The Ordinary Skier

Soulful look at Morrison and the psyche of extreme skiers

     

This is a pure documentary that also happens to show the amazing backcountry lines of Chamonix and just what it takes to ski those extreme mountains.

The biopic aspect covering Seth Morrison doesn't really tell us anything that hasn't been covered elsewhere over the years - his inner self remains as elusive as ever. But you do gain small insight into what may have shaped this great athlete and why he's heading in the direction of ski mountaineering - a more pure form of skiing than the shred-fest 'stunt show' we see in modern ski films.

To tell the story of Seth's initiation into ski mountaineering, the film gets under the skin of Chamonix and the psyche of extreme skiers who spend their time in that great epicentre of Alpinism. It's particularly telling that the great Mr Morrison shows nervousness when skiing some of Chamonix' more notorious lines.

Through interviews with athletes and photographers , the film doesn't hold back when showing the down sides to being a pro skier in a corporate-sponsored world and how Seth was instrumental in changing the way pro skiers could make a living from the sport. Ultimately, he has a wry take on what this now means to his own enjoyment of the sport.

A thoroughly enjoyable film, this one is going into my top 5 ski films of all time.