Teton Gravity Research, based in Jackson, Wyo., brings its latest ski and snowboard film, "Lost and Found," to Ketchum for a special screening at Apple's Bar & Grill in Warm Springs at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 9. In addition, there will be a "Pabst for Snow" street party with live music, food and a bonfire for $10 a person. The event will also feature a raffle with proceeds benefiting the College of Southern Idaho Outdoor Program.
"Lost and Found" has some of the world's best skiers and snowboarders, including an appearance by Hailey's Lynsey Dyer. All of the athletes featured show off their big-mountain skiing and boarding talents, from heli-skiing in Alaska to charting new deep-powder territory in Wyoming and British Columbia, Canada. The jaw-dropping performances of Seth Morrison, Jeremy Jones, Sage Cattabriga-Alosa, Key Petersen, Cody Barnhill and many, many others are followed around the world, including Austria and Switzerland.
"It was a difficult year filming because there was no snow," said Dirk Collins, a founder of Teton Gravity Research.
As a producer, director and cameraman, Collins and all of the founders of TGR are very much involved in the entire filmmaking process and producing quality films. Collins is a native of Alaska and has a particular fondness for his home and his branded TGR in its quest to discover the big mountains of the state.
"Twelve years ago when we started, big mountains were our focus and over the years we have become the big-mountain and aerial film crew," Collins said. "This year we went to a place we never filmed in the Tordrillo Mountains (Alaska). No one has ever been there in the winter, and the range has not really been explored. We are mapping and opening up these mountain ranges."
"Lost and Found" reveals majestic footage of first descents in a place where no one has ever skied or boarded before. Collins said they really did not scratch the surface, even though they did a great deal of exploring in the area. The mountains are a thousand feet taller than the Tetons in TGR's home of Jackson, and there are more crevasses and risks for everyone involved.
"We have worked with a lot of the athletes featured in the film for a long time," Collins said. "They are good at getting in front of the helicopter cameras, which are a pain for them, being on top of the line trying to deal."
Collins said that over the last three or four years TGR films have become more polished. "Lost and Found" exemplifies TGR's concentration on not only cutting edge performances, he said, but on its soundtrack and pushing the limits of getting as close to the experience of the athletes as possible.
"A POV camera gives the behind the scenes and with the live sound of helicopters and the athletes, it all adds extra layers and so much more to the film," Collins said.
Finding new locations and the athlete's own search for big powder is the major story point for "Lost and Found," and the terrain featured in the film is just as impressive as the athletes who ride it.
Dylan Hood flies high in Aspen, Colo.
Photo by TGR?s Matt Power
