Last Thursday night Vail Resorts hosted the UK premiere of the new Teton Gravity Research (TGR) film, Light the Wick at the 02 Shepherd’s Bush Empire in London. Ski Independence was the official travel partner, having collaborated with Vail Resorts on the night’s big prize giveaway – a seven-night trip for two to Breckenridge, Colorado, including flights, accommodation and transfers. Things kicked off at 7pm with a DJ providing the soundtrack to an impressive still photo slide show from the previous year’s TGR adventures, and plenty of shots to whet the appetite for skiing from Vail Resorts’ six ski areas: Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone, Arapahoe Basin and Heavenly. By 8pm 500 eager ski and snowboard fans were assembled, and after t-shirts were thrown into the crowd and winners of rucksacks, goggles & ski clothing had been announced, it was time for the main feature.

TGR are filmmakers dedicated to supporting and filming the very best winter sports athletes on the planet pushing their limits in the world’s most challenging freeride terrain. The film started out with a section focussing on the result of getting it wrong – truly spectacular high-speed crashes, with skiers tomahawking down 55-degree slopes, or colliding with tree branches mid-air. Ouch. How these guys survive, let alone get back up and do it again on the next run, is beyond me. After that the film was an epic ski adventure through Alaska, British Columbia, Colorado, Wyoming, France and even a section in Croatia. The powder these guys ski, the air they take, and the tricks they pull off are just incredible – cue plenty of gasps, whoops and hollers from the crowd. [caption id="attachment_1378" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Filming of Light The Wick[/caption] The film finished off with a first for ski films – a section filmed in 3D. It was quite surreal seeing 500 people don their 3D glasses and cheer as the action became even more real, and the skiers appeared to launch from the snow and into the room. A huge cheer and round of applause at the end suggested that the crowd were impressed, and it was hard not to be. Talking to people afterwards the consensus seemed pretty consistent across the board, and I think it was fair to say that it had made everyone there more than a little excited that winter is just around the corner. [caption id="attachment_1377" align="aligncenter" width="368"] The audience wait in anticipation in their 3D glasses[/caption] During the after party the lucky winner of the Breckenridge holiday was announced, step forward Duncan Newbury, who was pretty excited with his prize! Duncan’s agreed to write a blog piece about his trip for the Ski Independence website when he gets back, so watch this space... If you missed the premiere of Light The Wick and want some world class ski action to get you in the mood, answer the question below to get your hands on 1 of 3 DVD copies of TGR's Re:Session: Question: Which are Vail Resorts' five ski areas? Post your answers below. Entry closes 18th October 2010 Massive thanks go out to Vail Resorts for making the event happen. Ski Independence offer fantastic packages to Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge and Keystone in Colorado, as well as Heavenly in Lake Tahoe, California. For a limited time only, we’re also offering the amazing value Epic Season Pass lift pass allowing unlimited skiing at all of these resorts, and also the Summit Season Pass covering Breckenridge, Keystone and A-Basin.

Back to blogs