When Was The Last Time You Skied In The Dark? We bet it wasn’t like this.
So far, this year’s pre-snow-season has seen at least two new dazzling ski movies hit the screens. First, we couldn’t help but notice Warren Miller’s 65th ski movie, No Turning Back, which we reviewed here and concluded it was the best yet. That movie is working its way around the country, showing in schools, colleges, theatres and even ski lodges. Click here for show times and locations near you.
Now, we have Afterglow, a short but incredible visual feast featuring night skiing in light suits over dramatic Alaskan wilderness terrain. Think about that for a second. Night skiing. Light suits. Alaskan wilderness. Think of the logistics. And you have troubles getting your grandkids booted up for the day.
This is a creative cinematic experience that goes into places we guarantee you’ve never seen before. Big time ski pros Pep Fujas, Eric Hjorleifson, Daron Rahives, and Chris Benchetler take slo-mo runs down night-time chutes and powder pillows with dramatic big lights capturing the flying snow. The best part is when they wear LED-light suits and head down into the darkness. The effect is otherworldly and quite beautiful. We had instant flashbacks to our college skiing nights at Song Mountain in Tully, NY, where the dark skies and arc lighting made us lose our sense of space and proportion. This movie brought those impressions back, leaving us wondering where, when and if we should try that sort of skiing again.
The film is presented by lighting manufacturer Phillips, Atomic and produced by Sweetgrass Productions, a far-edge filmmaker which is out to “capture the indescribable”. You can watch this one online; it’s just about 10 minutes. We bet you will be forwarding it to your skiing buddies.
All of this visual spaghetti adds to the building psyche-up for the coming season, a season which has already started in some places in Colorado and Maine.
