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Thread: Born in Chamonix (Tof Henry)
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11-27-2018, 07:12 PM #1
Born in Chamonix (Tof Henry)
Not sure if this has been posted up yet, but a super cool new release about Cham skiing/style/progression starring Tof Henry and some insanely impressive steep skiing.
https://vimeo.com/302645996
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11-28-2018, 12:35 AM #2
spicy! mono board is back
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11-28-2018, 07:31 AM #3Registered User
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I liked it but it did not kick me out of the socks as la liste did - and the comparison was made everywhere...
Now that you expectations are reset: watch it, it is definitely worth the time.
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11-28-2018, 06:05 PM #4
Direct link-
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11-28-2018, 06:47 PM #5Undertow
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I liked it and thought the Nobis comparison was spot on... Thanks for posting...
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11-29-2018, 03:17 AM #6
Better article in Nov. Pow Mag about Tof, great companion to this piece imo
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11-29-2018, 04:20 AM #7
I lent Tof my 21cm ice screw in the queue for the Midi before he went to ski the north face of the Aiguille du Plan with Mikko and Jesper, and well over six months later he STILL hasn't given it back.
Until he gives back my ice screw, I cannot endorse any project of his.
Film looks rad though, because that's just who Tof is.
But give me back my ice screw, dick.Short stories about snow and rock, and pictures, too
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11-29-2018, 08:05 AM #8Registered User
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Speaking of ice screws, what happens if more rappels(abseil, is that the right word?) are required than anticipated and not enough ice screws were brought? No price on safety but it must get a little pricey leaving ice screws all over the mountains. I'm assuming you never get them back? Always am amazed at how casual they can be above exposure and then getting to the crux. No problem, insert screw rappel and go.
Loved the first scene of the skiing under the cables. Between the pov and the heli, or drone footage you could really see the line. And then looking down to a very green Chamonix village.
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11-29-2018, 09:08 AM #9
Naked V-thread.
Drive a 21cm screw twice into the ice to form a triangle shape, insert one end of rappel rope and thread through as for an abolokov anchor, tie to other rappel rope, rappel as normal. Pull side of rope with the knot on, leaving nothing but air in your anchor. Cool trick.Short stories about snow and rock, and pictures, too
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11-29-2018, 10:52 AM #10
Jong question: you need a second rope because pulling a single through the v-thread would heat the ice and degrade the strength? I thought the ice had so little friction in it that you could pull the the rope through without issue.
In other words, if your single rope is long enough for the rap, can you just use one pulled to its midpoint?
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11-29-2018, 11:10 AM #11
Oh yeah, of course you can. If you only need to rap 15m then two halves of your 30m glacier rope is fine, no bother. You won't be melting glacier ice by pulling through a few meters of string. Some of the videos people have made of chipping away at their V-threads and weight testing them, seeing how much abuse they can take before they fail, are really quite reassuring.
It's just a question of speed and convenience really... is it quicker to pull through half of a 60m rope, or is it worth just leaving 50cm of anchor tat instead, and tying that over the midpoint of your rope? Whatever is easiest and quickest for any given situation.Short stories about snow and rock, and pictures, too
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11-29-2018, 12:38 PM #12
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11-29-2018, 05:00 PM #13
Powder article was pretty enlightening/frightening. Doesn't seem sustainable, but that's pretty much the story for anybody "pushing it" in Cham I guess.
I met Tof at a party in Farrelones a few years back. In that instance he seemed super laid back, and pretty quiet. Still, for whatever reason it was clear that he was the raddest dude at the party, not because of any overt grandstanding (the picture the article paints) - the guy just has an air about him. The word I would've used to describe him then - "focused", makes more sense given what was going on for him outside of skiing at that time.
Can't wait to watch the film.
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11-29-2018, 05:37 PM #14
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11-30-2018, 05:58 PM #15
Great film, crazy level of commitment, balls and skill. Heitz and Candide push the limits in similar ways with their pursuits and just operate at a different level.
