Seven Days: Vermont's Independent Voice

Such Great Heights

Not all of the action-sport thrills in the Ski Channel documentary Winter pertain to snow. Steve Bellamy’s film captures a unicyclist tearing along the ridge of a mountain, inches from an unforgiving drop, and a daredevil diver front-flipping off a 210-foot cliff. The adrenaline-pumping footage of those who risk it all for extreme mountain adventure is, however, deeply rooted in snow sports — and a Montpelier screening celebrates one of the film’s featured skiers in particular: Sarah Burke, the Winter X Games gold medalist who died in January. “She [was] a pioneer for her sport,” says organizer Susan Law. “I didn’t want her accident to stop everything that she had been working for.” Proceeds from the screening and related auction support a foundation in honor of her legacy.