'Steep' movie review

February 6, 10:32 AMSalt Lake City Outdoor Recreation ExaminerJared Hargrave

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"Steep" was released in theaters last year and recently became available on DVD. As a result, it's pretty late to be writing a review. However, I recently watched it for the second time and felt compelled to jot down some thoughts.

"Steep," at its core, is a ski movie. But unlike ski films of the past decade or so, "Steep" does away with the ski porn aspect of in-your-face extreme ski footage inter-cut with shredding celebutards making goofy faces at the camera lens. Instead, "Steep" takes a step back and allows a reverential look at the history of big mountain skiing beginning with Bill Brigg's revolutionary first descent of the Grand Tetons. The film continues with old footage from Chamonix in the eighties, Valdez in the nineties and La Grave in the present.

There is an element of standard fare by way of clips from "The Blizzard of Ahhs," and while attending high school near Aspen, I saw that movie and admired skiers like Scott Schmidt and Trevor Peterson, so I was happy to see footage of them again. Besides, watching skiers make old-school jump turns on skinny skis while wearing neon one-pieces is alone worth the price of admission.

What really sets "Steep" apart from traditional ski movies is that it plays more like a documentary appropriate enough for PBS. The film tells an actual story and sets up Doug Coombs as the central character. From his high school days skiing the ice covered hill in the back yard, to Alaska, to his accidental death in La Grave, France, Coombs' segments are interwoven throughout the film, popping up here and there when his ski career parallels the trends of the day. His story is also among the most tragic, as his death is never mentioned until the end of the film, adding suspense and dread as most of us know going in what his fate will be. In interviews, Coombs talks about the danger of big mountain skiing, saying it's no different than driving a car. He would rather die skiing then in a car accident, at least death by mountain would be more fun. His words are prophetic as his death occurs shortly after the film wraps. His final scenes as he skis into La Grave with his son strapped to his back are haunting. He practices counting to twenty with his little boy and buys bread at the local bakery. All the while, our knowledge of his death casts a shadow over an otherwise idyllic scene. It adds weight and maturity that is missing in other ski movies.

Perhaps because of this serious tone, the film unfortunately falls into the pretentious trap most ski films end up in. Why do skiers always feel the need to wax poetic as if they are zen masters? I know skiing can be a religious experience, especially on a killer powder day, but come on, it's skiing, damnit! It's supposed to be fun!

Despite its reverential tone, "Steep" does give us some of what makes sliding on snow a damn good time. Hilarious interviews with Glen Plake and footage of his antics in Chamonix while filming for Greg Stump's classic "The Blizzard of Ahhs," along with eye popping footage of Shane McConkey base skiing off thousand-foot cliffs keep the film from sliding too far into depressing territory. Action pieces of Ingrid Backstrom practically flying down an insanely steep line in Alaska and Seth Morrison's cliff jumping stunts keep the adrenaline going. In fact, the footage from Valdez is so good, I fell into a depression knowing that I will never have the financial means to ski there.

Technically, the film soars. The footage is gorgeous and the camera work is top of the line. Especially cool is the zip-line camera that follows a skier floating through the trees. The soundtrack is passable, though sometimes annoyingly Disneyfied as if skiers were cute animals frolicking in the snow. Interviews are also well lit (never the case in most ski porn).
My only complaint is that the film seemed wrapped too early. So much has been achieved since the cameras stopped rolling, such as Kit Deslauriers becoming the first person to ski down all of the Seven Summits, or Chris Davenport's incredible accomplishment of being the first person to ski all 54 of Colorado's 14,000-foot peaks in one year. Davenport was heavily featured in the film, but no mention is made of his experience. Instead, "Steep" spends too much time showing us old ski movies. Sure, the film is about the history of extreme skiing and the evolution the sport undergoes. But to me, it's the accomplishments that give the act of skiing purpose. "Steep" gives us the journey, but not much of the destination.
In the end, "Steep" is a love letter to big mountain skiing. What it lacks in its pretentiousness, it makes up for by simply having a soul.