Darting and gliding like swallows, revelling in the spray of the dove-white surf, it’s hard to believe there is a more soothing sport to watch. Taste and enjoy every flake of snow, the disturbed powder titillating the senses, all accompanied by a soundtrack of recognisable songs.
999 Ideas, 72 Days, 39 Riders, One World: A Film by Burton.
Snowboarders of the elite congregated in one film. Danny Davis, Red Gerard, Anna Gasser, Mark McMorris, Maria Thomson, Ethan Deiss, Max Zebe. A near-50 minute ode to one of the most exhilarating, freeing, and aesthetically-alluring sports on the planet. These athletes soar. Negotiating armies of trees in endless virgin territory. The landscape is their lifeline. The interaction with the environment, as natural as the soft snowfall. So familiar, so interactive with alien, ethereal, seemingly untouched surfaces.
In the space of less than an hour you are transported across some of the most sublime vistas and snowscapes in North America, as well as pure grunge never looking so good. Near vertical angles of most beautiful Alaska, British Columbia. And then to the Twin Cities, taking on inner-city rails and the seductive sound of the scrape. Taking advantage of Snowmageddon in Newfoundland as the weather manipulated towns into perfect parks to practice skills. And if they fail? Get up and try again. Each fall will lead to at least three successes.
GoPro and Drone follow either the sole snowboarder or the jovial convoys churning up powder. With these advances in technology over the past decade promising much more, the sport stands to benefit most, bringing it to the masses continents away from the alpine.
The film is dedicated in loving memory to Jake Burton Carpenter, founder of Burton Snowboards and one of the inventors of the modern day snowboard. “Snowboarding is going to keep growing,” the voice from the grave plays out toward its conclusion, “The scariest word to associate it with is ‘mature’.”
Not just the enjoyment of sensational flips, twists, and turns, and middle-fingering death at 90 degrees, the experience that perpetuates is the sense of camaraderie and community. This sport exists through encouragement rather than envy.
There are almost as many smiles as slopes. That is the fundamental message of One World. You may be riding solo, but you’re never alone.
One World will be available to the public on different platforms starting November 17, becoming available in the UK through iTunes.
