Full-throttle shredding in new ski film Beauty Full Send
Moguls, corduroy, the odd patch of grass... four friends celebrate the joy of all-mountain ripping in Legs of Steel's new film, Beauty Full Send...
A love letter to inbounds skiing
The piste is lit only by the moon. Four skiers are making huge carves across the slope, their skis cutting deep trenches in the snow, shadows chasing after them. Beautifully filmed, and skied, this is the opening scene of Beauty Full Send, Legs of Steel’s latest movie, and what follows is six minutes of equally joyous piste footage – not a single powder field in sight.
Beauty Full Send is the first inbounds ski film from Legs of Steel (LOS), a Tyrol-based production company that has built a name for itself over the last 10 years with its award-winning freeride movies, such as Markus Eder’s Ultimate Run (2021), Long Days (2021), and Same Difference (2017).
In Beauty Full Send, a collaboration with Völkl, the skiers Anne Kissling (GER), Madison Rose Ostergren (USA), Tim Fritz (GER), and Jim Ryan (USA) celebrate the joy of all-mountain skiing – everywhere from moguls to corduroy to the odd patch of grass – displaying the art to send it with style, speed, control and full commitment in any terrain.
“Feel the spray in your face! Booom!” exclaims Tim after a particularly exuberant mogul line, while Jim empties handfuls of snow from his pockets having gotten his hip insanely close to the snow.
Shot at Davos-Klosters and Madrisa in Switzerland, as well as Stubai Glacier in Tirol, the team enjoyed riding by day and by night, by moonlight and by midday sun, reinterpreting the varied terrain with creativity and skill, and at astonishing speed.
The takeaway from viewers might be how hard they can charge on a regular piste, how hard they can push their own kit, and perhaps that they should also book some race training – because this is high-level piste technique. Unless you have bundles of technique, skiing that hard will expose any flaws. You need to be on it. In Beauty Full Send the skiers are charging like freeriders, on-piste.
In our opinion, there are some more creative all-mountain/piste edits out there (we were waiting for someone to carve switch or do a cool transition – no one does), but it’s the technical ability, energy and speed that is impressive here. The soundtrack (‘Locomotive Breath’ by Jethro Tull) is also a real highlight.
Jim Ryan said: “I was so excited that LOS and Völkl were eager to showcase inbounds skiing. It’s what most people experience, but not what most people see in the media. I love the message of the movie, because it shows that style can occur everywhere/any day. It’s not just about powder and helicopters… It’s about skiing with friends and charging hard every day.”
“Skiing is so much more than riding powder or racing gates!” says Tim Fritz. Anne Kissling agrees: “Skiing has so many beautiful facets and the clip shows that not just powder or freestyle skiing is the way to ski. It’s the individual beautiful turn on a fresh groomed slope as well as the turns in crud – tons of fun when you send this together with your friends.”
In the spring of 2022, Legs of Steel’s The Ultimate Run took home the Sports Emmy for ‘Outstanding Camera Work – Long Form’ becoming the first ski film to do so in the history of the awards. With Beauty Full Send the company set the next milestone, with brilliant footage of the four skiers. There were some impossibly tight shots and heart-racing follow-cams – they are skiing so fast, much faster than a powder line – it’s astounding how they got some of the shots.
Madison Rose Ostergren says: “This project felt really special, because we all were so collaborative and creative together. It was the combination of good skiing, amazing equipment, and top-notch production crew. I felt like we all were performing at 120% the entire time. Ultimately, Beauty Full Send is the creative dance between strong, elegant charging and wild, loose sending with your friends.”
Meet the Beauty Full Send skiers (and keep scrolling to watch the video)
Madison Rose
Which location was your favourite to film at? All of them were unique and fun in their own way, but I think my favourite part was the zone where we did the spiral four-person ski sequence under the T bar in Rinerhorn, Davos!
What is your favourite memory from the filming? Drinking lattes and muffins at the bakery in town… just kidding! My favourite memory is linking up perfect synchronised turns with Anne and giggling about how fun skiing is! As well as shredding with Anne, Jimmi and Tim underneath the chairlift in Madrisa. AND sending the grass hill in Parsenn (Davos) – I AIRED IT! Oh and the halfpipe in Davos too – favourite ever!
What is it about AM skiing that excites you? Everything about inbounds skiing excites me. The variety that you find inbounds is unmatched, because you get to rely not only on Mother Nature and the natural snow conditions, but also you get to rely on snow cats to groom certain areas. Also people to create bumps and fun exciting terrain. You always find something fun, surprising, maybe unexpected to test yourself as an all-mountain skier.
What ski did you use for filming? Völkl Kenja 88. The Kenja can really DO IT ALL. From laying arcs on pristine groomers and icy hardpack, to slamming slush bumps midday as the sun cooks the snow a little bit. There is nothing these skis can’t handle. They are strong, have a great turn radius, and are superb for all different conditions! These are the skis I do a majority of my skiing on throughout the season.
Jim Ryan
Which location was your favourite to film at? I really liked Parsenn. I loved the afternoon bumps. I know it’s the snowboarder zone normally, but I had a great time there.
What is your favourite memory from the filming? Early morning at Madrisa is my favourite memory. The whole crew was really vibing, the snack backpack was full and we were all skiing really in sync!
What is it about inbounds skiing that excites you? It’s the volume of it. When it comes to skiing, I can never get enough. So chairlifts really help me get that fix. Shredding with friends, the whole social aspect of inbounds skiing, I love it all.
What ski did you use for filming? Völkl M6 Mantra, baby! That’s the best ski of all time in my opinion. It does it all and it does it well. My favourite thing is how it handles speed – it’s so stable, especially when the conditions are variable… and let’s be honest, most days the conditions are variable, so really it’s the ideal ski for most days in resort. If I had to ski on only one ski, or pack just one for a trip, it would definitely be the M6 Mantra.
Tim Fritz
Which location was your favourite to film at? Davos Rinerhorn. The resorts has the best slopes – long, wide and steep – and it also has the most friendly staff in town.
What is your favourite memory from the filming? Easy. Skiing the running T-bar all four of us, full throttle.
What is it about inbounds skiing that excites you? There are people who work all night to groom the resort and create the perfect slopes only for us for the joy of turning! If the freeride conditions are shitty, the best thing you can do is use these brilliant slopes for some fast turns.
What ski did you use for filming? Völkl Kendo 88. You can ski it everywhere, every day in all conditions without having a lack in performance anywhere.
Anne Kissling
Which location was your favourite to film at? My favourite location was Davos Rinerhorn – I liked the good old classy lifts and the wide and long slopes. But also Madrisa was one of my favourites as well, with its super varied terrain.
What is your favourite memory from the filming? My favourite memory was when we were got up early to ski at Madrisa. The first rays of sun started to come out and we sent it together with a legendary crew of filmers and had a lot of fun!
What is it about inbounds skiing that excites you? It’s the feeling of carving and playing with the different terrain – touching the snow with your body and still keeping your balance is an incredible feeling.
What ski did you use for filming? Völkl Deacon 72. It’s an absolute perfect ski when the slopes are hard, but also when it gets a bit softer. It’s playful, but it’s also a powerful ski, which always delivers.
