Loïc Isliker talks filming and backcountry
Craving untouched powder, remote backcountry, and hidden gems?
Loïc shared his insights on the challenges of capturing these experiences on camera so you can enjoy them from your sofa.
Interview with Loïc Isliker, professional skier, filmmaker and Arc’teryx athlete.
Photos by Yasuyuki Shimanuki
FL: Where do you like to go on your home mountain of Verbier when the snow taps turn on?
LI: Since there is definitely a lot of ‘powder stress’ in Verbier on the good days, I would first go and do a run in the Attelas Couloirs, and after go straight back up to catch the opening of the Mont Gelé for Banana Couloir.
We love Japan. And therefore gobbled up Lexicon, your recent Arc’teryx film on central Hokkaido. Like so many of your projects, you were both in front and behind the camera. Is that the biggest challenge, purely having enough time and energy for everything?
The hardest balance is filming and skiing. Some days I was just the skier. Some days I was just the filmer. Other days I had my ski bag attached to my camera backpack so I could be flexible. It’s a challenge to constantly be thinking about both. The hardest thing is that it never stops. After a long day the athletes can come back and relax. I can never do that. I’m backing up the footage, recharging the batteries, checking the shots. For the *Lexicon* shoot (three weeks, mainly in central Hokkaido), there was never a rest. I came back very, very tired. It’s a strange process where you almost forget what it’s like, then at every beginning it’s ‘Oh, here we go again!’.
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Mike Douglas is FL’s ultimate ski filmer, and as we’re talking Japan, his Fountain Of Youth must get a quick nod/‘subarashi’. If you could bring back any athlete, or filmer, from any era, for your next production, who would it be?
Fabian Lentsch (currently recovering from a Himalayan paragliding accident and learning to walk and hopefully ski again). I love his stories, the culture, the type of movies that he has continued to make. At his maximum, he’s an absolute beast of a skier too – it’s a combination I love: the culture, the adventure, connecting with locals, and obviously some really good ski action.
Watching your films, and output at Hidden Faces (Loïc’s production company), it’s hard not to feel the influence of The Fifty Project. Who’s the real hero in that saga – Cody or Bjarne?
(Laughs) Now that’s a difficult one! They are both heroes. But of course, I can relate to Bjarne (Salen, principal cinematographer). Through the project there are a lot of times you’re thinking “ooooh!”. How far they have to go, him carrying the camera, thinking of the need to get a certain shot to emphasise something, how they’re going to tell the story from the edit. It’s obviously hard for Cody, but I think Bjarne must have a lot more on his mind (beyond the simple objective of staying alive, and ticking off another slope) while they’re on an attempt.
Do you look at The Fifty as it’s grown – over 15 million total views and counting – and think: ‘Wow! I’d love to be trying to capture that on some of the steepest, most avalanche-prone faces in the world. Driving 1,000 miles just to abort an attempt/line.’Or do you think, like the rest of us: ‘Amazing to watch, but rather you than me, chaps…’?
It looks very hard, that’s for sure. A project that’s going to run for at least five years. But I really admire the effort. It inspires me. I like the style too, showing the whole adventure and how they prepare for it and do the planning – rather than just the skiing. The challenge is certainly amazing.
Is Bjarne’s the only ski camera in the world that could capture this? Thanks to so many years working with Andreas (Fransson), documenting first descents and fabulously frisky faces?
All respect to Bjarne, I say. His work, his edit. How he gets out and films it no matter what, where, or how exposed it is to make the shot. It’s hard enough skiing these faces, never mind capturing it all. When I was filming on 55-degree terrain, I remember everything was so intense. Even taking my backpack off, getting the camera out, launching the drone. At the same time, it was super exciting. You know it’s going to be good footage. Getting your camera out in intense moments almost always results in the best shots.
Most of us underestimate the level of risk(with anything over 50-degrees likely a no-fall zone) and the huge amounts of time and effort to make even a short ski film. Give us an idea of the hard days, weeks, and months to bring Lexicon to life?
It takes a lot of time! But this one was not that bad. Pre-production was three or four months, and that was not constant or every day. Then we filmed for three weeks in Japan. Then three months for editing. So eight months it took until it was finished.
You were filming in central Hokkaido rather than more well-known Niseko?
Lots of Furano, and a little bit of Niseko. But it was mainly Furano – some on the hill, some off the back and all around. Our local producer Yasuyuki (Shimanuki) and skier Taiyo (Nakanishi) took us to lots of spots within an hour or two by car from the resort also, helping us find the hidden gems.
Is there anywhere on earth skiing can’t be filmed these days thanks to the likes of Sweetgrass and Candide? The Great Wall of China, rainforests, even jungle jibbing if we count the odd ski scene in *XXX: Return of Xander Cage* – with a trio of pros standing in for Vin Diesel and co. It’s all been done, so what’s next?
Mmm – those kinds of unique places I’m very drawn to. It’s a new ski culture. You just need a few turns and a little patch of snow sometimes. But these places don’t always have to be far from home. I’m very open to discovering more destinations in Europe. I can’t tell you much more than that, I want to keep it a secret, but let’s just say it’s in the south.
Finally, what do you think the next game changer will be, in the way that drones have transformed the way ski films are shot in recent years? AI? Robo-shred assistants?
Maybe, but I think more likely it will simply be the size and weight of things. I’m always making compromises with the camera gear I take with me in the mountains. I always want the best quality, but most of the time these are bigger and heavier cameras that can be too difficult or time-consuming to use in some scenarios. My RED V-Raptor that I shot *Lexicon* on weighs I’m not sure how much, but it’s many kilograms. And even getting it out of the backpack takes lots of time. I’m not sure we’re quite talking about ‘tap your goggles to record brilliant 6K-type high-resolution footage’ in the next few years, but I think pretty soon things will be small and light enough to fit in your pocket. It would be a dream to have my RED camera the size of a GoPro for example.
Must Watch
Three of the best from Loïc and Hidden Faces
POGO
Paul Popescu (nicknamed Pogo) is the star of the show here, as Loïc and Paul de Groot head for snowy and steep Romania, via the Balea valley. Think massive faces, no lifts, and mad driving to access the best touring. One to fire the imagination of what’s possible in Europe, if your mind is open/a little crazy, and your legs/skins are willing.
LA FORTERESSE
The big hit (for Loïc and Paul) in terms of viewing figures, as the duo take on the Portes du Soleil’s Dents du Midi via the mighty La Forteresse couloir. Rarely in condition, Chambery’s Jacky Pochon, a guide here for the last 50 years, gives the lowdown on this E4-rated full-of-exposure monster. “Falling will lead to death, it’s serious stuff,” he says simply. An excellent not-without-jeopardy 14-minute watch, we say.
TEETH
The pre-cursor to La Forteresse, with the action taking place the season before as our dynamic double-act ski two Dents du Midi classic couloirs (Dent Jaune and Breche des Doigts). A dream since childhood, “for more than two decades,” says Paul. “The more you look at it, the more you get sucked in!” Ferocious action from the gateway to the Alps, with a night at altitude, before an attempt to ski both lines in a mega day.