Nick Bowie: Dean Cummings 'Access the Goods' ski video trailer

I've only been heli skiing once, and it was in Alaska with Dean Cummings' H2O Heli-Guides. My buddy landed a job up there the year after taking the Guide School from Dean, and I went up to check it out the next season. He's now the lead guide, and I'm now wishing I'd pursued guiding.

Headed over to Freeskier TV for the first time this season to check out the selection, and was pleasantly surprised to see the most recent video uploaded was from Dean Cummings. Ahh, the memories...

Matchstick 'Claim' ski video trailer

What better movie to review next than the owners of 'the ski movie' moniker. Matchstick mixes the best ski video on the planet with tongue-in-cheek parody of the very genre they created. Featured ridiculous POV, big mountain, and big air antics, the trailer will at least have you chuckling in places and searching the Matchstick site for the showing closest to you this fall.

And here's to the return of Saucerboy...

Powderwhore: The Pact ski video trailer

The past five months I've only used my feed reader to keep up on the news, with a focus on Asia. The only other feed I remember reading was Noah Powell's blog at http://noahhowell.com, probably because it was one of the last I added last spring and because it's the only feed in my 'athletes' category.

So no better place to kick-off the season than with the latest Powderwhore offering, 'The Pact.' Powderwhore arrived in the somewhat overcrowded telemark scene in the fall of 2005 with PW05. In hindsight, it was perfect timing, as other telemark-only ski filmers all seem to have packed it in since then. With subsequent PW06 and PW07, the boys from the beehive state seem to have the motivation and dedication to keep plugging away, and now they are the biggest name in telemark ski videos.

With 'The Pact' PW has moved away from the programatic naming convention. And if the trailer is any indication they seem to have stepped it up in every category, if that's even possible! Already known for their deep powder, tight shots, blood and gore, they dug a little deeper for different music, more travel, and a more diverse cast. On the tech side, they introduce a split screen, something a couple of other filmmakers were talking about getting into last season.

Here's the direct link to the trailer on the old standby, YouTube. Well, some things never change.

I'm Baaack!!!

Well, after a long summer of slogging away behind a desk, it's time to kick off a new season of Freeride Inc. I just returned from five months overseas with the Navy Reserves, where I was concentrating on some other projects

Now I've gone and been picked for mobilization to the Middle East with another Navy Reserve organization. Other than a possible early season trip up 395 to Mammoth, right now it looks like I will spend almost the entire winter and next spring in the 'sandbox.' And despite successfully taking the GMAT and getting into the MBA program at UConn, I've concurrently had to defer my pursuit of a graduate degree for one year.

After some introspection, I've decided the best way to pass the time might be to just keep on keepin' on. So its back to reviewing ski videos for the 2008-09 season. Hopefully review the trailer first, then get my hands on the actual video once its out, and follow up with a full review including Q&A with filmmakers, athletes, etc.

Here goes...