Blank Canvas (2021) - full transcript

All right.
Elena is ready.

- Probably 15 seconds.
- Copy, 15.

One hundred.

Hi!

- Who is this?
- Elena.

I don't remember
getting into it,

but I know I was just the most
competitive child in the world.

I hated to lose
when I was a kid.

Eleven-years-old.

Wow! Look out for her.

She is the future of women's
snowboarding, and that's Elena Hight.



She was top dog
at a very young age.

The rest of us were like,

"Whoa, man, you made
finals. Nice work."

Elena was, like, for sure in
finals and probably on the podium.

Just landing into
the top of transition.

Feel like, she came in
with some aggressiveness.

I was like, "Oh, that's why
they call you Mighty Mouse."

One, two... Oh!

Never been done.
Female or male...

She was a dominant competitive
figure for so many years.

That is huge.

Taking women's half-pipe
snowboarding to the next level.

It's hard to walk away from something
that you know you're good at,

that you haven't quite accomplished
everything you wanted to accomplish.



It's hard to know

when that moment is

that you're not going
to regret pushing harder,

but also feeling the pull
of your heart

is taking you
in a different direction.

You can see the blue skies.

To me, it just seems
like many of my friends,

she's come to this point where the
contests just really weren't doing it.

It wasn't inspiring, you know,

and this is like something she can
really sink her teeth into again

and do what she did
in the contest world

and go and do that
in freeriding.

It looks like I would
need to kind of, like,

redirect.

This transition to
the backcountry is scary.

I'm not a seasoned veteran.

And I'm learning
along the process,

and that is kind of scary.

It doesn't look
too crazy over here.

All right.

There's so much more involved

than just the snowboard

in backcountry riding.

And when you go
into the mountains,

you're forced into
a place of observation

which takes presence
and it's always changing.

It's very nerve-racking

walking away from what I've done

for the past 15 years

and going to this avenue
that had a lot to learn

and no real idea if I'm
going to succeed or fail,

but I feel like just the experience
is worth taking the leap.

All right.
Elena dropping in ten.

Five, four, three, two, one.

You know, with as much
travel as I have

been doing in my career,

waking up at home is
just such a treat in itself.

I haven't really spent
an entire winter at home

or even a month
of a winter at home

since I was, like, 15.

So it's pretty cool to
be off the contest scene

and also have a winter
like this lined up in Tahoe

where I can stay home
and explore.

Yeah, it's pretty...
Pretty special.

I feel very fortunate
to grow up here,

and, you know, my parents
worked really hard

so that we could live in this beautiful
place and be surrounded by nature

and we would go riding at night,

we'd go every weekend.

My parents would drive me all
around the lake for USASA events,

and we'd all get together and
run around the mountain together

and cause trouble.

You know, it's just a really
tight-knit community here.

Looks good.
It's a double stager now.

I think you should hit it.

There's a lot of really amazing
snowboarders here in Tahoe

and a lot of people that I've
looked up to for a long time

and really wanted to get
those people here

and run around
our backyard together.

So, ride us right to the rock
or ride us left to the rock.

So we've got
Nick Russell, Danny Davis,

and a couple days out
with Sammy Luebke.

You know, when you're out
deep in the mountains,

the people that you're with
are really so important.

They are your safety net.

They're your confidence boost.

They're like the ones that
are keeping the vibes high,

passing along wisdom

and I've been really,
really fortunate

to be out with a lot of really
amazing people this year.

Oh, yeah, this is the zone now.

- Pretty cool.
- Wow.

Yeah. Variable day
out here on our snowboards,

riding with two
of my longtime friends,

Nick... Russell

and Elena...
Hight.

What happened here?

♪ Towards the kingdoms
In the East ♪

♪ I heard that great dog
Of winter there ♪

♪ Call through
The darkness to me ♪

♪ He asked how long till
The war would come to him ♪

♪ I said not till the spring

♪ He said those fools
Can never take the crown ♪

♪ But that it's still
Up to you and me ♪

♪ Oh, oh

♪ You can't get
What you need ♪

Whoo!

♪ Oh, oh

Whoo-hoo!

♪ You can't get
What you need ♪

♪ Oh, oh

♪ You can't beat
The machine ♪

Yeah, boy!

All kinds of snow in there.

Yes.

To the pocket.

Whoo!

- Yeah, Dan.
- Yeah.

Look, I pushed him.

♪ Famines rage

♪ While the withered sages Point
their fingers At the beast ♪

Whoo!

