Waiting Game: Ski Adventures in Hi-Definition

To paraphrase Repo Man, regular skiers spend their lives staying out of tense situations, and extreme skiers spend their lives getting into tense situations. The titular “waiting game” is how some of those extremists refer to the quest for the perfect conditions on the perfect mountain—sometimes waiting years for the opportunity to plow through extra deep powder and leap over sheer rock faces on nearly inaccessible mountains in Alaska (Valdez and Haines), Utah (the Canyons and Snowbird), and Wyoming (Jackson Hole), among other sites. Most of the featured athletes here are professional racers, but this is what they do for fun, and the snow is so fresh that sometimes the skiers trigger avalanches as they descend, barely escaping huge waves of white powder. Getting to the top of the slopes in various ways (using everything from hiking to helicopters, since the best secret spots don't have lifts anywhere nearby), the professional skiers here successfully clear drops of up to 150 feet (viewers will witness Chris Collins performing quadruple flips while flying through the air!). In fact, my knees creaked just watching the action on this high-definition-shot two-disc set, with DVD extras including a “making-of” featurette and interviews. Recommended. Aud: P (C. Block)