Credit: From the film The Unbearable Lightness of Skiing. Photo by Greg Hill

Greg Hill is used to moving up in the world.

Renowned for his backcountry skiing, one of his biggest achievements was gaining one million feet of vertical in a single season, a feat that included 40,000-feet in a single day, 40 separate peaks, 37 days of 10,000 or more feet, and 145 days in the backcountry. Greg’s accomplishment involved no helicopters or lift lines, only skins on his skis for traction and an immeasurable amount of will power.

An experience with a new medium now has his adventures travelling around the world.

The resident of Revelstoke, B.C.’s first submission to the 2008 Banff Mountain Film Festival was not only chosen as a finalist, but also as an integral part of the World Tour – not bad for a “basement” film producer.

“I climb mountains to be in these amazing places, so I thought I might as well try to communicate it with other people and inspire them to get out there and enjoy,” explains Greg. “I made a couple of YouTube videos before, but this was my first real attempt at a film. There’s still quit a few [film editing] buttons that I’m intimidated by. I don’t know what they do and I don’t ever want to touch them,” he adds jokingly.

For years, Greg has been publishing an internet blog in order to chronicle his escapades. “I started to feel that video had the capability of making people feel like they are right there beside the person. You can hear the wind or how hard they are breathing.”

Greg’s movie, The Unbearable Lightness of Skiing, follows three of his exploits and includes the best footage from the season. “I try to not let it interfere with what we are doing. We don’t set things up. I’m always trying to let things happen as they happen and be quick enough to catch it. If you’ve ever skied or done anything with photographers they are really annoying and you never get anything done,” he says with a laugh. “I’ve got a lot of energy so if I see I can get a good angle by hiking in the distance as my friends go forward, I’ll do that.”

Lots of energy is a modest statement. Greg put in over 100 days in the backcountry this winter. In his most recent adventure, he completed a 30-kilometre, 5-day traverse which boasted some “ups and downs,” including a blown knee at 10 000-feet leading to a heli-evacuation, a wicked descent of Purity Mountain and an avalanche on Pristine Mountain in British Columbia. To have Greg sum it up in one word, “epic.”

This season also included a tour that he had been looking at for 10 years.

“There are a lot of things that I haven’t done that I’m slowly waiting for the perfect day to do, or the day that’s right for me to go and do. Safety is always first. You want to come back and tell your stories,” he says, explaining the journey in detail, including a 150-foot waterfall repel.

An assistant ski guide for the past five seasons, Greg took part in a week-long full ski guide exam at the end of this winter. The eventual goal is to use his local experience in Revelstoke and Rogers Pass and provide people with “great experiences.”

When he’s not guiding, he plans to continue crossing adventures off his list and creating videos to share his journeys. One can only hope he will reappear at the Banff Mountain Film Festival and World Tour to showcase his local adventures on the world stage. “It’s an inspirational night,” Greg says. “People from all over the world are going on these amazing adventures and we get to see them do what they do.”