That was great.

That was so fun.

♪ The wheels of hate
Unburied soldiers lay ♪

♪ Under flags
Out in the street ♪

♪ The final age
Of the human race ♪

Yeah!

♪ But it's still
Up to you and me ♪

Jam it, baby.

Kind of more like cross cording.

- You're going to nail it.
- Yeah.

Elena dropping.

♪ You can't get
What you need ♪

I was almost beat.
I don't know what happened.

All right. I'll go again.

♪ Oh, oh

♪ You can't get
What you need ♪

Yeah. That's what
I'm talking about.

♪ Oh, oh

♪ You can't beat
The machine ♪

Whoo!

♪ Oh, oh

♪ You can't get
What you need ♪

♪ Oh

Whoo!

Nice, there.

♪ You can't beat
The machine ♪

Whoo!

We're kind of scoping
some of the stuff that, like,

inspired me to become
a snowboarder essentially.

All of these zones

are what I watched
on repeat in the films,

and it's pretty cool to be
out in these legendary zones,

and it makes you appreciate
where snowboarding comes from

and where it's going.

Let's go, Sun.

Come on, Sun.
Let's do this.

I'm ready.

Jeremy Jones
is the first person to ride

Grizzly Spines and Paradox.

You know, a line as serious
as the Grizzly Spines,

um, if something happens,

you know,
the consequences are high.

I remember
vividly riding a line,

kind of came over the roll

and there's really
nothing there.

It's like super airy below,

it's so steep, you couldn't
come to a stop if you wanted to.

Pulled out
by the skin of my teeth,

and I'm not sure I could
go back and repeat it.

Paradox was one of my
favorite movies as a kid.

I think it was just...

It came out at a time when I was
really watching a lot of videos

and it was really
groundbreaking at the time.

There was a lot of exposure,

and Jeremy just went up there
and slayed it.

Standing on top of this line

that I've been looking at
in photos forever.

It's down there.

Been on top of this thing
for about an hour,

just waiting for the sun to pop.

Just waiting.

Patience is a virtue.

Oh, man.

Really hard call right now.

Looks like there's
more clouds rolling in.

Let's, uh, call it.

Looked epic to ride,

and knowing that Jeremy was
the first person to ride it

and he's been
such an inspiration to me

and helping me, like, step
into this new life really.

Like, Jeremy's been such
a big part of that for me.

The generation before me
really has made

what seemed impossible
really possible,

which has been kind of
the inspiration for me

to continue on what I'm doing.

Whoo!

Go now.

Whoo-hoo!

The creek is giving us traction.

Yep, we got this.
We got it. And we're out.

- Good job, Elena.
- And we're out.

Cruising, getting lost
in nowhere Japan.

Break nowhere apart is now here.

So we're here right now.

There's so many mountains,

so many little
mom and pop ski resorts.

And it's just limited
by your imagination.

Walking around
the forests of Japan.

How's that there?

Whoo!

Yeah. Great.

Putting together this trip,

Hana was like
a no-brainer for me.

She really has brought me
into the backcountry

and shared her passion of it

with me throughout the years

and she just loves
snowboarding more than anyone

and that essence is really...
It's contagious.

I just think this is
such a beautiful opportunity

for her to go and experience

all the different
kinds of snowboarding.

And it's really cool to be,
like, passing along

some of the knowledge
I've picked up to her.

Right here and then I thought...

And seeing her
determination and energy

is fulfilling me
in a different way.

- Yeah!
- Hana!

Fun, huh?

See there's a couple...
in there.

Ended up talking to Travis

and he was like,
"I'm going to be in Japan."

I'm like, "I want to
snowboard with you girls."

- No, it's right here.
- So close there.

I was over here with

one of my dearest Japanese
riding partner Shin Biyajima.

We were gonna be just travelling,
exploring some new areas.

Worked out too perfect
not to jump on it.

I've always looked up to him and the
things that he does on a snowboard

and he has elevated
snowboarding in a lot of ways.

There's always
stuff out in the backside.

It doesn't feel like there's
a ceiling in freeriding.

You're limited by
your own creativity.

- Coming!
- Yep.

There are endless set-ups

in the mountains with snow
conditions, terrain features.

It's endless.

Whoo!

To be in the backcountry

and see the way, like,
Hana looks at features

differently than Travis
looks at features,

it's just super inspiring
and exciting

because you really
can ride things

however you want to.

- We're pretty legit off the backside.
- It's pretty big.

Feel better about it,
now that I see the landing.

