Black Diamond introduces BDTV

This autumn, Black Diamond introduces a new online film series dedicated to sharing stories from the soul of climbing and backcountry skiing. Kicking off with three winter episodes, the first season of BDTV goes beyond perfect powder turns and big mountain faces to profile the ski mountaineers, avalanche forecasters and hometown heroes for whom skiing is more than a passion: it’s a way of life.

Committed

From little-known peaks in central Sweden to the iconic cablecar of La Grave, France, BDTV travels the world to find these characters and document the joys, fears, decisions and sacrifices that go into living the life of a committed backcountry skier.

Featuring award-winning cinematography, each film is accompanied by images from photographer Mattias Fredriksson. “Most times when it comes to skiing and other action sports, the action generally takes over,” Fredriksson says, “but with BDTV, the story is first.”

What can we expect this first season?

Filmed in the mountains of Sweden, Utah and the French Alps, Season One of BDTV focuses on three stories of quiet heroes who live and breathe for skiing. For each of them, winter is about more than blower powder or ripping big faces. It’s about lifelong goals, alpine starts, family traditions and building a life around their unending love for the simple act of sliding on snow.

• One Seven Eight: Forging A Balance

• The Forecaster: A Message From The Backcountry

• A Simple Machine: The Life Or Death Of The La Grave Cablecar

I’m personally looking forward to the episode about La Grave, which will be released in November. The La Grave cablecar is an icon of big-mountain freeskiing, a unique lift that accesses some of the most classic unmarked and unpatrolled steep-skiing descents in the Alps. As La Grave faces historic challenges—its main road closed by rockfall and the continued operation of the cablecar in doubt—BDTV takes an insider’s view of “Le Telepherique” and what’s at stake in the uncertain future of this backcountry mecca.