I saw Tof, Nate and crew around Cham at the end of March, stoked and chilling after a big day. The aura was definitely there.
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12-01-2018, 05:10 PM #16
That was rad.
www.skevikskis.com Check em out!
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12-04-2018, 07:52 AM #17Registered User
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The powder article is available online now: https://www.powder.com/stories/featu...PxJE1IyFUdOSTM
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12-04-2018, 09:38 AM #18
The biggest difference I saw with La Liste was the attitude towards the mere mortals who are trying to get after it in the steeps and don't have the balls to sent it super-G style. These guys seem really dismissive of anyone who isn't doing things in what they consider the proper style. That seemed to extend to the pioneers of steep skiing who went after all these lines in bad conditions and that really bothers me. In La Liste Jeremy spends a fair amount of time framing his project as an evolution of / building on what the old timers started but he never once shits on what they did. He seems to get all emotional when he repeats one of the lines (can't remember which) in great conditions some 30 years after the first descent and he comments endlessly on how badass the first generation of steep skiers was. Very different vibe with Tof and his bros and no amount of soul reggae and platitudes is gonna wash that off. Cham locals though. Having grown up in one of the "inferior" resorts in the next valley over I can't say the attitude is all that surprising.
TLDR - great visuals, badass skiing, just enough spray to make it a distant #2 as far as movies about people who are flying more than they're skiing.
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12-04-2018, 09:55 AM #19
special breed.
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12-04-2018, 09:56 AM #20Registered User
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^^ . Well written -- very much along my reaction.
Personally found La Liste skiing more inspiring as well.
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12-04-2018, 10:05 AM #21
OK.
Reminds me of the "next generation" article a few years back. I wonder how long he will last.....
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12-04-2018, 10:05 AM #22
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12-04-2018, 10:22 AM #23
Yeah #2 to La Liste which to me set an impossibly high bar on all fronts. I think the skiing is better, not necessarily more badass but always on bigger more opened and aesthetic faces. The videography is out of this world, the music is good, and the whole story holds together well. Jeremy (and Sam Anthamatten and pretty much anyone interviewed in the movie) seems like a psyched down to earth kid who doesn't have a shred of arrogance to himself. He obviously scares the shit out of himself a bunch and doesn't hide it.
It was funny to see that neither of these guys were satisfied with their skiing of the Gervasutti and couldn't make it look good. Guess good conditions just don't happen in a 1000m ice funnel. Who'd have thought.
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12-04-2018, 11:14 AM #24Registered User
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#3 in my mind. Vivian Bruchez "Downside Up" is #2 after "La Liste" IMHO. [Edit I see your caveat about "flying more than skiing" now -- so I guess Downside Up doesn't really qualify]
But they're just different movies. La Liste was about a project -- skiing a set of steep lines really fast; Born in Cham was about a skier playing in his home mountain range. Different approaches, and I don't know if the hype or comparisons were fair. To me, Tof Henry's style (and the movie) seems like a middle ground between pushing the limits of steep skiing and skiing steep lines fast. If you believe the sentiment of the movie (and I'm not saying I do), Tof wasn't out to scare himself or really push the limits of skiing -- he was just trying to ride lines in his style. At least, that's my take as an outsider. I'm sure other people with insider knowledge (peds, etc) would have a different perspective.
Also, I'd be curiuos to see the budget differences between La Liste and Born in Cham. My guess is most of the filming for La Liste was professionally done via heli while Born in Cham was mostly self-filmed via drone and Go Pro."Alpine rock and steep, deep powder are what I seek, and I will always find solace there." - Bean Bowers
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12-04-2018, 02:28 PM #25Registered User
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I liked it.
Made me second guess my career as an SRE/programmer. If I had just moved to cham when I was 18 (when I was thinking about it) I could have been dead already.
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