The Wall run

Thovex makes it all look so easy, but spare a thought for those trying to capture the scene for the film Ski The World – this is hard, dangerous work.

6 December, 2019

Iconic, spellbinding, magnificent. Candide Thovex is all of things and more – and so is The Great Wall of China, where the latest chapter in the Ski the world behind the scenes clip comes from. Here, the skiing genius again shows his mastery on these ancient ramparts, making it look as though The Wall was made for skiing as opposed to keeping the hordes at bay.

But even when you’re a master like Thovex, nothing is ever done in one take as the footage clearly shows. Although the main challenge of skiing on the ancient stone is more for the crew attempting to catch it all on film, rather Thovex himself.

As if skiing on this surface isn’t hard enough, spare a thought for a cameraman trying to ski and keep up with Thovex while trying to ‘get the shot’ all at the same time! On a steep and fast surface like this, just running a short section, lugging camera gear and trying to keep the flying frenchman in frame is more than most people could hope to achieve.

But achieve it they did and the film, Ski the World, stands as a monument not just to one man’s supreme skill on skis, but to the skill of those who set out to catch it all on film.

A wonder of the world without a doubt.

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