Radical Reels delivers adrenalin

On more than one occasion while watching Radical Reels, I wondered if the extreme sport athletes were adrenalin-fuelled junkies or just plain crazy.

Nearly 300 extreme sport fans had gathered at the Arden Theatre last Sunday to lap up a two-hour-plus spate of nine shorts that were entered in the 2010 Banff Mountain Film and Book Festival competition.

Everyone was stoked and the spectacular exploits – some of them illegal – did not disappoint. Whether skiing, boarding, bouldering, paddling, biking or jumping, this was a daring new breed living on the edge in a quest for perfection.

Like Icarus, the mythological Greek anti-hero who defies the laws of gravity and plunges to his death when his wax wings melt, these independent spirits flouted the Grim Reaper with seemingly effortless action-packed stunting that left some of us speechless and garnered more than a few “wows.”

In addition to the uninhibited feats, the cinematic landscape through winter and summer created stunning backdrops. From the raging mountain rivers in Zimbabwe to the sand-blown rock deserts of Argentina to the powder snow peaks of Alaska, the locations were impressive natural arenas for these high performance tricks.

The filmmakers are also in a class of their own, sometimes putting their own lives at risk, shooting from aircraft, kayaks, bicycles and snowboards.

In Second Nature, three slightly insane skateboarders barrel down a road in California’s High Sierras travelling at about 112 kilometres an hour while passing a camera back and forth to each other.

The audience doesn’t just watch the mountain ride. We live the heart-stopping thrill ride, blurred images and all, as one skater crosses the yellow line and zips past an incoming car. The six-minute short abruptly ends and we learn that this trio was ticketed, their film confiscated by police and parts of it are still floating in a netherworld.

Tuzgle takes us to Argentina where half a dozen human spider men climb 10-metre high boulders inserting fingers and toes into tiny rock niches. Without apparatus, these daredevils are constantly falling and at day’s end they soak in a nearby stream to massage the bruising.

The search for uncharted terrain takes four heli-skiers to the Alaskan mountains in Light the Wick. As the audience sits on the edge of their seats, they punch the throttle, skiing down a precipitous 90-degree mountain where one guy blows out his knee after losing control and rolling down the powder-covered rock face.

And in Follow Me, a half dozen mountain bikers alternate between British Columbia and New Zealand jack-knifing corners, jumping off ramps and leaping over each other while racing at deadly high speeds that require incredible hand-eye coordination.

Arden organizers are already talking of bringing back a new batch of Radical Reels next year, and these jaw-dropping stunts and mind-boggling aerials are definitely worth a look.