Ever since the Inspired tour was announced a few months ago, I had been dying for the day of the show to come around. As the air begins to cool here in New England, I start to let myself think about skiing more and more. Meeting two of the best skiers around certainly put me back in the mood for winter (as if I am not always in the mood for winter). I arrived on the UNH Durham campus, and promptly got lost trying to find the building. After some confused wandering, I spotted a little sign hanging on a door.
Not much fanfare for an event featuring an X-game gold medalist and Olympic athlete. This was sure to be interesting. Upon entering the classroom my senses were assaulted with blasting reggae music, a slight but noticeable smell of weed, and possibly the most excited looking crowd to ever be seated in a college lecture hall anywhere ever. We were about to be schooled on style by Henrik Harlaut and Phil Casabon.
I had planned to try and ask Henrik and Phil some deep or thought provoking questions, but when I got up to the table, I got a little star-struck and barely managed to get my NS hat and some posters signed. I talked to some fellow Newschoolers and soon enough the movies started. Sitting in a college lecture hall with Henrik and Phil upfront was a pretty cool experience. Certainly way different than any college class I have ever taken! First up was "Road to Zion".
Professors of style teaching class.
This is the way to see ski flims.
It was an excellent movie, filled with Reggae music and good vibes. It consists mostly of back-country and park. The crowd was fairly quiet, as if they were hanging on every scene of Professor Harlaut's 'lecture'. Occasionally a shot so insane or a trick so great would get a round of applause for the sheer insanity that just occurred on screen. The crowd would silence quickly so they could hear the lecture, not wanting to miss a second. A lot has been said in articles previously about both these films here on NS, and I agree with all of it. Good music, great skiing.
After a short intermission where swag was thrown to the crowd, a quick intro and we were into Professor B-Dogs movie "Keynote Skier". This one is far more focused on Urban, consisting almost entirely of absolutely banger shots. The creativity of Professor Casabon is unreal. A few of the features he hits, I would have never thought possible. The crowd loved this movie as well. Soaking in every second of it.
After the lights came up, it was time for the raffle. T-shirts, dvds, stickers, provided by Fire on the Mountain Ski Shop, UNHs local shop. The grand prize though was a pretty sweet deal. A free ticket to SnowJam 2015. Its a spring break trip with tons of college students from all over the north-east. Destination? Mount Tremblant. Who was lucky enough to win? Me! I could not be more excited! Three days of drinking and skiing in Canada? What could be better! Not only that but it means at least one new entry for the Grand Tour of (slightly outside of) New England Skiing! I hope to meet some fellow Newschoolers on the trip, so if you are going to this thing, send me a message! (And if you are interested in going, check out the event here. There are tons of colleges in the north-east that go!)
I left the event with a huge grin on my face feeling better than I have in ages. Huge thanks to the Inspired Crew for putting the tour on and UNH Ski Club for hosting the event. Thanks to Fire on the Mountain and SnowJam for the awesome prizes! Hopefully there will be more events like this, as I know I certainly will show up to anything like this again. If the Inspired Movie Tour is coming anywhere near you, do yourself a favor and go see the show!
E-Dollo, myself and B-dog
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