HIGH DEF UNIVERSE

Let's put on some boots, clip on a pair of skis, grab your polls and head down the slopes. This film/documentary style film brings the fast-paced, action-packed world of downhill skiing to life right in your own living room. Warren Miller has been making these films since 1950 and they still bring the excitement and thrill to viewers. This film takes us all around the world starting off in India; then to Squaw Valley, CA; then to Tuckerman Ravine, NH; Norway; Portillo, Chile; Monashees, British Columbia; New Zealand; Salt Lake City, UT; and finally to Cordova, Alaska.

Each stop has professional skiers traveling to these locations and it starts off in Kashmir, India with to female stars: Mel and Lindsey where we first see the countryside (mountains and cities) where there is no snow. Then the ladies are helicoptered up 15,000 feet to places that have never been seen before. This is a very "spiritual destination" to ski. Next we are brought all the way to the United States, to Squaw Valley, California, where people are always bringing new adventures to. The locals love to wake up to ski patrol "bombing" the mountain to get the mountain ready for the skiers. Many locals grew up on this mountain and live to pass the torch onto the next generation skier; it is their home and they take pride in their home.

Now we travel cross-country to beautiful New England to a place called Tuckerman Ravine in New Hampshire. This mountain is much smaller than out west and they have lots of cross-country skiing here as well as downhill skiing. This place has a long history in the skiing world. From a place with a long history to a place that is very new, Hatveit Backyard Jam in Norway. Located 3 and a half hour Northwest of Oslo this location is very different than everything we have seen: this is someone's backyard. Andreas Hatveit built this park in his backyard because he wanted a place to unwind and skip school with the help from his brother, June. Andreas now holds competitions that riders come from all over Europe to compete in. He allows anyone to ride on his hill; his only rule is that you carry your own weight on the mountain.

Next we find ourselves in Portillo, Chile in the Andes Mountains. This place is much different than all the other places in this film, it is found in the Southern Hemisphere. This mountain finds all the great skiers from the Northern Hemisphere during their "off-season" because the Southern Hemisphere's winter season is during the Northern's summer season. Many use this for off-season training grounds as well as places to do photo shoots. Stop six finds us in Monashees, British Columbia, Canada, where they get deep soft snow that the skiers love to plow through on a daily basis. Everyday new snow seems to fall which allows the riders to ride the same lines everyday over and over. They talked about riding through "pillows" which are giant mounds of soft snow the skiers are able to blow right through and they just explode in a cloud of snow.

The last international location is New Zealand, a place where riders can go to get away from the crowds. This location has natural beauty from the mountains that pop out of the ground. The snow is so high up in the mountains that it does not reach all the way to the bottom of the mountain. Winter months the valley floor has a temperature of about 60 degrees and the sheep farmers are herding their sheep across the hills; yet there is plenty of fresh snow in the mountains. Riders must helicopter up the mountain to be able to ride down. Our second to last stop is in Salt Lake City, Utah, where no matter where you are from in the world every skier feels you should ski there at least once. Even the most experienced rider is in awe at how much snow Utah receives and stories are told that makes any rider jealous and want to go.

The final stop we find ourselves in is Cordova, Alaska; this is a mountain that you would have all to yourself, there would not be another person on your mountain. Along with all the stops the film had some extra topics; the first thing that was brought up was this idea of "Board Members" which is the next generation of mountain riders, which instead of riding on skis they are on snowboards. Everyone feels this is where the sport is progressing to. Another aspect of the sport of skiing is a new competition of Bonzai in which the best riders are going up to each other, head-to-head, to see who will make it down the mountain first. 

These riders are at the top of their profession and they make what they do easy. The footage at the end of the film shows the riders have fun off screen and it shows they love what they do and would not want to be doing anything else. The footage of the locations shows some beautiful scenery and has some amazing footage filmed in both the first and third person point of view. This video made me want to strap on a pair of skis and fly down the mountain. This video is a bucket list of a skier's paradise as well as just plain beautiful places to travel.