Ain't no mountain high enough

X-TREME

Extreme off-piste skiing has always had a cult following, attracting a fearless breed of winter-sportsman with a serious adrenalin habit to support. A new set of videos showcase this often frightening sport

Off-piste skiing aficionados are generally disappointed by the coverage their passion receives on the small screen. But where's there's money to be made, there's hope. Enter Warren Miller, whose videos offer more hardcore slope action in five minutes, than a month of Ski Sundays.

They also provide an insight into a mysterious world. Strange as it may seem, many of the world's best skiers wouldn't be seen anywhere near a ski resort. They have discovered extreme off-piste skiing, a dangerous hybrid which has taken many of the top names away from the slopes and into the mountains in search of an addictive high.

In the past, skiing has had the reputation of being an elitist pastime, something that Fergie does five times a year, but the sport is becoming increasingly accessible. Expanding competition and the growing popularity of snowboarding have reawakened public interest and spawned a new generation of ski-bums for whom the sport itself is more important than posing around on the slopes.

Extreme off-piste skiers are like surfers searching for the biggest waves. They disappear up the mountain in search of the best powder (the deepest and freshest snow drifts) to test their skills. Unlike a snowboard, skis do not naturally "float" in deep drifts of snow so the skier has to exercise extreme skill and ability to control their descent. This means that stopping is not really an option, even on the most testing of descents.

Warren Miller's skiing videos reflect the fact that skiing seems to have been reclaimed by athletes rather than poseurs. He manages to persuade camera crews to take their equipment where no sane individual would dare to venture.

Miller's cult videos have been practically impossible to get hold of in the past. Only a few ski specialists stocked them and they were always sold out when you finally tracked them down. If you've never been skiing before, you should watch with caution as you may be put off skiing for life.

There's no footage of gentle runs or even challenging black runs. His philosophy seems to be to find skiers with awesome talent and no regard for personal safety and film them hurtling down some of the most dangerous snow-covered terrain in the world.

In one memorable shot from Steeper and Deeper, a drift was so treacherous that the skiers had to be dropped from a helicopter onto the mountain face. Once they hit the snow, the vertical gravitational pull was the only thing stopping them from sinking into a bottomless pit of powder.

Much of Miller's footage records skiing where no one has ever skied before and it's not hard to see why. A case of the unfreakable in search of the unskiable.

Although Endless Winter may sound like the title of the latest novel by Catherine Cookson, or a Lionel Richie and Diana Ross duet, it is in fact an adrenaline-fuelled tour of Alaska, Argentina, Colorado, Austria and Japan. In an interesting take on more traditional skiing footage, you're even given the location's historical background before the action begins.

Skiers attracted by the sport come from every corner of the globe and include several Olympic champions as well as the world's best freestylers.They offer inspiration, and ample warning, to the most hardened skier, but may well force potential participants to swap their skis for a less arduous fortnight on a Spanish beach. On the other hand, if you think the nursery slope is for babies, this could be the sport you've been looking for.