Last winter, I posted a video shot with drones that my friend Sergey produced showcasing "every day" adventures in the Alaskan backcountry. Since then, Sergey has been working on a feature film titled, Full Story, and it's some heavy shit. Filmed in the Alaska Range, the Talkeetna mountains and the Chugach mountains, Full Story follows filmmaker Sergey Nefedov, Oliver Godnig, Jason Turnbull and a cast of venturesome riders on their hunt for powder and more uniquely, the pitfalls they encounter along the way.
First-hand accounts like Full Story make us truly aware of the triumphs—and risks—that one can encounter in the backcountry. While most of the drone footage will leave you feeling alive and awe-struck, some of the scenes might make you cringe. I was relieved to hear that Oliver walked away uninjured after being sluffed out at Hatcher's Pass (1:09). And that the rider of the partially buried sled also walked away unharmed, though his airbag probably saved his life.
Every rider in front of a camera aspires to land the perfect shot. And often, those are the only clips we see. Sergey's film is about the the good, the bad, and the ugly: the full story.
Full Story will be released in June and will be available on Tetongravity.com.