First Descent

Aroview: Exhilarating documentary trails five of the best snowboarders in the world (Shaun White, Hannah Teter, Shawn Farmer, Terje Haakonsen, Nick Perata) into the wilds of Alaska's Chugach Mountains in search of 'big mountain' rides, while also backtracking over some of the sport's decade-long history.

Directors Curly and Harrison deserve credit for depicting the rise of snowboarding from its 'backyard' beginnings and controversies on the piste through to Olympic acceptance and corporate sponsorship, without quite matching the exuberance of the similarly self-mythologising DOGTOWN AND Z-BOYS. Far better is the contemporary footage, which captures some of the most insane rides ever attempted, which at times trigger avalanches on the near-vertical slopes.

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