The fast riding, gap shooting, high flying Euro boys of the Keeshlife crew never seem to miss, and KEESHFILE 20 is no exception. A recap of the 2019-20 season, this mashup of amazing clips takes us from Austria to Finland with mind numbing skiing all along the way. It seems as though these guys utilize every possible feature on the mountain, leaving nothing untouched—NO MERCY! Some faces in this crowd may be familiar from the surreal “Halcyon Days” edit, Joona Kangas and Anttu Oikkonen to name a couple, so it comes as no surprise that the same type of new wave, style-bending antics are on display here. There is really no limits to what skis can do with a creative mind behind the wheel, and this group is absolute proof of that. It may go without saying, but the style that is showcased here is really unbelievable. The uncanny ability to ski so loose yet make it look so good is incredibly fun to watch. A wise man might call that poetry-in-motion. The hard rock and groovy house beats that serenade throughout roll right in step with the tenacious skiing, as it seems like every single second of these 14 minutes is utilized to show some sort of obscene trick. Special shout out to the Ounasvaara segment, because that really blew my head off my shoulders.
When watching this joyful display of skiing, I found it hard not to think of how awesome it is that freeskiing has progressed as rapidly and creatively as it has. Back in the day, Jason Levinthal and friends were creating and testing some of the very first twin tip skis, and 25-ish years later, we view the madness that is Keeshlife, spinning, grabbing and throwing their way to greatness off natural and man made features. Not so long ago, backsliding a canyon rail and throwing a 540 was a game ender, and here we witness Aleksi Patja pull it off like no big deal. And while this edit may showcase it perfectly, this type of progression is taking place every year across the ski community on all corners of the globe. That is pretty damn cool.
These boys don’t use Ultra HD, 4K cameras and incredible 120 FPS slow motion technology; there is no drone footage or fancy cutaways. While those tools can create fantastic products, sometimes they get in the way of the free spirited romp that is skiing in its purest form. This right here is an example of nothin’ but personal style, creativity and joy. A group of buddies having fun and documenting the crazy acrobatics they’re doing along the way. As put by the creators themselves, “rugged & raw without too much planning”. Clearly that’s a winning formula right there. Keeshlife for the WIN.
