STEEP

Year: 2007
USA: Sony Pictures Classics
Cast: Doug Coombs, Bill Briggs, Stefano De Benedetti, Eric Pehota, Glen Plake, Shane McConkey, Seth Morrison, Chris Davenport, Ingrid Backstrom and Andrew McLean
Director: Mark Obenhaus
Country: USA
USA: 92 mins
USA Rated: PG for extreme sports action and brief language
USA Release Date: 21 December 2007 (Limited Release - New York and Los Angeles)


Synopsis

STEEP without risk... there is no adventure

Featuring many of the sport's greatest athletes, STEEP is a feature documentary about daring adventurism, exquisite athleticism and the pursuit of a perfect moment on skis. It is the story of big mountain skiing, a sport that barely existed 35 years ago and was shot on High Definition and on film in Alaska, Wyoming, Canada, France and Iceland.

Beginning in the 1970s in the mountains above Chamonix, France, skiers began to attempt extremely dangerous ski descents that appeared almost suicidal. Experienced skiers like Anselme Baud and Patrick Vallencant were inspired by the challenge of skiing where no one had attempted before. Now, two generations later, some of the world's greatest skiers pursue a sport where the prize is not winning, but simply experiencing the exhilaration of skiing and exploring big, wild, remote mountains.

The man who is often described as the greatest big mountain skier of all, the late Doug Coombs, is the character at the centre of STEEP, who tragically died in a skiing accident in La Grave, France, in April, 2006, just days after being filmed for STEEP. His rich life and tragic death reveal the essential question at the heart of big mountain skiing: How does a skier weigh the risks versus the rewards of a sport where the possibility of dying is ever-present?