Creative — Dollar Short
Benshi’s “Before Tomorrow” series was one of my favorites from the past few years, and their new short film is as good as I would expect. Dollar Short features Jake Hopfinger and Parkin Costain proving again why they deserve to be in the conversation with some of the best backcountry skiers out there today.
Lucas Wachs & Matchstick Productions — Huck Yeah! Full Segment
I’m really psyched that Lucas Wachs is getting the recognition he deserves, cause he’s really, really good at skiing. His segment from MSP’s Huck Yeah! film showcases exactly that, and once you’re done watching this clip, you should definitely go buy the full film if you haven’t already seen it.
Faction Skis — SAAS FEE
This is one of the best park edits I’ve seen in the past several years. For me, the highlight is Antti Ollila and Daniel Hanka’s timeless style, but then it’s also got young up-and-comers throwing done absurdly technical tricks, including a never-been-done for the closer.
Blister Speaker Series 3.1: Cody Townsend
So, we’re not actually watching this one, cause we were there. But just in case you missed it, I figured I’d throw in Cody Townsend’s Speaker Series conversation from a couple weeks ago in Gunnison, because it’s really interesting. Among other things, Cody covers why his education has been so beneficial to his career; social media and the new responsibilities of athletes today; starting & growing a business (Arcade Belts); The Fifty Project and all of the behind-the-scenes work; and more.
Nikolai Schirmer — The Corona Diaries Pt. 2
I’m a big fan of Nikolai Schirmer’s video series because (1) he climbs and skis (really fast) down some awesome lines and (2) he does a good job of showing more of the behind-the-scenes things that go into being able to actually get up and down those lines. His whole YouTube channel is worth looking into, but one of the recent highlights for me was this episode.
Level 1, Parker White, & More — Nothing
This is the first year in two decades where Level 1 isn’t releasing a full-length film, but their project with Parker White, Nothing, is a very, very nice consolation prize. Separated into three parts — snowsurfing, snowboarding, & skiing — Nothing shows (1) how fun riding on snow can be no matter what’s strapped (or not strapped) to your feet, and (2) just how annoyingly talented Parker is at just about everything. One of my favorites this year.
Tanner Hall — Eternal
I think Tanner is the only person on the Freeride World Tour who also filmed an urban part during the same season. Eternal features some wild spots in Denver and Breck, but then also takes us to the backcountry where Tanner continues to prove that he is in no way slowing down. Impressive cameos from Cody Wilder Ray and Pat Goodnough just add to the fun.
Legs of Steel — Action Men
Ski films and edits can start to feel relatively homogeneous and sometimes even boring, due to the fact that they’re all generally showing the same thing: skiing.
So I always get excited when folks try to take a different approach, and Legs of Steel’s short film, Action Men, is definitely different. It cuts between some very goofy clay-mation interviews of Markus Eder, Paddy Graham, Ahmet Dadali, Finn Bilous, Tom Ritsch, and Fabio Studer, and then them actually skiing. And if you know these guys, you know that the skiing is top class.
Sander Hadley & Jake Doan — Going for Broke
Sander and Jake are two of my favorite skiers to watch since they tend to ski very fast, go very big, and throw a wide assortment of tricks with classic style. Going for Broke is their collab, 19/20 season edit, and it even features a soundtrack by Jake himself (and cover art from Blister reviewer, Cy Whitling).
LORE — Halcyon Days
The word that kept coming to mind while watching LORE’s Halcyon Days was “pleasant.” From the filming to the editing to the soundtrack to the actual skiing, Halcyon Days is just really nice to watch. The 26-minute film will be most appealing to folks who like seeing stylish park skiing, but I think it still offers a lot to like for people who aren’t all that interested in watching people flip and spin. And with a crew including Joona Kangas, Kai Mahler, Eirik Moberg, Jacob Hyllengren Larsson, Anttu Oikkonen, Lukas Schlickenrieder, Lucas Mangold, Torge Nagel, Daniel Hanka, Tobias Huber, Miika Virkki, Aleksi Laitinen, and more, the skiing does not disappoint whatsoever.
Henrik Harlaut — Salute Trailer
We only have a trailer for now, but I’m including it because Henrik Harlaut’s new film is probably the one I’m most excited about this year. From everyone I’ve talked to who has seen it, I’ve been told it is incredible.
Intent is an unbelievably cool looking movie. Love the editing and filming.