My January has been pretty standard, so far. I got a job shooting a music video for a Georgian billionaire pop star who’s music has been outlawed in the country because his dad is running for president and the existing government is unhappy about the competition. Pretty standard, really.
MY GEORGIAN TEAM: turns out when you rent equipment in Georgia, it comes with old man PAs with serious assembly skills.
So yes, I went to Georgia and made a music video. It wasn’t easy to relax when government agents would watch me eat and listen in on my conversations, among other things, but we finished the job without being kidnapped…so that was awesome!
Georgia is an amazing country though. The food is divine. The wine is divine( r). The mountains are huge and stunning. The people are solemn but friendly. The fur hats are rad. The swap meets are unbeatable…I saw a raw bear hide being sold next to an accordion and then I bought a Russian 16mm video camera and a CCCP badge at the vendor next door. Awesome.
I ended up in Tbilisi's oldest film studio. I think this will be the next addition to my camera quiver...
After escaping Georgia with only one trip to the Canadian embassy, I touched down in snowy Victoria and immediately headed up to my favourite ski hill in the whole world: Mt.Cain. Mt.Cain is a 6 hour drive from Victoria, 3 hours of which is without cell phone reception. At the mountain there are two t-bars, glades galore, massive backcountry bowls, and snorkel-worthy powder. However, as the sticker on all the local’s trucks say: “Cain sucks. Tell your friends.” I mean, there’s no running water up there…so you probably shouldn’t go.
CAIN CUP: REPRESENT!!
It happened that the annual Cain Cup ski race was happening this weekend, so my friends and I decided to pay the $5 donation fee and race GS on our fatty powder skis (and with our beacons on transmit). Word on the street was that almost 100 other people had the same idea and there was serious competition! Racing was the least of our priorities though when 40cm had fallen over the week and we were the first people to touch it, but Mt.Cain is so relaxed that they let us use our practice runs as our race runs. So I did just that…raced two runs and spent the rest of the day skiing pow. Turns out my powder skis are good for gates too and I took home the silver medal! Ski racing is fun!
Unfortunately/fortunately I don’t have any Georgian billionaire music video shoots lined up for February, but I will be travelling to Turkey, Qatar, and Harvard (is Harvard in Boston?) so the adventures shall continue…
Until then, remember: Cain sucks. Tell your friends.
Darcy
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Hi Darcy,
Good to see you are ok now. Remarkable and fun, it’s nice to read about your adventures; and I saw you visited Costa Rica in the past.
Best regards,
Alonso