Snow Patrol

Free skiing is about to become mainstream with the premier of a new Discovery Travel & Living series, Snow Patrol, featuring five free skiers as they travel and ski throughout the Alps. This inspirational series follows the lives of the free skiers as they compete in snow parks and mountains throughout the region, explore less known ski areas such as Liechtenstein and achieve some life long ambitions such as jumping a house.

Free skiing has been going for over a decade in the US and New Zealand but is still a relatively new sport in the UK. Snow Patrol came about when the producer, Paul Bailey, discussed with his housemate, Andrew ‘Noddy’ Gowans, a Kiwi free skier, how they could make the sport more mainstream. Noddy introduced Paul to two Kiwi cameramen, Jon Hill and Don Rutherford, and between them they came up with an idea for a travelogue across the Alps.

The series will lift the lid on the free skiers’ world and open up this niche sport to a new generation of skiing and snowboarding enthusiasts. The free skiers include two young British hopes, Paddy Graham and Ben ‘Bungle’ Hawker both of whom honed most of their skills by trying out new stunts at their local dry slopes in the UK. Both competed in this year’s ‘Orange Brits’ (British Snowboard and Freestyle Ski Championships) which has only included free skiing for the last two years, and Paddy hopes to compete in the Winter 2010 Olympics where free skiing will feature for the first time with the halfpipe event.

The Snow Patrol team set up base in Serre Chevalier - an area made up of 16 villages spread along the Guisane valley at the heart of the Southern French Alps, known as the Hautes Alpes. As well as the three main ‘Serre Che’ resorts of Chantemerle, Villeneuve and Monetier, they also visited Deux Alpes and Alpe d'Huez in this region. During its course, the series will also see them head to several other ski areas which include Portes du Soleil (Avoriaz/ Morzine), Chamonix and Les Arcs/ Val d'Isere in France, Malbun in Leichtenstein, Garmisch-Partenkirchen in Germany, Kranjska Gora in Slovenia, St. Anton am Arlberg and Stuben in Austria, Verbier and Laax in Switzerland, Baqueira Beret in Spain and Soldeu in Andorra.

The series combines a mix of travel, leisure and lifestyle. The crew have filmed the free skiers in powder, completing Big Mountain feats, jumping over houses, competing in snow parks and jumping an Olympic ski jump. But they haven’t just focused on the skiing activities, they’ve also looked at what else ski resorts have to offer. The skiers have all tried curling, ice climbing and tobogganing and explored the cultural side of some of the resorts.

Noddy says, “With this show I want to tell a story; I want to get into the backcountry and off the beaten track to find the hidden resorts and real alpine culture. It’s about freedom and getting out there amongst nature and experiencing first-hand what the Alps have to offer. I also want to re-define the sport of free skiing that has been lost to too many bad American ski movies!”

Snow Patrol is on Discovery Travel & Living on Mondays at 9pm.

UK Premiere: Monday 10 October 2005, at 9pm