How many ski movies have you seen? More specifically, how many montages of brief clips of aggressive inline skiing, challenging landing kickers, minigolf lines, and semihumorous cutaways set to popular (underground!) music have you seen? While watching through these, you might have wondered whether there was another way to document skiing and represent it in media. Michael Clarke, has. In a recent interview with Shay Williams of Freeskier Magazine, Clarke explained:
[After] constantly being served up bad weather and luck, I thought there had to be another way to shoot skiing that hadn't been touched upon within our industry. So, as I'm currently going to school for film and photography, I thought it could be fun to start up this little project with my friend, Blake Kimmel.
From this surmise, Clarke conceived his brand new, in progress project of ski discovery, enjoyment, and documentation titled Just Passing Thru. On June 12, Clarke hopped into his unambigously masculine Subaru Legacy along with female slopestyle sensation Keri Herman, filmer Blake Kimmel (creator of the toisiemme edit Jiberish, a blue cruiser bike, and a carload full of gear for a 3000-plus-mile tour of the summer skiing (and summer recreation) destinations of the Great Northwest.
Michael Clarke interviews some excited, young patrons of the Jib Yard for their possible appearances in his Just Passing Thru project.
The itinerary hit a slight hitch when Michael won the State Surf Contest held on the Flowrider standing wave at the Salomon Center in Ogden. His success in the landlocked State of Utah lit a fire under him to chase big waves, a beautiful girl, the respect of a close-knit native community, and eventual vindication in the face of antagonistic treatment from an arrogant Hawai'i surf pro.
Photo: Jenny Naftulin
That wasn't a wave; that was a ripple. I've seen bigger waves in a toilet.
Things got back on track when Clarke remembered that he had already planned a different journey of action sports and personal discovery and that several other people would be disappointed and embittered over a drastic and unexpected change in plans if he bailed at the last minute. So Just Passing Thru kept passing thru—thru Idaho and into Oregon, where they currently camp, ski, film, shoot photos, Twitter, blog, and possibly have a laugh or two here and there.
Stay glued to Just Passing Thru on the web from 93 until infinity for constant updates on what it's like to live the good life. That is, the life that involves water ramping, summer skiing, summer skiing without snow, surfing, cameras, and a new conversation technology that may be remembered in future conversations about mind uploading—if only our minds really held something worth downloading. Downloading—that reminds me, did I mention summer skiing?
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Contributors
John Symms
My friend is a pro. In fact, many of my friends are pros. How else do you think I got this job?
Tim Mutrie
Journalist and blog-a-neer, big mtn. correspondent Tim has a desk-sized condo in a little place called Aspen.
Seth Morrison
If you don't know who Seth is, just click out of this blog and walk away. (Seth is a big mtn. legend, you see.)
Sage Cattabriga-Alosa
Sage went from washing dishes professionally to freeskiing professionally — aka "professional growth."
Ingrid Backstrom
World traveler, prolific ripper, reader and smiler, Ingrid lives in a cabin at the base of Squaw Valley.
Nate Abbott
Driven by coffee, powder, music, laughing, books & possibilities, photographer Nate is a lurker with Leica.
Liam Downey
Vermonster, Level 1 vet and large animal veterinarian, Liam's 6'5" frame makes him a large animal himself.
