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Episode XI of Sweetgrass Productions On the Road with Solitaire features some awesome Chilean backcountry shredding. The crew battles through road closures and other mother nature induced obstacles to set up camp in the Termas de Chillan wilderness. From there they rip up some awesome terrain and reveal their beatboxing talents. The opening monologue is poetic bad-assery, “its usually right before your soul melts into a puddle that you’re thrown a little mouse pinky toe bone of hope. Somewhere deep into the trip, the gods allowed it and we finally got our window to march into base camp.”

This is a great follow-up the Hotel Portillo installment, it definitely provides a scratch (if brief) for my skiing itch.

Hopefully winter isn’t too far away in the Northern Hemisphere. 

“Presented by PATAGONIA and brought to you by New Belgium Brewery
Buy the SOLITAIRE DVD and Blu-Ray: sweetgrassproduction.mybisi.com/

Episode XI: Planes, Trains, and Automobiles. The Crew heads into the backcountry of Termas de Chillan for a 1 month basecamp at the foot of Chilean spines.

ON THE ROAD WITH SOLITAIRE is a 12-part web series following Sweetgrass Productions in the making of their 2-year project, the South American backcountry ski and snowboarding film SOLITAIRE. For the summer of 2012, new episodes will be released every Thursday until July 26th.

Sound Mix by COUPE STUDIOS, Greg Mcrae CoupeStudios.com

Brought to you by: Patagonia, New Belgium, Dynafit, CLIF Bar, Tecnica/Blizzard, Osprey, Venture, BCA, Backcountry.com, Gentemstick, Flylow, Backcountry Mag, and Goal Zero”

Sweetgrass just released On the Road Episode VII: Welcome to the Jungle. On the Road provides a behind the scenes look at the creation of their last film, Solitaire. This episode explores the jungles and rivers around Iquitos Peru with Ptor Spricenieks.

Sweetgrass’ work in the jungle provides the introduction for one of the cooler segments in their movie. It is part of a segment that follows Ptor, the lone traveler, as he journeys from the source to the summit. They start deep in the jungle, follow a river all the way upstream to its original mountain source, and proceed to climb that mountain.

This episode is in a 12 part series, so keep a look out for new episodes coming every week. Also, check out their last episode, shot in Bolivia: End of the Line.

Ptor climbing.

Sweetgrass Productions 12 part web series ‘On The Road With SOLITAIRE’ continues with Episode 6, End of the Line. Not much skiing in this episode as the crew including Telluride local Kim Havell attempt to travel through Bolivia’s Badlands train hopping to ski volcanoes, unfortunately not running into much luck along the way. The only skiing is on some of the most heinous conditions I have seen, dagger-like ice called Penitentes. No thanks…

Kim Havell Navigating the Penitentes

The footage is both incredibly beautiful yet tough to watch at points, showing the pain and struggles that come along with such a mission.

The poetic storytelling is signature Sweetgrass style and the cinematography is unique and amazing as always! Looking forward to see them push for the volcano in the next episode dropping June 21st…

Zack Giffin kills it, there’s no question. He’s a well-rounded skier and a hard worker. Don’t believe me? Check out this video from his latest trip outside of Haines, Alaska with Sweetgrass Productions. While “A” heli footage has been spewing from Haines for the last couple of weeks, this crew has been camping and hiking for all of their lines. No helis, no quick bumps, just their own two feet. Pretty impressive stuff!

Need something to get you through the final stretch before ski season arrives here in Tahoe? Get out to the Fifty Fifty Brewery tonight to catch Sweetgrass Production’s new film, Solitaire. Shot entirely in South America this inspiring backcountry journey leads you through a two year odyssey from the Pampas to the Peaks of this magnificent continent. The film features a host of remarkable skiers and riders and honors two of Tahoe’s finest, Arne Backstrom and Kip Garre.

• Event:         SOLITAIRE by Sweetgrass Productions
• Location:    Fifty Fifty Brewing Co. Truckee, CA
• Time:           Doors open at 8:00 pm, Show starts at 9:00 pm
• Tickets:      $10 in advance brownpapertickets.com, or $12 at the door

From Sweetgrass Productions:

SOLITAIRE: A Backcountry Skiing, Snowboarding, and Telemark Film from Sweetgrass Productions

In the high desert of South America, winter takes hold, devouring bleached bones and abandoned shacks. Into these most inhospitable of lands, a handful of drifters emerge from the whiteout, ready to cast their lot on forsaken peaks both merciless and magnificent. Venturing beyond the frontiers of most mountain films, Solitaire is backcountry skiing forged in the tradition of Western cinema. Born in the spires of Argentina’s legendary Las Lenas, a lonely two-year journey begins through an abandoned world, wandering the length of a continent from Peru’s Cordillera Blanca to Chilean Patagonia.
Lost in the winds of snowbound badlands and the blizzards of primordial forests; seen from a horse’s saddle and a paraglider’s wings; ridden on ski and board and telemark…
Solitaire fuses western-inspired tales of backcountry gambles into landscapes never before visited on film. 

Shot on location in: Las Lenas, Argentina; Portillo, Chile;
Nevados de Chillan, Chile; Patagonia, Chile; Bariloche, Argentina; Caviahue, Argentina; Huaraz, Peru; Iquitos, Peru; Uyuni, Bolivia; and Sajama, Bolivia.

Featuring: Leo Ahrens, JP Auclair, Ryland Bell, Will Cardamone, Johnny Collinson, Forrest Coots, Stephan Drake, Jacqui Edgerly, Chris Erickson, Sebastian Haag, Kip Garre, Atsushi Gomyo, Kim Havell, Eliel Hindert, Erica Laidlaw, Jaime Laidlaw, Kyle Miller, Osamu “Ommu” Okada, Carston Oliver, Alex Paul, Thayne Rich, Dave Rosenbarger, Don Roth, Elyse Saugstad, Aidan Sheahan, Forrest Shearer, Ptor Spricenieks, Thomas Steiner, Drew Stoecklein, Taro Tamai, Jack Tolan… and honoring Arne Backstrom and Kip Garre.

Here is an edit to get all you year-round skiers psyched for South America.  It seems incredible here and these guys do it up right, capturing the essence of the culture.  I love the soulful sweetgrass feel and cinemetography.  Para-flight seems like an amazing way to see the mountains and I hope to one day sack up and try it.  This episode is badass!   Ben, one of the founders of Sweetgrass is one of my favorite people to ride with and one of the funniest.  Here is what he has to say about this episode:
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