Sliding Down

It's all about taking freestyle to the back roads in this breathtaking documentary that does for snowboarding what films like DOGTOWN AND Z-BOYS (2001) did for skateboarding or THE ENDLESS SUMMER (1966) did for surfing.

Documentary filmmakers Kemp Curly and Kevin Harrison capture a once-in-a-lifetime event: five major-league snowboard professionals meeting up to make their first descents down some staggeringly steep peaks in Alaska. They span three decades in their ages: there's the pioneers, Shawn Farmer and Nick Peralta; esteemed Norwegian master Terje Haakonsen; and X-Games superstar Shaun White and top-flight girl snowboarder Hannah Teter. The latter two are each only 18 here and getting their first taste of the unexplored Alaska wilderness. Narrated by Henry Rollins, the film captures the easygoing camaraderie of these amazing athletes as they prepare to be lifted up in helicopters to the top of the world, outracing avalanches and plunging down straight-faced gorges.