In a world where mountains are a thing of the past and snowboarding is a distant memory lies an adventure yet untold – until Friday night, that is.
Whitefish snowboarder Jason Robinson’s first self-produced film, “Veil: In Search of the Last Mountain,” premieres on Nov. 21 at the Whitefish Performing Arts Center (PAC), showcasing an abundance of local talent, from a film poster designed by Whitefish artist and ripper Angus Matheson, the creative mind behind the brand Achy Bones Co., to a live performance of the film’s soundtrack by Columbia Falls-based psychedelic doom rock band The Gray Goo. Admission to the film is free.
The sci-fi snowboard western takes a unique approach to the art of snowboard filmmaking, diverting from the genre’s typical action-centered cinema, though Robinson has had his fair share of star-moments in those as well.
“It’s a weird one, you know,” Robinson said, comparing his film to the 15-or-so others he’s appeared in.
The film takes place in a futuristic world where mountains and, by default, snowboarding no longer exist (or do they?), resulting in a “thought-provoking adventure” that involves pack mules.
“That’s very atypical of snowboard films,” Robinson said. “There’s not too much in them beyond the trips and action and a little flare of personality in lifestyle shorts.”
Robinson has been itching to embark on a mule-assisted snowboarding trip into the backcountry ever since he spent a summer working in the Spotted Bear Ranger District 10 years ago. Stationed in the middle of the Bob Marshall Wilderness for 100 days, Robinson helped care for the horses that packed in supplies, planting the germ of an idea.
“I kind of fell in love with that idea of taking pack mules on a snowboard trip,” Robinson said.
Fast-forward to earlier this year, Robinson attended a watch party for a snowboarding film he starred in, “Alaska Glacier Camp,” by Inyo and Worm. Robinson found himself listening to mule-packer Brad Robinson and fellow boarder Rowdy Starling relay an unsuccessful attempt at a backcountry mule-assisted snowboarding trip and their intention to try it again. Though the conversation lasted only a couple minutes, Robinson said it was enough to reignite his interest in the idea. Out with an injury that halted his season on the mountains, he became possessed with the concept, growing in tandem with a craving he’d had to create his own snowboarding film.
“Being injured your head kind of goes into all the activity you can’t do physically,” Robinson said. “I couldn’t do much, so I obsessed on that idea.”
He got in touch with Brad Robinson and Starling about the project later that spring. They were fully onboard.
In June, the small crew and their mountain stock took off for a five-day trip in the Swan Range, the first line Robinson would carve in the snow since his injury.
To fill out the rest of the snowboarding shots for the film, Starling and Robinson embarked on several summer adventures, including a nearly 20-hour day hiking Great Northern Mountain to repeatedly ride the small section of snow that lingered at the peak in August.
“Instead of telling a deep story on how primitive [mule-packing] is, how it’s been a heritage for those in the region for 100s of years, I more just let these weird ideas and darker thoughts take the reins on the approach,” Robinson said of the direction he decided to take for the film.
Robinson commissioned Matheson to design artwork for the film, granting creative freedom to the artist known for his intertwining of the whimsical and the macabre.
The result? A trippy, black-and-white poster featuring a sky-spiral, a lead-roper with his mules plodding their way to a singular mountain peak, and a ground carpeted by circuit boards mimicking mycorrhizal fungi – one component he “ran wild with.”
“I think the film is a very tangible, approachable film that is inspiring to everybody, not just professional snowboarders,” Matheson said. “To me personally, it’s a reminder that snowboarding can be more than just massive tricks, it can be an adventure too.”
Having his first film premiere on the same campus where he went to middle school feels “nostalgic,” Jason Robinson said. Surrounded by friends and supported by community members makes the project feel “extra special.”
“It is pretty unique to have such talented artists that you are friends with or at least acquaintances with in your hometown,” Robinson said.
As someone who’s made the leap from working the traditional grind to a life seeking out adventure, Robinson sees the film as another iteration of that – trying out something that may seem “a little bizarre and weird” but makes sense to him. He hopes that the concept translates to viewers.
“For me, a big thing I would like to inspire – maybe it’s not in this realm, maybe it’s in their world, but if they have something that seems strange or far out that they want to pursue – just to follow that,” he said.
“That’s the takeaway I would really like. Who cares? Just do something that’s true to you,” He added.
“Veil: In Search of the Last Mountain” premiers on Nov. 21 at the Whitefish PAC at 6 p.m. All ages are welcome and admission is free.
