Teaser Alert: Deeper is 4 Real!

Jackson Hole, Wyo. (Shred White and Blue) - Got into checking out this trailer from the snowboard flick Deeper and it could be the only movie I’m more stoked to see than Black Dynamite.

Still shooting right now, and scheduled for a release sometime in 2010, Deeper is a joint production between big mountain snowboard kingpin Jeremy Jones and the boys at Teton Gravity Research (run by Jeremy’s real-life bros Steve and Todd Jones). Filmed without choppers, chairlifts or even snowmobiles the super steep shots these guys are still able to access absolutely made my palms sweat.

“I wanted to get back to solitude, adventure, and new descents,” Jeremy Jones said. “By hiking past boundaries set in place by helis and snowmobiles we were able to get into bigger mountains, away from people and back to first descents.”

And how. It looks to me like they could release a longer sample of what they’ve already got and it would be better than almost any snowboard footage hitting the screens this fall.

But I digress. Because what’s also awesome here is that on the other side of the camera, in order to capture the lines on film, cameramen are required to climb alongside athletes, without the aid of helicopters or other assistance.

During one shoot, Jones and the rest of the production crew spent 27 days camped on a glacier in Alaska. On another shoot in the Swiss Alps, Jones started hiking at 10 at night in order to ride a line at sunrise the next morning.

Also cool, the production crew must also use solar chargers and other technology to be able work for extended periods in the backcountry. “Being away from electrical outlets for such long stretches really forced us to plan differently. But if it wasn’t for all that, Deeper wouldn’t be half as unique,” said Director of Photography Chris Edmunds.

Good luck, dudes, as the word is that this project will take at least two years to complete.

Visit Teton Gravity Research for more.

Domestic Decks: 2010 USA-made Snowboards

I don’t know if this is the “first ever” American-made Snowboard Review. But let’s just say it is anyway. There are a lot of things to like about these boards—from bomber, detail-oriented construction to eco-smart design. Not to mention they’re built in our backyards. If a product makes the cut for this review, it has earned the SWB stamp of approval.

These aren’t just arbitrary grab-bag picks based on graphics and gratifying advertisers. Truth is, this past March we had a crew of testers romp and stomp on over 70 boards for a week at Crested Butte Mountain Resort as part of Backcountry Magazine’s Annual Snowboard Test. I’ve managed and written BCM’s Snowboard Review for the last 4 years as their “Rider in Chief”, and we have hyper-intelligent, ripping testers that make selecting the best decks easy as… riding pow.

We’ll post three boards per week until we run out, or it takes too much time away from snowboarding. Let us know if there are any American-made boards you want to see reviewed, and we’ll do our best to put them through the paces. Ride on… —Mike Horn Read more