The Edge of Telluride

This look at Telluride’s hearty tribe of backcountry ski mountaineers, made by local James Kleinert, was shot during the epic winter of 2007/08, mostly in the couloirs and cliff-banded terrain of Telluride’s Bear Creek. It follows local skiers, such as Kim Havell who makes the first female descent of Heaven and Joshua Geeter who returns to the location of a horrific accident to ski the pitch again. As the footage tracks these skiers down hairy lines and through narrow couloirs, it also showcases their feelings about spirituality, impermanence and what pushes them to this beautiful, adventure-filled—and occasionally harrowing—lifestyle. —KK