Adventures with Untouched project in Kosovo

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Snowboarding has taken me to some amazing places, but I never imagined we would be filming in mountains of Kosovo in such short time after the war!

It all went so quick, I did not even get a chance to rest after the filming missions in Oetz, we were already driving to the South. I was so excited I did not even realize where we are going, until we came back to Slovenia actually!

I feel like home pretty much everywhere in former Yugoslavian countries. I speak just enough of the language and I tend to get in the mix pretty fast. And it is super easy, while all of our former “brothers” are open, warm and pure! I really dig that kind of vibes and they make sure they enhance your experience of the places you visit.

We also had the best crew ever. Maček finally shined at his best and showed that he is hands down most versatile Slovenian rider… probably ever. Pristo was true coach, helping the young guys and still pushing it, although he has a nasty shoulder injury. Domen got shitload of shots in three days, which is big respect, for someone who did not get a chance to ride the whole season, like some of us. Katja and Domen, as the photographers, are like jing and jang and that really flies. We got all the aspects of the trip covered, which is important for our project. Matej Gostinčar was also with us, so my work was made a lot less stressful, because I can really trust him to get the job done properly and focus on other stuff. And last but not least, young guns, Mičo and Žiga, were surely the best pick for this trip. They ride everything, they are hard working and they do not back down until things are finished. What else would you want?!

It was the best trip for Untouched, not that others sucked, but this one wins with the crew, the vibes, the exotica of the place and the bag of footage we are now sitting on… stoked and relieved at the same time, haha!

High speed paraski in Planica

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Today I finally met Gal Jakič, Slovenian paraskier, a competitor in fast disciplines and an all around skier who likes to try new stuff in his spare time. We are also hoping to get some of his powder shots for the Untouched project and I it was nice to see his face after all the mails, hehe.

We went to Planica, our biggest hill jump, which used to be the largest in the world and where people have flow over 100m and 200m barriers for the first time in history.

Gal will be riding a flag down the hill on Saturday’s opening ceremony, so he wanted to try how much speed and control he will have. It is a giant steep slope and you are measured to get more than 100kmh till the end. And there is no other way than just going straight!

He was pretty confident and relaxed in the car, but naturally got a bit stage fright, when we parked in the run out. After seeing this happen the next moment, he got even more concerned, but shook it off instantly and started preparing.

He handled it with ease, went for two times and got over 120kmh mark. Pretty inspiring…

Tirol with Untouched crew

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I wanted to go back to Soelden with Untouched sometime in this season, as we had pretty successful shoot there last year. The mountains there have a lot of potential, but we could not go all out, while there was shitloads of sharks underneath.

This time we scored even better. New snow on Soelden and a promising Hochoetz resort were the bomb. It was a freeride mission basically, with our most experienced team member, Matevž Maček, and young skier, Andraž Šparovec.

We really pushed it from dusk till dawn each day, husling to get tickets, hiking woods and lines, late for the last lift everyday and then still filming scenics until sun went down.

It was hard core four days, but it payed off, like always when you put so much effort in it. More about the trip on Untouched blog…

Two month dose of clips for Qparks

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February and March were busy months for me.

I have been to Oetztal with Untouched (more about it on Untouched site and in a blog tomorrow), doing various other projects and driving back and forth for Qparks shootings.

Planneralm Oldschool was pretty crazy and it was snowing so I was amped up as always. Spent two cool days with DC crew in Kitzbuhel. Return to my last years favorite, Kitzsteinhorn, for Oakley Talent Days and encountered the most crowded Planai ever at Atomic Experience Day.

Most relaxed and productive was hands down the Gastein Sessions, where I got to take some Slovenian young guns with me. Snowboarders Luka and Peter Podlogar and skier Agron Imeri get the best crew award this year in advance, haha.

Clips below…

Early call

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Yesterday I thought I was going to chill all day and do some editing, while the snow conditions were so sketchy the Untouched crew had a day off. But I changed my mind and decided to go filming some scenics, considering there is finally snow in the mountains.

Waking up at 5am never had paid off more. I got lucky with the morning fog for starters, then skies cleared about the same time as I arrived on Sorca. After being done at 10am, I managed to sneak in some easy pow rides, which was banging. Fell asleep at 19pm, haha.

West to East Austria

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I had jing-jang weekend for Qparks in Austria.

Kaprun Oakley shoot was in the prefect weather, new snow, warm and sunny. Planneralm on the other hand was cloudy, wet snow and getting worse by the minute. But the important thing is that both were fun and real easy to shoot, we just basically had fun in the mountains for two days. Did some night time timelapses and various scenics for the Untouched in the free time, hehe.

I also got to see the culuars that are made in Kaprun (waiting for Maček) and at last it started to snow, even in Slovenia. Can not wait for the next sunny day… it is on!

Making of Luža teaser

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This year I am responsible for video part of the Luža contest.

It is a annual event, where skiers and snowboarders are trying to get over a pool of freezing water or sending the best trick into it. All goes on in a fun three day spring session on Krvavec with all sorts of happening, so I really look forward to the main event.

First thing of my work was to film them a nice teaser, based on the story continuing from the last year. We were doing a lot of branding and a lot of driving, but it is a well organized team working on it, so my job was pretty easy. Teaser will be up in the start of March, so stay tuned…

Kitzbuhel with DC Europe

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This weekend I had the coolest Qparks shoot in Kitzbuhel.

The DC Europe guys had a shoot on the big kicker, which was built a week ago. It is 18m table and super long inrun and landing. I was really happy when I saw it from the lift, I love to film big kickers and it is rare to get a shoot on stuff like this.

We had one really cold day, just doing laps around the park and one nearly perfect day with sun and no wind for the big one. The crew was super relaxed and motivated at same time, so it was fun and easy. I tried to film a follow from sled but it was way to shaky, so I had to do it “manually”. One of the fastest runs I ever rode with a camera, haha.

Clip in few days…