PLEASE NOTE: This film is from 2008 and many of the techniques have since been updated, as has the gear. Please cross-reference everything you learn here with the current standards
Thanks to Sherpa Cinema for releasing their 2008 film “THE FINE LINE” for free at the beginning of a season where skiers and snowboarders traveling in backcountry terrain with avalanche danger is trending towards an all-time high. The film’s primary message of avalanche safety was inspired by the death of four of our close High School friends in a small, early season avalanche that could’ve easily been prevented with the proper safety precautions:
“The greatest snow sports athletes join the world’s leading avalanche professionals to bring you a new movement in avalanche education. “The Fine Line” is a cinematic journey that unites the cutting edge of winter sports with youth education about responsible backcountry usage. Along with massive avalanches, epic riding, year long time-lapses, crazy true stories, cable cam cinematography, and Alaskan heli to heli, educational materials are made clearly visible. This engaging, and inspiring film can save lives.”
SHERPA CINEMA STATEMENT:
With the inevitable explosion in backcountry popularity this winter, we figured the time was right to revisit our first feature film—’The Fine Line’, from 2008—and release it for free on all of our social channels.
The film’s primary message of avalanche safety was inspired by the death of four of our close High School friends in a small, early season avalanche that could’ve easily been prevented with the proper safety precautions.
We wanted to take a new approach to avalanche awareness, one that would resonate with younger skiers and snowboarders and inspire them to start the lifelong process of learning how to move safely through the mountains. We did this by weaving the message into a hard-hitting, action-packed film that featured some of the top dogs in professional skiing and snowboarding at the time. And we worked with the Canadian Avalanche Foundation and a host of avalanche professionals to ensure that the educational aspect of the film met the industry standard.
Twelve years later, we’re still super proud of the entire project. But watching all five of the films again feels like we just pulled some old reels out of the attic to revisit an awkward time in our filmmaking careers when we were trying new things and finding our creative voice as a company.
It’s shot on 16mm though. So that’s cool, right?
Either way, the project is comprised of a primary film and four training films. The primary film did the festival circuit and picked up a few awards along the way, and the training films are still used as a resource for avalanche education today. Of course some of the techniques, gear and snow science standards have been updated in the last 12 years, but the message will never lose its relevance.
Hit this link to our website for access to all five films, and feel free to send it to anyone you know who intends to wander outside the ski hill boundary this winter.
Stay safe, friends. //