Sajama Volcano, Bolivia
If you’ve ever aspired to film an adventure documentary, Sweetgrass Productions‘ “On the Road with Solitaire” will show you that it can be thrilling if not downright backbreaking work.
On the Road with Solitaire is a 12-part web video series that chronicles the filming of the production company’s ski film, Solitaire. A two-year endeavor, the team traveled through the backcountry of South America, tackling everything from the Peruvian Andes to the Patagonian glaciers in Argentina.
The result of the journey was the highly praised Solitaire documentary, which dropped in the winter season of 2011-2012. (You can check out a review here, at Wild Snow.)
Yet it’s often said that the journey can be more interesting than the destination. In the case of On the Road with Solitaire, that aphorism may well ring true.
While the narration is written well, the narrator speaks with a morbidity that’s a bit overwrought. Nonetheless, the videos posted thus far capture the essence and chaos of a fly-by-the-cuff expedition to make a ski film, along with beautiful camera shots of both stunts and the colorful local personalities.
Sweetgrass began posting installments of the web video series a year ago, starting with this teaser. From there the web series followed their trip from Huarez, Peru to the 20,000-foot Andean peaks, and onward, into the legendary ski town of Las Lenas, Argentina, through Patagonia, and up to Bolivia, where they make attempts at the snowfields of the Tres Volcanoes: Sajama, Parinacota, and Pomerape.
They began posting the videos once a month, but for the summer, Sweetgrass posts a new video every Thursday. The eighth installment of the series was posted about two weeks ago. Catch it and the rest of the behind-the-scenes action vids at the On the Road with Solitaire Vimeo page.
Photo: Sajama Volcano, Bolivia. Obtained via Wimimedia commons.
