Raising Awareness by Projecting Green
Can a ski film enhance awareness of backcountry preservation?
KGB Productions intend to find out.
By Matt Samelson

Chris Kitchen and Sam Pope share a passion for skiing, the environment and their adopted ski resort, Jackson Hole. As they watched the impending continual development of Jackson's base area, their passions converged, resulting in the movie, Sanctified.

"The whole idea for the ski movie evolved in the environmental idea," said Pope. "This was an opportunity to be a catalyst for change because film can be a powerful medium for conveying the environmental message."

Kitchen, 27, and Pope, 26, met at Whitman College in Washington while studying environmental geology and environmental politics, respectively. After graduation they high tailed it to Jackson.

Filmed in Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Idaho and British Columbia, Sanctified weaves a story line of powder shots and steep lines with environmental degradation from natural resource exploitation and within the built environment. Two issues pervade the movie: resort development and global warming.

"We looked at existing ski movies and the evolution of the ski movie," said Pope. Making a ski movie was something we had talked about for years. We wanted to create a ski movie with substance."

On-mountain interviews with pundits, scientists, conservationists, authors, journalists and well-known mountain people set to the backdrop of pristine skiing footage from several multi-day excursions throughout the United States and Canada provide the movie's tone.

"We didn't want to be your typical ski movie," says Kitchen. "We hope to create more awareness. When people leave the film, we hope they're thinking about more than just skiing. As in, 'Maybe I should pay more attention to what's going on in my local environment.'"

With a modest budget of $15,000, Sanctified was shot using digital high-definition. Kitchen credits support from the Backcountry Snowsports Alliance, Winter Wildlands, Davey Pitcher of Wolf Creek Ski Area and Backcountry Magazine helping their movie become a reality.

"First and foremost we want to convey the urgency of issues affecting us and our environment," said Pope." People need to have these issues presented to them. And the issues need to be acted upon now, not next year or in a couple of years."

Kitchen and Pope both mention their experience with Davey Pitcher at Wolf Creek as particularly powerful. This shows in the final product with a substantial segment devoted to the proposed base development at Wolf Creek.

Since the film was released, a Colorado judge ruled a permit issued by county officials needed to usher in the next step of development was arbitrary and capricious. The development now must receive an access permit from the USDA Forest Service and approval from the Colorado Department of Transportation before county officials may re-evaluate the base development plan.

Preserved for the moment by the legal process, Wolf Creek exemplifies the quest for Kitchen and Pope to raise awareness for backcountry preservation. They set a lofty goal for themselves simply by choosing the title they did for their film. "We spent a lot of time thinking about the name for the movie," said Pope. "Sanctified really stood out for us. The mountains and open spaces truly are sacred places and need to be treated as such." Sanctified premiered on October 7 in Jackson. Afterwards Kitchen and Pope intend to take the movie on tour hitting primarily college markets. With anywhere from 20-40 stops planned, the tour is still a work in progress.

With Sanctified projecting a definitive message to get involved, Pope and Kitchen have encouraged local environmental groups to set up booths at movie showings during the tour. They are also working on donating a portion of each movie showings proceeds to a local environmental group. At the premier, the Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance received a donation. Winter Wildlands was the designated recipient for the Boise, Idaho show.

With a limited ski tour in the making, Kitchen and Pope joined forces with Backcountry Magazine in an innovative approach to reach a wider audience. Sanctified will be distributed to Backcountry Magazine subscribers in their December issue. To check tour dates and see a clip of the movie, check www.kgb-productions.com.