The Pact is Powderwhore's 2008 telemark film, and although I don't telemark, I decided I would give it a shot.

The film starts off with a sort of mission statement type introduction, and with them hiking up the mountain. The notion that they hike all their lines and don't use helicopters is prevalent throughout the film.

The next shot takes us into some untouched beautiful powder where they show us that telemarkers can do everything alpine skiers can do. Be it tree-skiing, open bowls, rocky terrain or even jumping off cliffs. Even if you don't telemark, this opening part of the film will get you stoked!

Another nice aspect of the film is that you see various female athletes throughout the film. In most other ski films you only really see one or two, but with this one I lost count. These females sure do show that they can telemark pretty well on various terrain levels, although it has to be said that some of their runs are not as neat and tidy as one would expect. Nonetheless, impressive.

There is also a segment of a telemark juggler, which is amusing but at the same time cheesy. I won't spoil anything, but he does certainly juggle some hazardous objects out there on the slopes. Another original segment in the film is a behind the scenes look at the job of the photographer. Although it won't get you stoked, it is certainly intriguing. All these small detracted segments give you the feel that perhaps Powderwhore are trying to follow the Warren Miller style of making snowsports films.

Other notable parts of the film are the big mountain skiing, where the telemarkers show their goods on the spines of the mountains. I thought this was pretty impressive, it must be difficult enough on ordinary alpine skis, but can't imagine how tough it would be to do on telemark skis.

Towards the end of the film, it generally picks up momentum and we get to Japan, the famous powder land, where we get to see some nice tree-skiing shots. However, just before this segment there is some footage of an enormous avalanche which luckily didn't take out the rider. The size of the avalanche is pretty impressive to say the least.

The film ends on a sombre, inspiring tale of an athlete who had to suffer a tough injury but has managed to get back to an impressive level within a season. I personally found this part of the film to be the most enjoyable and inspiring piece.

Overall the music was pretty poor and didn't quite fit with the segments, with the exception of one or two songs. Cinematography wise the quality wasn't great but wasn't poor either, it certainly could have been improved a little bit. Also, the editing was good for the most part of the film except when this custom frame was used, which got a bit tiresome after a while. Directorial aspects aside though, the film was an enjoyable watch and had me stoked, and I don't even telemark!