- Much more than a ski film, a total sensual adventure set against the action of an international competition in America's newest and fastest-growing daredevil sport, Freestyle Skiing or "Hot Dogging."
- Much more than a ski film, a total sensual adventure set against the action of an international competition in America's newest and fastest-growing daredevil sport, Freestyle Skiing or "Hot Dogging." Not for the average or even experienced skier, Freestyle Skiing was born of the same adventurous spirit that wrought wing-walking, skydiving and hang-gliding. It was developed in the early 1970's by a handful of gypsy skiers who had somehow come to find downhill racing, the giant slalom and long-distance jump too tame. These brash, young athletes began to develop what might be termed stunt skiing, attempting what only a few Europeans had ever tried before - "The Aerials:" a head-over-skis revolution off a ramp (for which the penalty for error is almost certain permanent disability); "The Moguls:" shooting virtually impossible terrain at breakneck speed; "The Ballet:" simply doing on skis what one would expect to find on ice or the ballet stage. Winter Equinox captures the skiers performing in this triad of events, watching them as they defy gravity, and everything else, living a reckless, rockin' lifestyle - on and off the slopes. The first flip on skis was recorded in 1970 and "freestyle" has progressed slowly to its present exciting state. the recent addition of music to the sport has enabled the competitors to create moods and tell stories during the course of their runs, thus creating more than just a mind blowing visual effect for spectators. The original music score for Winter Equinox, directed by Dennis Dragon, utilizes the talents of several composers to compile a composition which not only will be thrilling to skiers, but equally as thrilling to all music lovers. The selections depict a musical myriad of moods running the gamut of "easy listening" to "Stone Funk" to "Super disco". As Winter Equinox is a joyful exhilarating movie that sends your spirits soaring, equally so is the music contained within. Even if you've never put on a pair of skis you will surely find the music electrifying.
- John Thompson agrees to take mail from California to the other side of the Sierra Nevada Mountains to mining communities during the Gold Rush of the 1850s. His skis allowed him to make the trip in only five days. Others also embraced the idea of skiing as a mode of transportation, and as its popularity grew, he established a race to allow for competition. The movie then transitions into more modern skiing, mostly focused on freestyle skiing. In the 1970s, Eddie Ferguson is noted as one of the world's best freestyle skiers, as is John Clendenin. The film talks about their lifestyles but notes that they work extremely hard. The freestyle contest breaks down into Ballet, Moguls, and Aerials. There are many clips of each of these, showing what they involve. The ballet portion resembles figure skating done on skis. The film talks to many competitors about the aerial portion of the competition, showing their emotions just before they go. It then transitions to film of the jumps set to music. Many are landed but there are some falls as well. It describes the scoring and goals for moguls, and shows many of the competitors talking about strategy and their thinking about moguls. Once again, it transitions into the skiers actually skiing through the moguls set to music. Skiers then fly to Park City to compete in an event that at the time had the largest cash prize ever. Footage of the event starts with the Ballet portion, set to music. Many of the competitors had celebrated the night before the mogul event and some were seemingly still feeling the effects. There is a lot of footage of the skiers going through the moguls, again set to music. Salerno won this event once again. In Sun Valley, Salerno won again, his third win in a row. After this they went to Jackson Hole, although the event was tarnished by a storm that made conditions terrible. The film gets into the culture of the skiers and their use of drugs, mostly filming them while intoxicated. Some of this seemed to be because they were unhappy with the weather at Jackson Hole and couldn't take it seriously.After Jackson Hole, they go to Snowbird. At Snowbird a helicopter flies them to areas that are hard to access and they ski in much deeper powder with Steve Lazier who lives under the tram building. There are film clips of the skiers going through very deep powder on steep hillsides set to music. The final competition, at Heavenly Valley, would decide who would be the freestyle skier of the year. There is a long set of film involving the Aerial portion of the event set to music. After this portion, Salerno is leading with Clendenin in fourth. The film then moves on to the Ballet portion with film clips set to music. Clendenin and Salerno are once again very close heading into the mogul event, and although Clendenin won the event, Salerno won freestyle Skier of the year.
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