FIRST DESCENT
THE STORY OF THE SNOWBOARDING REVOLUTION

"This is going to change the way I do everything"

Shaun White

As four generations of the world's best snowboarders prepare to tackle Alaska's highest mountains, they have time to reflect on their careers, their futures and the history of the sport they love. Pioneer Shawn Farmer, Alaska veteran Nick Perata, the legend that is Terje Haakonsen and the new biggest names in the sport, Hannah Teter and Shaun White, are about to take heli-boarding to the next level by taking on the biggest mountains that Alaska has to offer.

The sports documentary is becoming a stalwart of the genre but can this latest addition be as extreme as the rest?

After the success of 'Dogtown and the Z Boys' for skateboarding and 'Riding Giants' for surfing, snowboarding was an obvious choice for a documentary but this was going to have a slightly different approach. Where Stacy Peralta's approach was the chronicle the history of the sport by interviewing the pioneers that made it what it is, directors Kemp Curly and Kevin Harrison utilise this but then also interweave a new adventure that will move the sport onto the next level.

Combining history with making history is a great approach for this type of documentary and 'First Descent' does it extremely well. Charting the evolution of the sport from its origins in the 1970s through the various stages of development and onto snowboarding's involvement in the Olympics in Nagano 1998 and Salt Lake City 2002, the documentary takes the usual approach of interviewing the pioneers of the sport, the people that put it on the map and the current crop of up and coming stars. This is combined with archive footage revealing how the boards, riders and style changed the pastime into a sport.

The main emphasis of the movie is the building up to a first descent of an unridden Alaskan mountain. The filmmakers have gathered together four generations of snowboarders, each of them with differing levels of experience when it comes to big mountain riding. Leading in the group is the snowboarding pioneer Shawn 'The Fiz' Farmer. One of the first stars of the then fledgling sport, Farmer is how the world perceives the snowboarders and the Wildman of the sport. Nick Perata is the man who introduced boarders to the extremes of the Alaskan mountains. Terje Haakonsen is already a legend within sport and a man that pushes the boundaries of what you can do on a snowboard. Hannah Teter and Shaun White are the future of the sport and the current huge stars of the snowboarding world. In fact Shaun White just won the Men's Snowboard Half-pipe gold medal at the Torino Olympic Games.

As with most documentaries of this ilk, the cinematography is exceptional. The film shows the enormity of the Alaskan mountains and the extreme nature of the runs the snowboarders attempt. From long, establishing shots to close up shots that take you into the powder, the exhilaration of the sport and the gravity of what they are trying to do.

'First Descent: The Story of the Snowboarding Revolution' is exactly what boarders have been waiting for. Brilliantly combining history and new adventures, this is an example of how sports documentaries should be made and one that fans and first timers to the sport will revel in.