The Fourth Phase Page #2

letting yourself go

and just moving with the pace,

and...

you know, directional flow of the ocean.

Just seeing the power of the currents

traveling westward across the Pacific

and knowing that it's all tied in,

that without this that doesn't happen.

I think it brings a lot more appreciation,

even when we're far and away

in those winter months,

just knowing kind of where it came from

and where it'll go back to.

[MUSIC]

I love sailing just like

I love snowboarding.

I find there's such similarities there.

The fact that you're out

on your own terms,

at the mercy of your own decision making,

it keeps you focused on

what you're doing now.

["DUST BOWL III" PLAYING]

# Is there any way #

# To get this weight off my skin #

# Find another one #

# Is there anyone #

# To get this writing off the wall? #

# Find a new one #

You know, why do a trip like this?

I think just the act of,

of doing it, being out here,

is really what's important.

You know, out here I actually have time

to read a book, look inward

and it's not that you can't do it...

by any means,

it's just...

I have yet to find the discipline

to live my life on land

like I do out to sea.

[MUSIC]

TRAVIS:
Going on trips like this,

you want a partner who will support you

and back you up and raise you up.

LANDO:
We are going to head to platform 37

and we're going to want to

get on the 13 train to Sendai.

TRAVIS:
Lando is my brother in this.

We're going to roll

this whole thing together.

[DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING]

There are only a few people in snowboarding

whose style blows me away.

Mikkel is one of them.

There's something about Japan that I felt

that's where he could really

showcase his riding.

[MUSIC]

LANDO:
Oh! My God!

Powders good.

TRAVIS:
The infrastructure they put

in place here to handle the water

just shows you how much of it they get.

Japan is the snowiest place on Earth.

[MUSIC]

SHIN BIYAJIMA:
Some people say

you can't ride forest because

there are gods living.

But, for my understanding,

if you have respect

good thinking about nature,

nature god will protect you.

[MUSIC]

[MUSIC]

[ELECTRONIC MUSIC PLAYING]

[YELLING]

[LAUGHING]

[MUSIC]

Magical out here!

Perfect trees, no branches,

just these beautiful, flower-like canopy.

It's really special to be able

to find a place that lets me

be in that most creative state.

It's been a way for me to key in

to my favorite parts of snowboarding.

[MUSIC]

Every year, you know,

you kinda get new ideas on what to do.

I kinda had a vision

of playing around in the trees.

When you've come up to the backcountry

you never know what you're going to find.

Pretty much just kids playing

in the sandbox.

This is just one of the things you got

to do to stay in shape out here.

[MUSIC]

[MUSIC]

[MUSIC]

[WATER BABBLING]

MAN:
I, of course,

had this vision of just riding powder.

Travis, on the other hand, has to go

to this crazy mountaintop, every time,

and that's how Travis's mindset works.

It's like, once it's locked in, it's locked in.

It's pretty epic to be here

beginning of January

and be looking at AK style lines that you

wouldn't be riding till, like, late winter.

I definitely had no idea there were

mountains like this in Japan.

It seems like it's completely endless too.

Yeah.

This is, like, definitely

a steeper pitch with...

You know, who really knows

what's in there.

The more you look at it,

the friendlier it feels to me.

This is where some of those big faces are.

This looks a little gnarly.

MAN:
It's pretty obvious that Travis is

pushing to the alpine every chance we get.

[MUSIC]

TRAVIS:
The Japanese Alps, they have

everything for any snowboarder's dream.

They're such a unique piece of topography.

It's like nowhere else on Earth.

The Japanese Alps are some

of the most majestic,

beautiful mountains in the world,

yet, I think they can be

some of the most dangerous.

It snows ungodly amounts in the valley.

What's it doing up there?

We're in a very volatile environment.

Clouds are moving in,

storms are coming from every direction.

You can't even see the terrain

until that moment the clouds lift.

["IN FANTASIA" PLAYING]

Beautiful Japanese morning!

Dealing with weather every day.

This our fourth time trying to climb.

Finally we're peeking out in the sun.

Yay, Lando!

Every day has been planned good.

We get up and then it ends up

snowing a foot on us.

But today's the day, eh, Mikkel?

- Yup.

- Yeah! Today's the day.

It's out-of-control beautiful up here.

[MUSIC]

Whoo!

[MUSIC]

[MUSIC]

I did it!

MAN 2:
Where he wants to go with his

snowboarding is just kinda bonkers.

I don't know how else to describe it,

but sheer persistence.

I don't understand it,

but when I get to be a part

of that with Travis,

it's beautiful, man.

Dude's just fighting opposition.

[MUSIC]

TRAVIS:
All good here.

[MUSIC]

Getting up to the alpine wasn't something

that I had envisioned in Japan.

It was eye-opening.

I didn't have any idea that

there was terrain like this here.

It does have this mystical beauty to it.

[MUSIC]

[MUSIC]

[WATER BABBLING]

[CHEERING]

[CHANTING]

[DRUM MUSIC PLAYING]

[PEOPLE CHEERING]

Oh, sh*t.

It's a Japanese fire festival.

It's been going on for centuries.

This is insane.

We're, we're pretty much

about to burn up here.

[MEN CHANTING]

Every snowflake needs a particle of dust.

Where does most of the dust come from?

Ash.

Let the fire burn.

["BLAPRADUR" PLAYING]

[MUSIC]

[MUSIC]

TRAVIS:

When it's just dumping and it's calm,

that's when I feel the most alive...

remembering how fun it is to...

just... be lost in it.

[WIND BLOWING]

PROFESSOR:
Many of us cling to ideas

that we've come up with.

We love them.

We think we've arrived at certain truths,

but there is so much in

our world that is unknown.

[MUSIC]

[MUSIC]

[HELICOPTER WHIRRING]

[GUITAR PLAYING]

ERIC JACKSON:
Travis sent me

an email saying, "You're in."

All I knew was that

we were going to Kamchatka.

And it was going to be an epic adventure.

# Ride all day till the light's gone #

# I'm with all my friends

Friends, friends #

# Said I'm with all my friends #

TRAVIS:
It's so thrilling to go somewhere

that's completely unknown.

Eric's the kinda guy who gets

excited by the unexpected.

He's just down.

[DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING]

ERIC:
You realize pretty quick

that Travis pushes the limits.

He pushes himself.

He puts all of his time and energy

into what he's obsessed with.

[WIND BLOWING]

[ERIC LAUGHING] Dude, where are we?

- Planet Hoth.

- [LAUGHS]

ERIC:
I can see wind just ripping,

snow being taken off at every peak.

We got wind!

Holy sh*t!

[MUSIC]

The wind's blowing the snow somewhere,

we just got to find it.

TRAVIS:
Up top, it's weird crust stuff.

Up above that, it's wind affected.

Just trying to figure out what to do.

[MUSIC]

ERIC:
This volcano, it's sheet ice.

ERIC:
When I'm just feeling

like something isn't right,

it's very easy for me to pull the plug.

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes