Film Director Opens Up About the Difficulties of Outdoor Filmmaking
Bjarne Salén is of the world’s best high-alpine cinematographers, but he has had his share of hardships. Moving countries, lost friends, chaotic living situations—still, above all, he has found success.
He is the creator of many notable films including Finding the Line, Dreamline, Find Away for Patagonia, and of course, The Fifty Project. Despite his myriad of accomplishments, Salén wrote, "being on a trip trying to ski one single objective is not always easy" especially when the conditions don't cooperate.
Salén wrote that this difficulty is only enhanced when "you have to wait for three weeks looking at the mountain from the tent, have a lot of patience and then not be able to go for it."
Part of his process is always asking the people he films with (which has included Seth Morrison, Andreas Fransson, Samuel Anthamatten, and Cody Townsend) how they feel daily about the current situation.
"That’s my job, to film and capture everything that’s going on. It’s even more important to ask them how they feel when we pull the pin and decide to head home because the conditions are not right," he wrote.
The third slide of Salén's post shows the mountain the team was attempting. The second slide shows their living conditions.
The team for the recent push up Alaska's University Peak—Taylor Sullivan, Mali Noyes, and Cody Townsend—asked Salén how he felt about leaving and his paraphrased answer was: "All the preparation and training that we put into make this happen and then not be able to give this one a good try is part of the process."
The filmmakers insightful comments continued when he provided a reflection to his younger self, saying, "it’s part of the journey trying to get this special ski line. If this was 15 years ago I would be more bummed, but now I feel totally ok with it."
"Of course I would be more stoked if we got this one, but such is life. The bottom line is that it’s just a mountain and life goes on towards our next adventure."
The post ended with a timeless call to reflect and improve mentally. Salén urged his audience to reflect, learn and do better. "[The] mountain doesn’t go anywhere and who knows, we might be back someday…"
We'll be waiting.
Related: Arizona Snowbowl Extends Ski Season... Again
Don't miss another headline from POWDER! Subscribe to our newsletter and stay connected with the latest happenings in the world of skiing.
We're always on the lookout for amusing, interesting and engaging ski-related videos to feature on our channels. Whether you're a professional or just an amateur, we want to see your best footage and help you share it with the world. Submit your video for a chance to be featured on POWDER and our social channels. Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel to watch high-quality ski videos.
