By fair means | Film and interview

Freeriding on the Arlberg. Actually a decades-old hat. A small, close-knit group from all over the world has come together in recent years under the name "Gnarlberg Steinbocks". You can read their story in the interview. The almost 30-minute film shows their freeride activities last year: Freeride by fair means. By friends, for friends.

BY FAIR MEANS - lost tales from gnarlberg

BY FAIR MEANS - lost tales from gnarlberg from Elmar Strotmann on Vimeo.

Interview

PowderGuide:"Gnarlberg Steinbocks" sounds interesting. Who are you, what do you do and why are we doing this interview?Gnarlberg Steinbocks: First of all, I have to say that we are all very different characters. But one thing unites us and that is our enthusiasm for freeriding, the mountains and a penchant for a bit of a "different" life. We all left home to live in the best freeride spots in the Alps. We got to know each other during this search. And yes, it's simply much more fun together and you achieve far more together in a group than alone anyway. PG:Your film "By fair means" shows freeriding in your current adopted home, Vorarlberg. It shows great shots of treeskiing, a few kickers in the backcountry and lots of alpine lines that you have to ski yourself. How did you come up with the idea of doing a project like this? GS: In the beginning, the focus was actually on the passion that we all share, the shared experience on the mountain. This brought our group together over time. There was never a point where we said "Hey, now we're making a movie!"", it was more of a steady process that is closely linked to the life we lead. At first we made a few short films and clips and took part in a few video competitions. However, we quickly realized that what we were doing had more potential and that we had the opportunity to make a real film out of it. PG: Isn't it a lot of unpaid work?GS: Yes, it's a lot of work to realize a project like this. If there are no backers, it's clear that this work is unpaid. But for us, there are more important things in life than money. PG:In the movie you can see some very respectable lines that reach the level of Alaska heli productions. But there are also some riders without backpacks and some injuries. Which situation do you remember particularly positively from the shoot and which negative situation? GS: We have 3 state-certified snowboard guides in our crew who don't just do the whole freeriding thing by feel, but also have a sound background knowledge. The lines are all very well thought out, including the backup. If something should happen, colleagues are immediately on hand who know exactly how to deal with such a situation. A few lines in the film were skied without a backpack, which shouldn't really be the case because of the role model effect. The avalanche transceiver and the belaying group are important, which - admittedly - you don't always see in the video. The successful recordings of the big lines, where everything was finally right, were certainly particularly positive memories for me: Weather, snow, light etc. It gives you a really good feeling to know that the line is right and the shot is good. In contrast to this are the many days of filming without the hoped-for success of capturing a good line because a small detail simply didn't fit. It takes a while to get into the flow as a rider/filmer. But you learn and grow through that and that's definitely the best memory I've taken with me, knowing that we've grown as a group and created something that will last for posterity.