As Ahmet says on his Vimeo page: “All from same area of New York livin out in Utah. Shootin guns and messin around on skis..” That ’bout sums it up!

Ahmet gettin’ after it in the Motherland! Bagging some pretty wild shots in Turkey…

Ahmet Dadali followed up his film-opening segment in our 2010 flick “Eye Trip” with the much-coveted closing part in 2011′s “After Dark.” In the process of logging 4 minutes of mind-blowing urban and backcountry content that made the film, there was plenty of other solid stuff that hit the proverbial cutting room floor- check it here along with a few bangers straight out of the film that we just had to see one more time…

Last January (damn, time flies!) when most of the usual US locations were warm and dry, Kyle Decker packed up the urban kit and headed North across the border with Ahmet Dadali, Mike Hornbeck, and Logan Imlach for what was one of the coldest trips on record for Level 1 – lows in the negative 30s, and highs in the, well, negative teens. Frostbite central! Undeterred by the frigid temps our crew got after it on some man-sized gaps, super tech stair trannys, and a few standard-issue rails and jibs to keep things moving.

Oh, and if you didn’t know it yet, Logan Imlach is a bruiser. Check the original writeup on this trip that Logan put together HERE.

Ok yeah, you caught us, the Iron Curtain doesn’t exist anymore, but it seemed an appropriate subtitle for this webisode. At this point you’ve seen the Russia seg in the movie, read the web updates, the feature article in Freeskier, etc, but we promise we’re NOT beating a dead horse- check out this webisode for some fresh content, fresh humor, and a fresh perspective on our Moscow jib trip.

The lights went out in Denver, CO this past Friday night as Level 1 pushed play on their 12th annual feature length ski flick for a packed house at Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom.  Crowds lined up early and wrapped around the block in anticipation of what the ski community has come to look forward to as one of the biggest and best parties of the Fall season, and by all accounts, everyone got what they expected.

In attendance; Parker White, Tom Wallisch, Chris Logan, Ahmet Dadali, Will Wesson, Mike Hornbeck, Wiley Miller, Tanner Rainville, and Adam Delorme, as well as friends, media, and industry VIPs traveling from all across the country to be on hand for the night’s festivities.

After DJ Harvitronix’s opening set, our annual Monster Chug wrapped up the prize giveaway and set up 5 lucky fans with rad prizes from Rossi, Klint, DaleBoot, Skullcandy, Bula, Saga, and Electric- everyone went home with something, even if their chugging technique wasn’t working so well.

Parker White’s opening seg was by all accounts, an “eye trip” and far and away the most well-rounded  and all-encompassing part that Level 1 has ever put together, and kicked off 55+ mins of top notch ski action, great music, and all the ingredients that we consider necessary for a successful ski flick.  If the volume of screaming yelling and cheering is a good way to gauge crowd reaction, the 1400 people in attendance seemed to agree.  Highlights seemingly included Chris Logan and Alex Bellemare’s part following on the heels of Parker’s opener, Hornbeck’s strongest segment in years, Rainville’s POV shots, Will Wesson’s first real feature-length seg with Level 1, Adam Delorme’s best seg yet, and Ahmet Dadali doing what he does best.

Much thanks to all the event sponsors that helped this year’s World Premiere go off!  Monster, Rossignol, Freeskier, Skullcandy, Under Armour, Klint, DaleBoot, Powderhuffer.com, Saga, Spy, Scott, Bula, Electric, and Loveland!

Lots of premieres on the horizon!  Two days and counting ’til our SLC Level 1/4bi9 blowout.  This Friday we wrap up the first night of films at IF3 in Montreal, and the next night are getting after it in Seattle with 4FRNT at Evo!

Stay tuned to the Events Calendar for a full listing of After Dark World Tour dates and locations around the globe!

We’ve been wanting to put out a quality bball jersey for a while now and there was no better company to partner up with than Under Armour.  Yup.  They got that $#!t dialed!  So fresh, so clean.  These reversible, long-fit, super soft, moisture-wicking, EXTRA high-quality jerseys are where its at.

