Event

High Octane – Bellingham Premiere

When Austen Sweetin and filmmaker Sean Lucey rolled through The Shakedown in Bellingham, WA last Wednesday to premiere Quiksilver‘s new movie, High Octanegetting from the door to the bar took some effort. But it’s always great to gather and bump shoulders with other like-minded snowboarders, and the joint was full of powder hungry riders preparing for the season ahead. A handful of Tim Zimmerman’s photos were on display and up for sale (at a remarkably cheap price, considering Tim’s expertise), and prizes from Lib Tech, Coal, Quiksilver, Zeal Optics and more were raffled off with all proceeds of the event going to the Northwest Avalanche Center. With plenty of cocktails and Rainier to go round we talked of lines we hope to soon tackle and tricks we ought to refine, until it was time for us to face the screen and take our heavy dose of cinematic inspiration.

ABOVE Austen Sweetin, Coast Mountains, BC. Photo: Colin Wiseman.

Sweetin and Lucey warmed the crowd up with a short edit originally intended for the Mt. Baker Film Fest, but since it was completed past deadline it was shown one-time-only, exclusively at The Shakedown event. “It’s like Snapchat in a movie theatre,” Lucey said about the film on an Instagram post. With the crowd stoked following the first edit, Sweetin and Lucey moved on to playing High Octane, which elevated that buzzing energy exponentially further. High Octane packs a powdery punch, highlighting pillowy playgrounds that look like locations thought up only in dreams. (Fortunately for anyone who missed the event, High Octane is available for free online viewing here.)

ABOVE Enter for your chance to win the Quiksilver Spindye Snow Jacket, as seen above on Austen Sweetin. Photo: Colin Wiseman.

As High Octane came to an end, a chorus of cheers coursed throughout The Shakedown. The event radiated good vibes among its attendees, which will be surely carried onto the area’s surrounding mountains in weeks to come. With snow falling up high, it won’t be long now.

A special thank you goes out to The Shakedown in Bellingham, WA for hosting the event. Further donations to the Northwest Avalanche Center can be made here.

CLOSE

The Snowboarder's Journal mailing list

We respect your time, and only send you the occasional update.