Chugach mountains beckon

From Next magazine issue 4/2004. Text by Markku Rimpiläinen

Swiss snowboarder Ueli Kestenholz has got the Alaska bug really bad. For the second summer in a row he flew to the remote and inaccessible Chugach Mountains to enjoy unforgettable freeride experiences and to shoot a documentary film entitled Time and Essence.

It has been said that a movie is like life with all the boring bits cut out. That old saying is absolutely on the mark when it comes to film-making in mountainous terrain. The viewers see the intrepid skiers or boarders hurtling down impossibly steep slopes in a swirl of powder snow. But they don't see dark clouds rolling over the mountains, high winds and driving rain, days of seemingly endless waiting down in the valley for the weather to change. And that's exactly what shooting an alpine skiing documentary is mostly about: waiting.

Ueli Kestenholz, the multi-talented Swiss snowboarding star and member of Team Atomic, was well aware of this when he flew to Alaska in April. His destination was Cordova, a small and very remote fishing community on the Alaskan Gulf coast, the location for Seppi Dabringer's Time and Essence freeride documentary film, some of which was shot in March 2003. This time the aim was complete the filming, but that was not the only thing on Kestenholz's agenda. He was also desperately keen to get to grips with the Chugach Mountains' precipitous slopes, some of which he had not ridden on his earlier visit.

The weather in Alaska is unpredictable to say the least. It rains often and abundantly in Cordova, and that means there are many days when the helicopter is unable to take the film crew up into the mountains. Kestenholz was prepared to endure long days of inactivity on the coast, because Cordova's heliski is just about the best that the world has to offer to an experienced freeride snowboarder. "It's just unreal. You can ride 50-55 degrees with half a metre of fresh pow," wrote Kestenholz on his website after his first trip to Alaska.

Freerider's soul

An ambitious documentary film about snowboarding shot over two winters in the Chugach Mountains, Time and Essence is the long-term project of film-maker Seppi Dabringer. The film searches for the essence of freeriding: the thoughts of freeriders about life, nature and their sport are just as important elements as the action itself. Dabringer seeks to reveal the soul of the freerider.

Many other alpine skiing documentaries jump awkwardly all over the world, but Time and Essence is shot entirely in the Chugach Mountains. And Dabringer's camera has certainly recorded many spectacular sights. "When the weather is clear, sunsets here in the north are more beautiful than any I have ever seen," wrote Dabringer in April.

This spring Seppi Dabringer was in Cordova already in March. The plan was basically the same as in the previous winter. Dabringer and stills photographer Myriam Lang-Willar remained in Cordova for several weeks, whereas the boarders came and went one after another.

In March the weather was miserable even by Alaskan standards. The first boarders, Mitch Toelderer and Flo Orley, had managed to spend only three and half days on the mountain. They were, however, absolutely fantastic days.

Right place, right time

Ueli Kestenholz flew into Cordova together with his good friend and team-mate Seth Wescott. Both of them looked up at the mountains. What would the weather be like up there?

As in the previous winter, Kestenholz and Wescott had brought good luck with them. A message from Seppi Dabringer was posted on the website of Method DVD snowboard magazine on April 14: "The Time and Essence crew is still in Cordova/AK and we are finally producing again. After the weather was very bad for several days and weeks it turned out to be sunny again, and Ueli and Seth once again had the luck of being here at the right point of time."

The filming began, but not very much footage could be sealed in the can even on a good day. Producer Seppi Dabringer wanted shots in which everything was even more beautiful than before. So the film crew sought out inaccessible peaks offering slopes that were not only challenging but also visually spectacular. Checking out the runs and finding the right camera angles was a slow process. And on top of that, the camera operator and the boarders had to taken by helicopter to different places. But patience and determination paid off in the end. Kestenholz and Wescott were able to ride a slope that freeriders have given the name Alahole. They had already marked it down as a must-do on their previous trip, but the snow conditions at that time had ruled it out of bounds. This time Alahole was ripe for the taking and Kestenholz was ecstatic. Later he used just three words to describe Alahole: "Big, steep and challenging".

Film to be released on DVD

Kestenholz and Wescott had made a good start, but their luck was not to hold. On the third day their highly experienced guide Dean was caught in an avalanche. Dean survived, but he broke his jaw and several ribs. Filming was suspended.

Then the film crew were once again tormented by bad weather. The helicopter was grounded, and so too were the boarders.

Finally, the weather cleared and filming resumed. Kestenholz filmed many of his runs himself with a camera attached to his helmet. Producer Seppi Dabringer went through the day's footage each evening on a laptop computer. By the time the skiing season in the Chugach Mountains had ended, Dabringer was relieved to have enough good footage in the can.

Kestenholz is confident that the film will be a good one: "I haven't yet seen the final version, but I know we filmed some really fantastic rides and I know Dabringer is a fine editor. I'm quite sure that the film will be great freeride documentary," said Kestenholz in October.

The film will be published in the January edition of Method DVD snowboard magazine. Method is a magazine/DVD package, and its films are well known for their high quality. The film will also be released in Sweden and Germany as a separate DVD product.

Putting Cordova on the world map

Besides the snowboarders, a key person in the film is Kevin Quinn, the owner of Points North Heli Adventures and the man who put Cordova and the Chugach Mountains on the world map.

Cordova is a relatively recent newcomer to the world map of heli-skiing, but it has become legendary in a very short period of time. It was back in the late 1990s that Kevin Quinn first set eyes on and fell in love with the diverse and magnificent skiing terrain of the Chugach Mountains. They offered everything: over 60-degree slopes for those looking for extreme challenges; long and safe runs for less daring skiers.

Quinn established a helicopter service in Cordova and called it Points North Heli Adventures. It was and still is the only company that flies skiers and boarders into the Chugach Mountains. The company is based in the buildings of an old fish factory.

Cordova is a small fishing community with a population of 2,500. It is surrounded by glacier-carved mountains, nestled at the head of Orca Inlet in Eastern Prince William Sound. Cordova is accessible only by aircraft or car ferry. Commercial fishing, especially for salmon, is the mainstay of the local economy.

In the early 1900s Cordova was a copper mining town until the ore was exhausted. The railway built to serve the copper mine has been dismantled. The only remnant of it now is a railway bridge called Million Dollar Bridge, which has collapsed at one end.

In spite of its remote location, Cordova is a popular adventure holiday destination. The town is surrounded by pristine arctic wilderness. The air is filled with thousands of waterfowl; and the ocean is a playground for killer whales. For the sport fisherman, Cordova is a paradise when huge numbers of salmon rise the nearby Copper River to spawn.

For more stunning photographs of the Chugach Mountains, visit www.alaskaheliski.com

Second winter with Atomic Ueli Kestenholz is undoubtedly one of most talented and experienced snowboarders in the world today. In addition to freeriding, he is two-time ISF Alpine World Champion and winner of the Boardercross at X-Games 2003 and 2004 in Aspen. On top of all that he is also an excellent surfer.

Kestenholz has been using Atomic snowboards since last winter. He is also involved in Atomic's snowboard R&D.

This winter Kestenholz plans to take part in boardercross and freeride competitions. "And of course I want to go back to Alaska. I guess I got the bug..."