Warren Miller's Ride
This dazzlingRidebegins with a bang: A terrific piece about Whistler's avalanche hunters, i.e., a team of explosives experts who begin their days blowing away potentially lethal slides before skiers hits steep slopes. Typical of Miller's films,Rideglobetrots through some of the most exciting and exotic places on Earth to capture Hollywood-caliber (and often better) footage of extreme snow-sporting. Among these hot spots, so to speak, are New Zealand (where a high mountain considered holy by the Maori offers some interesting downhill challenges), the North Cascades (particularly a couple of breathtaking sites accessible only by helicopter), France (where a resort harvests ski-able snow from ice-fishing), and Breckenridge, Colorado (where snowboarders bounce along the famous Breckenridge Bumps). A highlight is a ski trip in Russia, where three Americans catch a bus through a war zone to reach, as one fellow puts it, "the top of Europe."--Tom Keogh