by Karl Fostvedt

The film starts out by showcasing a Mexican surf trip, where the audience is treated to a taste of the culture that many pro skiers embrace in the off-season. Soon to be pro surfer, Pep Fujas, is a standout in this intro.

The surfing is followed by a magnificent British Columbia segment that showcases a plethora of huge backcountry booters and switch pow shredding. The Kids have a heavy representation in this segment, as does Pep. For me the highlight is Pep sending the biggest BC zero spin since Andy Mahre zero-spun the Pyramid gap.

As the BC seg’ comes to a close, my anxiety shoots through the roof as I hear my own voice echoing. I spent the summer helping to edit the Detroit segment—the segment took Jonny Durst and Cody Carter over 20 timelines to get just right. Knowing how much went into this segment, it is incredible to see the finished product. Our goal with the seg’ was to challenge the conventional way of hitting urban, and judging by the crowd reactions at this weekend’s world premiere, we did just that.

The Detroit seg’ is followed by four of freeskiing’s OG’s: Morrison, Auclair, Plake and Regnier. Let me go ahead and restate that—Morrison, Auclair, Plake and Regnier all in one segment. Embarking on a gnarly ski trek in the French Alps, the crew sends it off the beaten path and they are heavily rewarded. Many of the lines they skied were hundreds of kilometers from civilization, and required belays just to get into. This was no-mistake terrain.

The OG segment is followed with more starring Morrison, as Seth, Lexi Dupont and Logan Pehota send it to a remote island in Alaska, with heli access literally out the front steps of the lighthouse they were staying in. Even though the snow conditions were less than ideal, Seth, Lexi and Logan still step to some bigger lines.

After AK, we are treated to more British Columbia, with Sean Pettit and The Kids going backcountry “camping.” The seg’ adds a much needed humor element to the film. The Kids are a hilarious crew that know how to get it done in B.C.

The film ends with Bobby Brown recruiting Gus Kenworthy, Logan Pehota, Joe Schuster, Sean Pettit, Vinnie Ca$h and myself for a Steven’s Pass park shoot. The Seattle crowd went absolutely nuts as images of Steven’s Pass came before their eyes. Between banger tricks, Red Epic heli shots, Phantom shots and beautiful glides, the segment shows everyone that PBP is still a powerhouse when it comes to park shoots.

Related: Watch the official Tracing Skylines trailer now | Here’s info on how to purchase Tracing Skylines

[Ed’s note: Stay tuned for the feature story about the Detroit trip, dropping in the October issue of Freeskier.]