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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Advertisement Email Story to a Friend May 5, 2006 Snowboarder Lucas Wilson goes big on a box-rail feature while being photographed by Zach Scott of Bend. The pair were at Mount Shasta this week as part of production on a snowboarding video to be released in the fall. (Andy Atkinson) Snowboard feats & falls A video crew from Bend uses sports film stardom as an incentive to spur 'boarders into novel tricks and occasional spills at Mount Shasta By BILL KETTLER Mail Tribune "We're about to witness history," someone says as Lucas Wilson glides toward the big ramp on his snowboard. Sam Hiltner's video camera is rolling as Wilson hits the jump and goes airborne. He's trying to make almost two complete circles in the air before landing on a narrow steel rail 30 feet down a snowy slope on Mount Shasta. Wilson's just a bit short of the full 630 degrees of spin when his board lands on the rail. He loses his balance and slides off the rail sideways, crashing in a heap in the soft, spring snow. History will have to wait, but Hiltner has captured another epic crash on video, a crash that thousands of snowboarders around the world might see next fall. Snowboard videos have become increasingly popular as more teens and young adults take up the sport. Like ski movies, their better-known cousins, the videos feature young athletes who aren't afraid of crashing in pursuit of a trick nobody has done before, or at least one that's never been seen on video. Advertisement "Everybody wants to see something new," says Leland McNamara, Hiltner's partner in Bend-based NC Productions. They brought their crew to Mount Shasta this week in pursuit of wild action for their fourth annual salute to snowboarding, tentatively titled "Time for Change." Video crews typically spend the winter traveling the mountains, getting into remote places where the snow is deep, the hills are steep and visitors are scarce. That means no chairlifts and lots of time slogging through the snow — both for the videographers and the boarders. "If we work a 12- or 14-hour day and we get 30 seconds of footage, we're stoked," Hiltner says. "It usually doesn't come that easily." In spring, when the sun is shining and the snow is soft, they often visit ski resorts, looking for a few last outrageous moments to add to the production, which, like most boarder videos, includes action from many different sites. Groomed terrain and ski areas' grooming machines allow them to build long, steep jumps and other features they can't create in the mountains. "This is end-of-season fun," says Wilson, 18, one of seven riders in the NC crew. "We're just out pushing each other's riding, trying to make a good video." Wilson says performing for video adds a certain amount of pressure to what is usually perceived as a laid-back scene. "Once the cameras are on it's a completely different ballgame. It's not so much about fun anymore. We can do almost anything before the cameras come out." Wilson, a snowboarder for just four years, says riders must be "willing to take a beating" to get the images that sell. "You have to push your friends' riding and push yourself. You can't do it by yourself." The friendly competition inspires riders to try new things, which produces astonishing tricks and spectacular crashes. Both have an appeal for audiences, says McLeod resident Jolene Kirkpatrick, a snowboard instructor at Mount Shasta who helped the NC crew during its visit. "It's funny to watch someone wipe out," she says. "It's cool to watch someone do something not everybody can do." Inexpensive video equipment and plenty of young people who are willing to perform has made the field increasingly competitive. McNamara and Hiltner promote their videos through snowboard magazines and their Web site: ncproductions.org. "It's all about marketing and promotions to make things happen," says McNamara, who rode in videos himself until a serious injury put him behind the camera. He says they may finally make money on "Time for Change," their fourth video, which will be available in Europe, North America, and, for the first time, Japan. Their latest offering, along with countless others, will appear in the fall, as anticipation builds for the coming winter. "They pump you up," says Kirkpatrick, the snowboard instructor, "and they give you more incentive to do it yourself." Reach reporter Bill Kettler at 776-4492, or by e-mail: [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2006 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. 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