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Teton Skiing
Legends of the Fall Line
Piton Productions
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by Mitch Weber
April 10, 2007-- More than 17 months in the making, "Teton
Skiing- Legend of the Fall Line" marks the major video
debut of filmmaker Derek Weiss, and Piton Productions. The film
documents the history and evolution of ski mountaineering in
what has arguably been the most influential region in the sport's
development in North America. This is not a traditional ski porn
film, rather it is a fascinating PBS-style documentary that takes
the viewer on a journey through the past, from the early days
of American skiing as a sport in the '30s and '40s, through the
rapid growth post-war years, and on into the modern era of ski
alpinism, and what has been popularly known as "extreme
skiing."
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Interviews with many of the pioneers of
skiing in the Jackson Hole area tie the film together, beginning
with some of the men and women who first explored and skied the
Teton Pass backcountry, beginning in the late 1930s, and folks
involved in the establishment Snow King, Wyoming's first ski
area.
Moving into the early 50s, the film tells
the story of Bill Briggs and Barry Corbett, members of the Dartmouth
College ski club, and how they came to live in Jackson, going
to work as guides, spending their free time skiing and climbing.
Briggs eventually achieved lasting fame
and recognition as the first person to complete a ski descent
of the Grand Teton. His account of his early days in the Tetons,
the beginnings of ski mountaineering in that impressive and dramatic
mountain range, and of course his stunning first descent of the
Grand, is one of many highlights to be found in Legends of
the Fall Line. It's beyond cool that Weiss and the Piton
crew have memorialized these events, capturing Briggs, along
with other historically significant figures, describing their
early days, on camera and in their own words while this is still
possible. |
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A segment in the 60s and 70s chapter describes
how the region's ski resort and guide-based economy helped nurture
the sport of ski mountaineering, allowing these pioneers to make
a living while pursuing their goals in the big mountains. Moving
into the 80s and 90s, Legends... covers the period in
which amazingly technical lines began to be skied, descents requiring
serious rope work and involving increasing amounts of exposure.
Skier Mark Newcomb and snowboarder Stephen Koch describe their
incredibly ballsy and ground breaking descent of the Black Ice
Couloir, which at the time was thought of as the most classic
alpine climb in the Tetons, and certainly not a ski route
(see video clip above).
In the final segment, a wonderfully appropriate
culmination, the late Doug Coombs, along with fellow Exum guide
Newcomb are shown making the first guided descent of the Grand,
with client Cameron Romero. The footage of their climb and ski,
shot by Newcomb, is simply stunning, and in a way this part of
Legends.. serves as a wonderful tribute to Coombs, giving
the viewer a chance to remember Doug now and always, doing what
he did so well.
At the beginning of this review I mentioned
that the 65 minute long Legends of the Fall Line is a
PBS-type documentary, this is true not just for its style, but
also for its quality. This was the consensus opinion of more
than a dozen skiers we hosted on two consecutive nights at our
digs in Mammoth, high praise for any film, but especially noteworthy
for a debut effort.
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While hardcore ski historians might find a
detail or two to nit pick, the rest of us are more likely to
come away from watching the film feeling that the Piton Productions
crew should be congratulated for putting together a unique and
entertaining work, and one that could easily serve as a template
for similar endeavors in other historically important backcountry
and ski mountaineering regions around the world. What a great
thing it would be to document this history while many of the
legends and pioneers of the various aspects of our sport are
still around! Teton Skiing- Legends of the Fall Line is
a great start, and it more than deserves a place in every serious
skier's video collection. Two Tips up for this terrific film
that has earned a spot among the handful of videos we are counting
on to get us through the summer. |
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Teton Skiing-Legends
of the Fall Line is available
from Piton Productions
for $20 + $4 shipping.
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