Available in 3 colorways- Black/White, Red/White, and Royal Blue/White.  Level 1 script logo on the chest, and pro-team style numbering on the back.  Each is completely reversible, offering up 2-color contrasting print on both sides.  Turn ‘em inside out and its like you’re getting two jerseys for the price of one!

Available exclusively in the Level 1 online store!

Words and photos by Kyle Decker

This year we decided to switch things up and head to the capital of the former Soviet Union for a jib trip.  No one in our crew had ever been to Russia so we weren’t sure exactly what we were getting ourselves into.  A country with a rough history, we were warned by more than a few people this might not be the best idea.  We were given a heads up on dealings with corrupt law enforcement, language barriers, not to mention hectic driving in some of the world’s worst traffic.  Undeterred, we applied for our tourist visas, loading our ammo with Ahmet Dadali, Mike Hornbeck, and Tom Wallisch and played ourselves a game of Russian roulette.

Mari and Alex at international arrivals at DME

When we arrived at international arrivals at Moscow’s Domodedova airport (which was bombed only a few weeks prior) we were welcomed by our guides/translators Alex and Mari with a homemade sign saying ‘Welcome Level 1′. Looking out the car window on our drive into the city center we stared at the endless lineups of high-rise apartments from the communist era, and bumper to bumper traffic as far as the eye could see.

Moscow Traffic

After moving into our apartment, renting our van, registering our visas with the Russian government, tracking down lost bags from Delta, and recovering from jet lag with finally were settled in ready to get things going.  Unlike all of our other urban trips we didn’t shoot a single night feature on this trip.  We kept it to our backcountry schedule, waking up at 6am and back at the apartment at nightfall.  It was a learning experience on many levels, and definitely tested our crew’s mettle to make shots happen, but the 10-day adventure wrapped up with plenty of shots in the bag and produced a number of experiences that none of us will ever forget!  Check out the footage in Level 1′s 12th movie “After Dark”.

Wallisch eying up this nice Soviet DFD

Mike Hornbeck looking for "tranny"

Huge thanks for everyone in Moscow that helped make this possible. Without your translations we would still be in Moscow lost or in jail. Your knowledge and hospitality made the trip for us’¦Ð¡Ð¿Ð°ÑÐ¸Ð±Ð¾ большое!

Lifesteeze Media Crew

Indoor skiing in Moscow

Words and photos by Kyle Decker

With snow in the forecast we headed to the land of 10,000 lakes, 10,000 Wal-Marts, Mall of America, and the former home of the Minnesota Vikings.  Joining us on the 15 hour drive out of Denver was none other than “Best Male Performer of 2010″ (haha) Ahmet Dadali, veteran Liam Downey, and rookie Sean Jordan.

Things got off to a solid start before disaster struck.  The third feature of the trip was located in a wide open parking lot in downtown St. Paul.  We were running into problems with the winch running properly so between filming I walked the 30 ft over to the winch to check things out.  Suddenly I turn around and see an SUV tear into the parking lot, while the passenger reached out and snatched my camera/tripod and took off.  In 12 years of shooting urban features, we’ve never heard of or seen anything go down quite like this.

Berman saved the trip and overnighted a replacement camera and we were soon back in action just in time to catch the 5th largest snow storm in MN history.  When the storm came, it came in hard. It snowed almost 2 feet with wind chill factors as low as -28, which paralyzed the twin cities streets.  We even found ourselves getting out the grain shovels and crawling under a semi truck to help dig it out. In fact it snowed so much the MN Vikings dome collapsed, leaving the football field covered with snow. This was the much needed mental and weather reset we needed to get things done.  Stay tuned for more updates coming soon.

There is a $5000 cash reward if anyone can track down, return, or provide information that leads to the recovery of our camera.

Camera/Tripod Details:
Sony PMW-EX1(serial # 103547) loaded with a 16GB and 8 GB memory card along with a Manfrotto 503 tripod with Harlaut Champagne tape wrapped around the handle.

[Show as slideshow]

Special Thanks to Brandon Husak for his hospitality and holding it down with his 7D