I recently had the pleasure of watching the all-women snowboarding video STANCE. Over all, I give it high marks: I loved the music and cinematography, and was amazed by the style and skill of all the riders. I mean, wow, women's snowboarding has progressed a ton since I first started riding sixteen years ago (damn, I'm old). I was impressed to see these ladies getting out of the park/pipe and into the backcountry. There was not much rolling down the windows in the manner of Barrett Christy circa 1993 (thank you, Todd Richards, for that reference), and these women didn't just spin to spin. Everything looked stylish (well, almost everything--Jenny Jones' repeated attempts to clear a river just looked painful, but I give her props for trying), with plenty of tweaked-out methods and backside 180s thrown into the mix.

Now on to what I didn't like: the start of Gretchen Bleiler's sequence for one. Since she was the opening rider in the video, I was afraid that every sequence would begin with the rider we were about to see talking about the deep meaning of snowboarding, followed by a shot of the rider making kisses at the camera with hair blowing back, not unlike something out of Baywatch. Luckily this wasn't the case, but it did make me wonder why Gretchen Bleiler's sequence started this way and no one else's did. I mean, what's so special about her?

Another issue I had with the video was Raewyn Reid's attire. When your snowboarding clothing is so loud and ugly that it distracts from your riding (which, in her case, is exceptional), it may be time to reconsider the wardrobe. I don't care how much your sponsors are paying you to wear it.

All in all an excellent video that accomplished what I think the main goal of any snowboarding video should be: it got me amped to ride.

Decide what your stance on STANCE is: www.stancemovie.com