The crowd hooted and yelled as the lights went down and TGR’s new movie, "Mind: the Addiction", went up on the screen. The film’s premier was held at Walk Festival Hall in Jackson Hole. Smiling faces, some more illuminated than others, watched and listened as skiers and snowboarders did what everyone loves. Big mountain riding, amazing air in a multitude of shapes and sizes, candid clips and conversations with the athletes, and a high energy soundtrack all made the crowd give continuous feedback through gasps, screams, and shouts.

According to TGR founder, Todd Jones, the toughest footage to shoot were the Alaskan segments. "It's always tough to shoot in Alaska because it's so uncontrolled." said Todd. The Alaska segments show some avalanche footage and lots of untracked, Alaskan extreme.

Mind The Addiction is an attempt to find out why skiers and snowboarders go to such great lengths to follow their passion. The emotions they confront (and reveal) before, during and, after descents are an insightful look into the world of progressive skiing. During the movie a woman beside me said, "I never knew they got scared."

The movie lets the viewer experience the mindset of the skiers while showing you that they’re human as well even if they are crazy. The combination of courage, skill, and abandonment required to ride the lines and pull off the maneuvers is often overlooked in the world of extreme skiing. A clack of my ski poles goes out to TGR for taking the time to give a well-rounded view of the athlete’s world rather than focusing solely on the huckfest.

Not to say there isn't hucking, there’s plenty of it. As C.R. Johnson says in the movie "I’m gonna huck." The spirit of C.R. Johnson and Tanner Hall came across well in the film. Johnson’s attempts at the river bridge crossing showed the enjoyment of trying new things -- new ways to have fun on the boards. The experience and commitment to the lifestyle are clearly revealed by the lines and comments of Nobis, Piefer, Jones, and Black. All are doing it to different music and sounds.

The film was shot last season and features Micah Black, Jeremy Nobis, Kent Kreitler, Johan Olofsson, Gordy Peifer, Candide Thovex, Jon Olson, Jeremy Jones, Tanner Hall, C.R. Johnson, Dave Swanwick, Andrew Crawford and Cris Collins.

The Soundtrack does a great job matching the visuals with lyrics and jams. Mind the Addiction has a core drive as its mainstay yet uses other music in a creative and timely way. Funky rap, dancehall reggae, instrumentals, roots, soul, core, rock all serve to support and highlight the action and emotions that are portrayed in the movie. The soundtrack provides suprise upon surprise to the glued audience.

I've enjoyed the emphasis on reggae in past TGR films, and in this movie, they use it effectively to create a specific mood as in the Jeremy Jones sequence. Other surprises include using a Bon Jovi song during the entire Micah Black segment; a very different piece of music that really worked to solidify the piece. TGR has reached a new level of sophistication in combining the music, interviews, and music in a seamless way and is an adventure to the ears and eyes.

The film features music by Zebrahead, Flightcrank, Terra Nova, Itals, DJ Logic, One Minute Silence, Quoram, Outkast, Endo, Scapegoat Wax, Dub Pistols, SGT. Rock, Metallica, Flybanger, Bon Jovi, Uberzone, Little T and One Track Mike, jMichael Franti and Spearhead, Insolence.

It can be purchased for $27.00 directly from their website at: www.tetongravity.com.

PHOTO: Kent Kreitler minding his addiction in Haines, AK. Photo by: Greg Epstein

Visit the TGR website at: www.tetongravity.com.