Trax Domination Film Review
In the fourth instalment of the snow bike film series, Trax Domination takes us around the globe to witness the current standing of the sport and its best athletes. While the film focuses on the athletes and their part in the worldwide growth of the sport, we also get to see why it’s catching on like wildfire. It’s just a hell of a lot of fun, and that theme shines through in every segment.
So without further ado, here is our review of Trax Vol. 4: Domination.
Images courtesy Trax/Jaya Lange
Trax Domination Film Review – Vol. 4
Snowrider in Russia
The first segment of the film begins with Timofey Kuleshov from Snowrider in Russia talking about the latest improvements to their snow bike kit. At first, it feels like a bit of a weird transition from such a rowdy intro segment to go straight into an interview about updates to a snow bike kit. Having said that, the kit does look pretty legit! And it’s good to see another player taking a stab at the growing global snow bike market.
In the segment, the fellas rip around the pretty forests and rocky slopes of Sheregesh, in Siberia. The snow looks pretty good, and the guys put their Snowrider kits through the paces, jumping off boulders and generally hooning around. Deep snow, blue skies and a polka-metal soundtrack? What’s not to like? And cinematographer/director/producer Jaya Lange gives us some interesting angles to keep it all looking fresh.
X Games and Best Trick
Moving on, the film crew heads south to Aspen, Colorado to capture the madness of X Games Aspen 2018. In addition to the Snow Bike Cross event, Snow Bike Best Trick was added to the marquee for 2018. The segment highlights impressive freestyle from some of the biggest names in FMX. A multitude of tricked out backflips are thrown down amongst other FMX mainstays, including the eventual winner, a California Roll body varial from Rob Adelberg. Interesting that many of the riders chose to run shorter-than-production length tracks for the event.
Exploring the Groulx Mountains
Next up, Trax Domination heads east, to an isolated area called the Groulx Mountains, located a 10-hour drive north of Quebec City. But the long trip pays off as the crew hits it just right, nailing some deep snow conditions under blue skies. The alpine terrain looks reminiscent of the big mountains out west, and the crew, including Remy Voyer of Treeriding Adventure, makes the most of it.
Afterward, the crew heads back to Remi’s stomping grounds, where the riding is dominated by tight trees that would surely put the fear into anyone on a snowmobile. But snow bikes were made to eat this type of terrain for breakfast, and they guys brought a big appetite. Care for some maple syrup with those powder pancakes?
Japan
Up next, the surely jet-lagged-by-now film crew heads over the Pacific, to the Land of Rising Sun. Thirty-six hours of travel later, Yamaha athletes Brock Hoyer and Cody Matechuk put the finishing touches on their Yamaha bikes and get ready to rip “Japow“.
And man! Do they make it look fun. It surely helps that the guys were treated to a massive dump, Japan-style. It looks like it snowed pretty much the whole time. Brock and Cody have the time of their lives chasing each other around, shredding neck deep pow through wide-open trees.
Of course, guys of the calibre of Brock and Cody aren’t going to be satisfied with a little pow slaying, no matter how deep. The second half of the Japan segment shows more of what we have learned to expect from the bLU cRU, as the duo launch off every rock and pillow in sight.
By our estimation, the Japan segment is worth of price of admission alone, and the whole rest of the film is bonus!
Reagan Sieg and the 137″
We’ve got to give big props to Reagan Sieg for consistently putting down rowdy lines and pushing what’s considered possible on a snow bike. His contribution to Trax Domination takes place in the very deep snow that blanketed Interior British Columbia last winter.
Reagan spent much more time last winter on the Timbersled long track than usual, which helped him break trail and get above many of the big drops he sought out. What else can we say? Reagan is guaranteed to get sendy, and his Trax Domination segment is no exception. His final shot is notably billy-goat-esque.
Rider Segments
Trax Domination proceeds from here with a number of more traditional segments that were shot in BC.
It’s always a pleasure to see the ladies of our sport getting after it, and Megan Griffiths from Kelowna does so in Trax Domination. She tears up some fun looking sub-alpine terrain.
And we get to see more of Cody Matechuk, as he puts on an alpine hip session clinic.
Brock Hoyer follows that up with a trip to Pemberton to shred the big mountain terrain of the ice cap. There are some beauty glacier and rock backgrounds to the action.
A native of Whistler and a helicopter pilot, Malcolm Watson finds time to shreds some of the local terrain when he’s not busy flying above it.
And finally, Geoff Kyle takes some of the guys out into some massive terrain on the coast. We get to see them link up turns and drops in some long drone shots that highlight just how big the features there are.
Not to ruin the surprise, but there’s an amazing segment to wrap up the film. This will give you an idea:
And no, that is not the only bike the guys rode in those suits…
Trax Domination Review Summary
Trax Vol. 4: Domination is a great looking film. The shots are sharp and perfectly exposed. Colour rendition is fantastic. Great composition, slick transitions and a variety of shots keeps it visually stimulating. The music is a mix of fun and energetic, which keeps the viewer locked into each segment.
If you ride a snow bike, you really should watch this film. It showcases the best riders in the sport, pushing it in the most epic conditions of last winter. Sledders will also find Trax Domination easy to appreciate. They guys slay deep pow, stomp huge drops and crush tree lines. And we can all appreciate the insane talent on display.
Trax Vol. 4: Domination comes highly recommended! Here’s the teaser in case you haven’t yet seen it.
The full film can be found here, in the iTunes Store and on Vimeo.
– MS
