Kim Havell leading Kyle Miller up Parinacota Volcano in Bolivia.
(Photo by Jim Harris)
Sweetgrass Productions is a Colorado-based film company rooted in winter backcountry and mountain culture. According to their website, “We focus on the riding, we focus on the art, we focus on blending the two into what we call film, both form and content.” Their latest film Solitaire opened to over 800 people in Denver on September 15th. The film explores backcountry riding in South America in some of the most remote areas, from Peru’s Cordillera Blanca to Chilean Patagonia. I had the opportunity to chat with Nick Waggoner, the director, a few hours before the film opened in Salt Lake City.
What was the goal of the film?
“The goal of the film was to challenge ourselves and the athletes in these rugged areas. There was no security and we did not know whether we could accomplish what we set out to do. In a lot of the places we traveled to the odds of succeeding were not very high.”
How long did the film take to complete?
“It took about 2 years from concept all the way to the finished product.”
Was there a favorite place you visited?
“Peru. I loved that country. It was very vibrant. Everywhere we visited though the people were very hospitable.”
The film also features a few, “kick ass women,” according to Nick, such as Kim Havell, Jacqui Edgerly, Elyse Saugstad, and Erica Laidlaw.
“Kim is an incredible athlete from New York who skies challenging mountains and is comfortable in extreme environments. I met Jacqui while skiing in Aspen. Since then, she has worked on three projects with us. She has a strong race background, strong turns, beautiful form, fluid lines, and takes a lot of chances. Elyse is a strong freeride skier who charges and has strong form. She spent two weeks in Argentina with us. Erica is a tough as nails skier. She carried the heaviest loads and did the most work in Patagonia.”
If you haven’t already seen Solitaire, check out the trailer at Sweetgrass Productions’ website.