- Right?
- Yeah.

Backcountry riding, free riding,

you know, it comes from
an internal compass

of, "Where do I wanna take this?

How do I wanna approach it?

Where do I wanna go with it?"
It's fascinating.

I've loved all components of it.

There's no straightforward way to learn
it except by going out and doing it

and it's really
great to see Elena's

authentic interest
in exploring it.

Have fun.

- Will do.
- Just ridin', pal...

You'd enter at the top big open

and then you'd have to wriggle
through to get around that.

First ridge past the chunky...

♪ Now listen

♪ Oh, yeah

Pretty freaking money.

Four, three, two, one. Drop.

Okay. Yeah.

Whoo!

♪ Oh

♪ We don't do
Like we used to do no more ♪

♪ Oh, no, no, no

♪ We don't love Like we
used to love no more ♪

♪ People don't pray like They
used to pray No more, y'all ♪

♪ No

♪ Oh, yeah

♪ Yeah, yeah

Pretty deep.

♪ We don't do
Like we used to do no more ♪

Elena!

♪ We don't love Like we
used to love no more ♪

We're going to drop from here.

Whoo-hoo!

Yeah, Hana!

- Whoa!
- Whoo!

♪ Oh

♪ Change it, baby
Change it, baby, change it ♪

♪ Change it, baby
Change it, baby, change it ♪

Whoo!

♪ Change it, baby
Change it, baby, change it ♪

All right.

I'm good. I'm good.

- You did good.
- I did good.

Okay.

Really nice job
getting out of that.

Thanks.

♪ We don't do
Like we used to do no more ♪

♪ Oh, no, no, no

Whoo! Oh, man!

Thirty-six going on 19, man.

♪ People don't pray Like they
used To pray no more, y'all ♪

♪ No

Snowboarding!

♪ Oh, yeah

♪ Yeah, yeah

♪ People don't do Like
they used To do no more ♪

♪ Oh, no, no, no

♪ People don't love Like
they used To love no more ♪

♪ People don't pray like They
used to pray No more, y'all ♪

♪ No

Whoo!

♪ Well, well

♪ Changing

♪ Can't you I'm changing?

♪ Changing

- ♪ Everyday, they're...
- ♪ Changing

- ♪ Every hour, they're...
- ♪ Changing

Whoo-hoo!

♪ Changing

All right!

Yeah, Shin!

Double overhead, for sure.

Three Elenas big.

♪ Everybody's changing

♪ Changing

Whoo!

Duck!

Oh.

Damn it!

Take a little more speed,

harder and then
you kind of just...

Travis!

♪ Changing

♪ Can't you see I'm changing?

♪ Changing

♪ Okay, I'm changing

♪ Oh, oh
Changing ♪

- Yeah, Trav.
- Oh, sick.

There's one more line.

I'm gonna follow you?

Let's just talk about it
real quick on the lip.

- Just don't crash, just dump it.
- Yeah.

Yeah, okay.

Oh, my God.

Yeah!

She went so big.

What do you think?

You want another?

I'm good.
I'm good.

Oh, my God.
That looks so sick, dude.

Snowboarding as an industry

really grew up in Tahoe.

It was an epicenter
of filming and contests

and people just
thriving on the sport.

And it's been so cool
to go back to these spots

that I watched as a kid,

being like, "Wow,
I remember this.

"And this inspired me
so much as a kid,"

to attempting to do

the same thing
that they were doing.

Its mind-bending, actually.

Come on.

Whoo!

Hammer it!

♪ I met a crazy man
The other afternoon ♪

♪ And you should Have heard
the things That he said ♪

♪ He said he knew Some things
that I couldn't know too soon ♪

♪ And he spoke of
Other visions... ♪

Whoo, yeah!

♪ Crazy man told me
You were telling lies ♪

♪ Said that
There were times ♪

♪ When you tried
To make me cry ♪

Nice.

♪ Listen to that
Crazy man ♪

Whoo!

Nice run! Oh, God.

- Yeah!
- Oh, my God!

- Yeah, man.
- Yeah!

It's been rad to,
like, have this trifecta

of Nick, Elena and myself.

We'll take a look at something
from a standard movie,

we'll be like, "We should
go hit this tomorrow."

There's kind of this library.

♪ But you I can't believe

♪ I know my woman
Like I know my hand ♪

♪ And her one
True love is me ♪

Being in those zones where
you can kind of, like,

picture Tom Bert
riding that same thing,

or Jim Sellers, or Jer.

