QUEST - THE ULTIMATE RIDE
(Adventure Scope Films)
Marney Carmichael
(November 06, 1997)
Riders: Craig Kelly, Marcus Egge, Tex Devenport, Dan Hunt, Matt Goodwill, Dave Basterechea, Eric Klassen, Derek Heidt, Jube Bernard, Jason Ford, Wolfi, Flo, Scott Newsome, JF Pelchat, Matt Domanski, Shin Campos, Kevin Young, Steve Klassen, Brad Schufelle, Dave Stirling, Shane Charlebois, Marc Morisset, and more. . .
Comments: On Wednesday, October 22 "Quest - The Ultimate Ride" premiered at the nightclub Maxx Fish in Whistler, British Columbia. This sold-out evening, organized by Adventurescope Films, was also a fund-raiser for the Canadian National Snowboard Team. The crowd 'oohed', 'ahhed', and vociferated throughout the show - particularly when the local riders (many of whom were in the audience) appeared on the screen.
It's hard to review a snowboard video when you are sitting in your pint of beer as I was (thanks go out to the clumsy technical guy). So, I hunted down Janine Macdonald from Adventurescope a few days later to get my own copy of Quest. In the comfort of my parent's living room (with mom in the Lay-Z-Boy and remote control in my hand) I set out to view Adventurescope's latest release.
The video starts off with a "These are professional snowboarders - do not try this at home" disclaimer which quickly leads into Dave Basterechea pillow hopping and spinning away over huge drops to "Damage Inc." from Metallica. Dave's awesome double-cliff jump was the high light of this opening segment.
With my attention won over the video soon swung into the likes of Craig Kelly, Tex Devenport, and Matt Goodwill choreographed to some jazzy beats and riding the northern snow. One note to the editors here: it'd be nice to display on the screen where this was filmed. The exact location is not necessary (I'm sure they don't want these "secret spots" to get out), but a general area would be nice. I guessed it was Northern B.C. or Alaska. The video does provide this info, but not until the end when the credits are rolling.
Next up is the Whistler segment, which is introduced to the viewer via clips from a retro 60's/70's skiing flick. (This gets a good laugh out of me; my mother is confused by now.) Jawbreaker and Fate rider Jube Bernard lead the way into "some areas so from the remote or different that, as of yet, no one has skied them." Bernard and Matt Domanski present to the viewers "The Gap" (a.k.a. crevasse from hell) that, throughout the video, is sessioned and spun over by many-a-rider a number of times. I recall someone at the opening saying this gap was "shot" too much. I say phooey. It was not tiring to see Marc Morisset pull a huge floating 360 or Derek Heidt spin a super-fast 900 (I'm still trying to figure out if this is what he did) over this monster.
The Whistler part rocks - and I'm not just saying this because I live there! (Buy this movie and see for yourself.)
Notable mentions to follow go out to Dave Stirling and Marcus Egge. Egge's segment is to some "didgeridooish" music where he performs, by far, the longest air-time of the film: four 'one-hundred-and-one' seconds long - I counted, complete with a tail-grab. Shin Campos and Scott Newsome ride along crazy steeps and chutes to the best tune of the flick - one by Marilyn Manson. (It is here that my mother comments on the splendid photography!)
Get out the lighter because Jason Ford, Steve Klassen, and Kelly - somewhere way up north - slow the pace with a slow song by Metallica. (You even see these guys spin on their huge boards!)
More vintage footage (there was a tad too much at times) closes off this 40 minute video with the finest quote from the narrator saying to "(enjoy) your own aspects of (skiing) ... there's an exciting rush that always comes and that should never become routine."
An enthusiastic Siskel and Ebert "Thumbs Up" for Adventurescope's Quest - the ultimate ride. Pop this sucker in and start salivating.
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