VERMONT | Beautiful Destinations

Visit The USA (@VisitTheUSA) and hall of fame skier, John Egan, show us ski Thrills and zen in the Mad River Valley of Vermont.

DIRECTOR’S NOTES
When Beautiful Destinations notified me that I was heading to Vermont – I was incredibly excited because the Green Mountain State is one of my favorite places. Although I grew up in Israel, I’ve been visiting Vermont since my childhood. After moving to the USA, Vermont, and in particular, the Mad River Valley has become one of my favorite places. It has served as a backdrop for several of my creative projects; from music videos to documentaries and my first feature film.

ON SKIING IN THE MAD RIVER VALLEY OF VERMONT
The Mad River Valley of Vermont is known for its stunning natural beauty and has many hidden gems. The residents are only too happy to share their favorite ski run or swimming hole with visitors. Many people are acquainted with Stowe and Killington, but I wanted to showcase this region, home to small communal towns like Waitsfield and Warren. Surrounded by mountains and ridges rivaling the beauty of the Swiss alps, I knew we had to tell the story of this community through the eyes of someone who encapsulates everything that makes this place so special.

ON HALL OF FAMER JOHN EGAN
John Egan, member of the Skiing Hall of Fame, star of 17(!) Warren Miller films, and adrenaline junkie, is also the Chief Recreation Officer in the ski resort of Sugarbush, Vermont. After nearly five decades of skiing, often in the most remote locations in the world, such as Siberia and Antarctica, John still loves jumping on the lift line at Sugarbush and skiing with the locals.

The prospect of filming John Egan was rather intimidating. He is no stranger to cameras, but we wanted to capture John like never before, to highlight his duality. On the one hand, he’s a thrill-seeking skier who constantly pushes himself and his students to the next level. On the other hand, John embodies and preaches the necessity of moving and living in a Zen state. His mantra: Feel the turn evokes the importance of internal peace and a connection to your surroundings and community that one must have in order to continue reaching that next level.

ON OUR CREW AND EQUIPMENT
Our crew skied and snowboarded down the beautiful mountain, doing our best to keep up with John. It was indeed a challenge. One of the greatest things about filming with Beautiful Destinations crews is the mobility and fast pace we can move. Once we begin rolling, we make decisions based on pure creative instinct. In my personal opinion, this is one of the key elements to success, as it provides a platform for creators to constantly explore and to innovate. This project was shot entirely on the Canon 1DX MKII camera. We also used the Ronin-S handheld stabilizer for the skiing shots. The video was edited in Adobe Premiere and colored in DaVinci Resolve.

ABOUT
To see more of our work in partnership with Visit The USA, follow our #UnitedStories journey across the nation to find and share the unique stories that weave the American tapestry.

https://www.visittheusa.com/unitedstories
The Beautiful Destinations Team:
Barak Barkan | Producer and Director http://www.barakbarkan.com/
Chris Shepherd | Creator and Shooter https://www.instagram.com/cshep/
Ivette Mercado | Editor https://www.instagram.com/mercadismo/
Kate Balch | Head of Production https://www.instagram.com/balchette/
Meagan Bryan | Social Media https://www.instagram.com/meaganbryan

Special Thanks:
John Egan https://www.feeltheturn.com/aboutjohnegan
Sugarbush Resort https://www.instagram.com/sugarbush_vt/