Apocalypse Snow – Le Retour!

Way back in the early 80's, when day-glo and monoskiing were seriously cool, adventure film produce Alain Gamard, teamed up with Chamonix film maker, Didier Lafond, to make what was to became the cult ski film Apocalypse Snow. The star of the original film was a ski instructor from Les Arcs, Regis Rolland, who had worked with Gamard and Lafond previously to create a promotional film for the newly opened Les Arcs 2000 in 1982. Although a skier by profession, Rolland was one of the pioneers of snowboarding in Europe and in the film you see him riding his first prototype snowboard (in a smashing one-piece by the way!) whilst being mercilessly pursued by a gang of blood-thirsty mono-skiers. The film also includes ground breaking footage (of the time) of riders outrunning avalanches, zorbing (hurtling down a mountainside in a giant beach ball!), snow rafting and even sailing down a powder field in a catamaran!

You can see a taster of the original movie via this link to Apocalypse Snow

Lafond and Rolland are reunited again for the 2008 remake of the film – “Apocalypse Snow – Le Retour”. Based on the similar James Bond style chase sequences that made the first film so popular, this time however, our hero finds himself speed riding, acrobatic paragliding and wingsuiting, as well as partaking in some breathtaking back country ski and snowboarding scenes.

Shot in High Definition, the 26 minute film will be available on DVD just in time for Christmas and features some of the biggest names in mountain and aerial extreme sports. The DVD will also include an additional 52 minutes of footage documenting the making of the movie, filmed in and around Les Arcs and the Mont Blanc region.

See the long version of the Apocalypse Snow – Le Retour trailer here and why not stuff one in the stockings of your loved ones for Christmas!