Arc’teryx Inspires PlanetSKI

27th October 2023 | James Cove, PlanetSKI editor.

Last modified on October 31st, 2023

The ski clothing company presented five films in London this week at the IMAX cinema. With the aim of promoting the brand & inspiring us for the season ahead. But what’s with the old orange ski gloves?

It’s fair to say I wasn’t terribly inspired on a wet and damp October evening to be heading to a cinema in the middle of a roundabout near Waterloo station in south-east London.

If you’ve been to the BFI IMAX you’ll perhaps know what I’m taking about.

(BTW there’s more about the orange ski gloves later).

There was a red cord, rather than a red carpet.

Arc’teryx at the IMAX. Image © PlanetSKI

It didn’t appear to be much of an event.

But that’s because everyone else was already inside enjoying themselves and PlanetSKI was running late.

Again.

Arc’teryx at the IMAX. Image © PlanetSKI

The bar was busy.

Arc’teryx at the IMAX. Image © PlanetSKI

The DJ was playing his tunes.

Arc’teryx at the IMAX. Image © PlanetSKI

Inside the cinema was full, with hundreds of us inside.

Arc’teryx at the IMAX. Image © PlanetSKI

We’d all come for the same thing – to see some great new ski and snowboard movies and get inspired for approaching winter.

We were not disappointed.

Now in my view many ski videos can be rather dull as a load of apparently ‘cool dudes’ turn up in a remote location and go for self-indulgence with very little in the way of a story-line.

Great footage of course, but we’ve seen them all before.

Well, not this one.

Meet the Hagens family.

Here’s the blurb:

The Hagens – Deciding to have kids is a big decision. It’s probably one of the most daunting decisions many of us will face in our lifetimes. This is a documentary that explores the choice of having kids and the impact they can have on your time, values, and sense of self.

The family was there to answer questions after.

Arc’teryx at the IMAX. Image © PlanetSKI

With the kids bunging out a few freebies.

Next up was one where a bunch of ‘cool dudes’ did turn up and self-indulge.

But hey, it was Japan – a country I love.

More blurb:

Lexicon – An inspiring short film celebrating the universal language of skiing as a catalyst for human connection with skiers from Norway, France, Switzerland, Canada, the Netherlands, and Japan. From bottomless pow turns in majestic Japanese forests to the high volcanic alpine of central Hokkaido, this film reminds us of the transformative power of adventure, cultural exchange, and the bonds we can create when we embrace our shared passions.

I loved the film for its powder sequences, and not least because I have been to Japan, but sadly not in the winter months.

I will make up for that soon.

I just enjoyed the film and was inspired.

Arc’teryx at the IMAX. Image © PlanetSKI

Then there was Spacecraft, a film that explored the parallels between skiing and space travel.

Not two concepts that normally go hand-in-hand.

Then an environmental film – Continuum.

A tent was built from 137 old ski jackets.

Continuum – If our jackets could speak, what would they say? Would they tell you about all the adventures they have been on, the close calls, the abuse they’ve endured, or the human attachment?
6 winter sports athletes carry with them our repurposed shelters into a long winter and put them to the ultimate test in different elements and locations.

But what resonated with me was exactly the subject of the film: re-using and sustainability.

Back in 2015 the guys and girls at the PR/marketing company All Conditions Media, who promote Arc’tyrx, offfered me a free ski jacket.

“Look I’m really grateful to be offered a ski jacket but I already have one that I like. It does it’s job and I don’t actually need another one,” I said.

They looked utterly surprised as no other journalist had ever turned down a free Arc’tyrx jacket.

My son has never forgiven me for rejecting a freebie from one of the best ski clothing companies around.

“However my Kenko ski gloves that I bought in a hardware shop in Jackson Hole for $20 a few years back are on their last legs (fingers) and held together by tape, so I’d be very grateful for some gloves if you have any,” I added.

Before I knew it a pair of top-of-the range Arc’tyrx ski gloves were on my mitts.

9-years on they are still there – warm and waterproof.

Arc’teryx at the IMAX. Image © PlanetSKI

A fellow ski journalist is writing an article about staying with the gear you like and not endlessly renewing for the sake of it, so I had brought my gloves along to demonstrate and be interviewed on the subject.

I ski in 75+ ski resorts each winter, so I would hazard a guess that after 9-winters on my hands these gloves may have been to more resorts than any other pair of ski gloves on the planet.

Any challengers?

They need a bit of tape to hold things in place, but they are still toasty warm and do exactly the job they were designed for.

Next month they’re heading to Val Thorens and the Tirol glacier resorts as I start the 23/24 season.

Then Kazakhstan in early December, before a full winter across Europe, North America and Asia.

Though they are in need of a wash.

The Arc’teryx Winter Film Tour is also stopping at Paris, Oslo, Berlin, Zurich and Munich.

It is partnered up with organisations dedicated to promoting equitable access to the outdoors and mobilising the snow sports community on climate change.

All proceeds from ticket sales are donated to local community partners such as Protect Our Winters and Active Inclusion.

Protect Our Winters has been in the news lately for its refuted allegations about the International Ski & Snowboard Federation, FIS:

FIS responds to POW

Here details of the five films on show:

Lexicon – An inspiring short film celebrating the universal language of skiing as a catalyst for human connection with skiers from Norway, France, Switzerland, Canada, the Netherlands, and Japan. From bottomless pow turns in majestic Japanese forests to the high volcanic alpine of central Hokkaido, this film reminds us of the transformative power of adventure, cultural exchange, and the bonds we can create when we embrace our shared passions

Space Craft – Fly along with Sam Kuch as he explores the parallels between skiing and space travel in a mastery of weightlessness and gravity

The Hagens – Deciding to have kids is a big decision. It’s probably one of the most daunting decisions many of us will face in our lifetimes. This is a documentary that explores the choice of having kids and the impact they can have on your time, values, and sense of self.

109 Below – Mount Washington didn’t earn the moniker “Home to the World’s Worst Weather” for nothing. The small but mighty peak in America’s northeast recently recorded the coldest-ever temperature with windchill: 109 degrees below zero. With dramatic weather comes dramatic events, and big demands for search and rescue volunteers. Follow a rescue that has changed the lives of the SAR team, the climber, and many others for decades.

Continuum – If our jackets could speak, what would they say? Would they tell you about all the adventures they have been on, the close calls, the abuse they’ve endured, or the human attachment?
6 winter sports athletes carry with them our repurposed shelters into a long winter and put them to the ultimate test in different elements and locations.

And my favourite?

109 Below.

Catch the tour or the online video of 109 Below that will undoubtedly be coming on the Arc’tyrx You Tube channel shortly.

I may have arrived on a wet and damp October evening to a cinema in the middle of a roundabout near Waterloo station in south-east London feeling uninspired.

I left in exactly the opposite mood.

Thank you Arc’tyrx.