Justin Hostynek
PHOTO: Justin Hostynek
RIDERS: Chris Roach | Dave Seoane | Terjé Haakonsen
LOCATION: Valle Nevado, Chile
CAMERA: Canon EOS 1 (analog)
“In 1992, I photographed the dream trip of a lifetime in Valle Nevado, Chile,” says Absinthe Films cofounder Justin Hostynek. “Our crew included the riders Chris Roach, Dave Seoane, Terje Haakonsen, Mike Basich, and Keith “Duckboy” Wallace.”
In addition to Hostynek and Jerry Dugan of Fall Line Films on camera duties, Doug Palladini was with the crew writing an article for Snowboarder Magazine, and Joel from Sessions tagged along to ride pow. It was an all-time cast of characters, world class athletes, and egos. Says Hostynek, “To put this trip in context, I had posters of these riders on my walls in high school. Roach, Haakon, Seoane—these were those guys.”
Not only was the young photographer excited to shoot with his heroes, this was the first time he’d ever traveled between the summer heat of the northern hemisphere and the winter chill of the southern hemisphere. He had no idea what to expect. Upon arrival to Valle Nevado from Santiago, they discovered there was no snow. None. Hostynek was devastated.
However, as is often the case at Valle Nevado, 24-hours after settling into the hotel, a storm rolled in and the skies started puking. Hostynek continues, “We got 10+ feet in two-days. So now there was 10-feet of snow on top of grass on most aspects. While Palladini struggled in bed with a fever, the rest of us got to work. We had tons of powder in-bounds, as well as off-resort side country access.”
On day three, the crew had the option of getting a heli bump. In this photo, Hostynek captures Roach mid-smile as he, Seaone, and Haakon take flight, excited to find lines beyond the resort. Says Hostynek, “This Valle Nevado experience wound up becoming the trip that turned me into a lifelong photographer and filmmaker. It planted the seed that would become Absinthe Films.”
