Black Diamond TV is coming
This autumn, Black Diamond introduces a new online film series dedicated to sharing stories from the soul of climbing and backcountry skiing. Kicking off with three winter episodes, the first season of BDTV goes beyond perfect powder turns and big mountain faces to profile the ski mountaineers, avalanche forecasters and hometown heroes for whom skiing is more than a passion: it's a way of life.
From little-known peaks in central Sweden to the iconic cablecar of La Grave, France, BDTV travels the world to find these characters and document the joys, fears, decisions and sacrifices that go into living the life of a committed backcountry skier. Featuring award-winning cinematography, each film is accompanied by images from photographer Mattias Fredriksson. “Most times when it comes to skiing and other action sports, the action generally takes over,” Fredriksson says, “but with BDTV, the story is first.”
A look at some of the up coming episodes:
SEASON 1
Filmed in the mountains of Sweden, Utah and the French Alps, Season One of BDTV focuses on three stories of quiet heroes who live and breathe for skiing. For each of them, winter is about more than blower powder or ripping big faces. It’s about lifelong goals, alpine starts, family traditions and building a life around their unending love for the simple act of sliding on snow.
THE FORECASTER: A MESSAGE FROM THE BACKCOUNTRY
Coming October 18, 2015
We think of the backcountry as a place of unlimited freedom. But as more and more skiers seek that freedom out, their decisions are having consequences few have truly considered. Reading the snow is both an art and a science, but as the promise of deep powder draws more backcountry skiers to Utah’s Wasatch Mountains, avalanche forecaster Drew Hardesty is sharing more than a snow report. He’s speaking out, sharing a message that will change the way you think about skiing in the backcountry this winter.
ONE SEVEN EIGHT: FORGING A BALANCE
Coming September 27, 2015
A year after opening an outdoor shop in central Sweden, ski mountaineer Henrik Westling had felt like the walls were closing in. But how do you create a life that balances work, family and your passion for the mountains? In the first episode of BDTV, we travel to Jämtland, Sweden, where Westling recently became the first person to climb and ski every one of the regions 178 summits. In doing so, he did more than accomplish a goal: he found a way of living that will inspire you to rethink how you create balance in your life.
A SIMPLE MACHINE: THE LIFE OR DEATH OF THE LA GRAVE CABLECAR
Coming November 8, 2015
The La Grave cablecar is an icon of big-mountain freeskiing, a unique lift that accesses some of the most classic unmarked and unpatrolled steep-skiing descents in the Alps. As La Grave faces historic challenges—its main road closed by rockfall and the continued operation of the cablecar in doubt—we take an insider's view of “Le Telepherique” and what’s at stake in the uncertain future of this backcountry mecca.
