Sam Favret, who stars in the latest Rip Curl movie, grew up skiing the legendary slopes of Chamonix, which he claims is the world capital of freeriding. Apart from being a key member of the French freeride team, the 27 year old is one of the most versatile skiers of his generation.
A decade of ski racing gave him a very good technical base to ride in every condition and land pretty much everything and then perform in freestyle competitions worldwide.
But Sam left the competitive world to focus on freeriding and expeditions – the simple pleasure of gliding on snow. This is what Rip Curl highlighted in its back country movie The Search – Revel filmed by PVS.
How the Rip Curl project did start ?
Rip Curl produces a movie every year, with the whole team, skiers and snowboarders. We decided to film a part of the movie in Alaska and I was very keen to go there, along with Victor de Lerue, who is also involved in the project and familiar with the terrain.
What where the best things about making the movie ?
The atmosphere. The strength of Rip Curl is to mix skiing, snowboarding and surfing. We share the same passion, it’s not all about the performance but about the search for the right spot and fun. Skiing really gets its value when shared with friends. The movie is a good portrayal of that world.
Were you been pushed out of your comfort zone when filming ?
Alaska was impressive, but coming from Chamonix, I’m used to skiing big lines, so I had experience which was reinforced in Alaska. Everything goes really fast over there, there are no resorts so you arrive by helicopter, then you have to do your thing really fast in a short time, no time for reflection.
Once you set your line, you concentrate on avoiding a fall or losing your way which means good ground reconnaissance before you start, then you just go.
So I haven’t stepped out of my comfort zone but obviously there is pressure before I drop, considering we’re never completely free from avalanche danger or a fall, so those dangers bring pressure, but as soon as you’re in, it’s real pleasure.
How do you prepare for that ?
The first step is to observe the different sides of the mountains, which side gets the morning light, when the light comes streaming in and that kind of thing. All this is prepared with a guide and by checking images. Together we identify places where we can ski, so we got a rough idea of how things will shape up. This done, we’re lifted up on top of the mountains by helicopter, we look for a place from where we can see all the lines spotted. Then let’s go !
Do you have a specific training to keep you on top ?
I don’t have a specific training regime, it’s more a set of things I practice. I am very sporty so I skateboard, surf, climb and these different practices complete my training on top of ski sessions. I am not the type of guy who does indoor training, I need to be outside.
Alaska was your big dream. What’s next ?
Indeed, it is definitely a good thing to have been, but there is still a lot to do there!
In the end, we only skied 3 or 4 days during a month long stay there, which is very little for such a huge area, so I’ll return to Alaska for sure. I’ve seen loads of lines I didn’t get the opportunity to ski.
As time goes by, I am increasingly feeling that I want to go for different kind of projects, more ‘search’ oriented, like expeditions. I’m thinking of perhaps Antarctica or Greenland. I want to search further, which requires different logistics.
What are you up to next season ?
I’m definitely going to film with Rip Curl. Work is in progress. I’m also currently working on my own movie called Backyard’s Project which I’m working with over two years with PVS Production, who also produced The Search – Revel movie.
We started to film last winter and will keep going on next winter. There will be a bit of surf and skateboard. We’ were off to Bali in November to film the surf parts. I want to do things well and allow the necessary time to do so. Through this project I want to show what I’m concerned about. It’s something personal, it shows what really matters to me, and what I’ve lived for since day one.
Main image credit – Sam Favret