I just have this notion
of, "How lucky am I?"

Like, what did I do
to get this, you know?

How did I get so lucky?

I think that's good to go.

♪ I know
That can't be true ♪

♪ And anything he says

♪ My sweet darling
faithful for just me ♪

♪ Where he gets His stories
is Anybody's guess ♪

♪ But if they're true
I hope I... ♪

♪ A crazy man told me
You were telling lies ♪

♪ Said that
There were times ♪

♪ When you tried
to make me cry ♪

♪ Listen to that
Crazy man ♪

♪ Oh, listen to him
Babble on ♪

Whoo!

Wow, Elena, that was
good for the soul.

Okay. How's that feel?

♪ I'm sorry, sir
I'm sorry, please ♪

♪ It's you
I can't believe ♪

♪ I know my woman...

Whoo!

Yeah, dropping in three, two...

Whoo!

♪ It's all right

Whoo!

That made me
wanna go take a run.

Oh, it's starting to shimmer.

It seems a bit more set up.

It's not gonna be full,
like, get on it

- and it's like poof.
- Yeah.

Play it by ear
when I get up there.

That knife edge, it will be

your point of reference
the entire time.

Just gravitate
your front foot towards...

Copy.

Okay.

Oh, universe...

Strong.

I can.
No, I can.

Oh, my God.
That was perfect!

All right!

Holy

Whoo!

It was fun.

Thanks, Tim.

When I heard that
Elena pulled it,

I mean, I just was blown away.

I don't know. It's just
a huge accomplishment.

And the fact
that she is a female

just makes it that much
cooler and clear

that when Elena sets
her mind on something,

as she's done with freeriding,

she is a freak.

And there's very few people

at that level of riding.

That was so fun.

I've never been up this way.

Wow.

Dropping.

We are in Pemberton,
British Columbia.

I'm really excited
to be posted up

out here with Jake Blauvelt.

We were kind of intertwined

in circles of
my competitive career

and, you know, as I grew up

and he kind of stepped away
from competitions

and into backcountry
snowboarding.

I followed his career
and was always so impressed.

And you could just really see
his creativity shining through.

Those human-eating holes.

- What a beauty.
- Mmm-hmm.

Wow.

Wow.

I think this has
completely changed

my perspective on snowboarding

and what is possible

and where I want to take my
snowboarding in the future.

It's exciting to kind of
hone in on an idea

and kind of see a door open

and just really step
into the mountains

and some silence

and get back to
the roots of snowboarding.

Whoo!

- That was huge.
- That was so good.

All right, man.
Let's get down there.

- Hey.
- Yeah.

Yeah!

- Wow.
- Whoo-hoo!

Hell, yeah.

I think the really
cool thing about Jake

and what I've loved about
being in the mountains with him

is just his eye for
being able to draw lines

down mountains really creatively

is unlike anyone
I've ridden with.

So to see that and learn
from that first-hand

is, like, really special.

Okay. Dropping.

Whoo! Holy fuck.

Yeah, Elena.

Yeah!

Whoa!

Oh!

Whoo! Whoo-hoo!

Looks good!

Whoo!

Whoa.

Holy shit.

Wow.

Wow.

Wow. Wow.

It's on now. Pretty cool.
Almost got you, sorry.

Every step of the way, I'm
learning something new.

That's what's so
exciting about it,

is that you don't know
what you're gonna find

and it really brings out the
creativity and, and the freedom

to, like, see the mountain
in different ways.

And it really just connects you

to that present moment,

and I think gives you insight

to where you're supposed to be,

and you stop living
so much in your head

and more in your heart,

and really more in just
what's in front of you.

Which I mean, I think that that's
what we're all striving for.

Yes!

Yes!

What a wild style!

I mean, sanely.

Hey, guys.

- Hey.
- Everybody's okay?

Yeah, everything good.
We are very careful.

Thank you for looking
out for our well-being,

comma, I hope we
get to meet again.

San Diego Police,
take note, for God's sakes.

Whoo! We're doing it.

Someone pulls up next to me,

"You're on fire!"

And I look down
and there's just flames

ripping out my exhaust.

Jason, just be careful.

There's a road at the back.

There's a road.

- Are you okay?
- Yeah, I think so.

- Seriously?
- Yeah.

Just like any raffle, baby,

you gotta be present
to win your prize.

Oh.

Whoo!
Oh, violent.

- Jesus.
- I'm okay.

Are there any roads down there?

No. No roads.

- Yeah.
- Whoo!