BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY
PROFESSIONAL SNOWBOARDER
After years of filming in the backcountry, Travis Rice has learned it's not just about bagging the shot or getting the clip – it's all about the opportunity.
Hammering out jaw-dropping parts in renowned films like Art of Flight and The Fourth Phase, snowboarding pioneer Travis Rice changed the way snowboarders look at the mountain. But after years of filming in the most far off places, he's learned it's not just about bagging the shot or getting the clip – it's all about the opportunity.
“Alaska is a place that demands a lot. It takes patience, a respectful approach, a trusted team, but more than anything, it requires you to be savagely present.”
Conditions in the backcountry are unlike anywhere else in the world. They're raw, ever-changing, and require an insane level of focus. It’s a backdrop that's as serene and mind-blowingly beautiful as it is stomach churning. Yet somehow he makes it look so easy.
Don't be fooled, though. It takes constant preparation with many critical factors in play – the snowpack and conditions, getting aligned with a crew you can trust, staying educated on past weather patterns and what's coming in. It's the careful calculations and process of preparation that makes riding the terrain and features in the backcountry possible. But like Travis will tell you, once you're dialed in, the opportunity is yours for the taking.
“So many things have to come together for you to be up there on top of the mountain, confident in the snow conditions, getting a chance at putting down what you build in your head and how you visualize and see it. And that’s all I can really ask for – the opportunity to put that down on the mountain.”