OK, haters: If you aren't interested in reading about a women's snowboard video, click away from the page now. For those who are, regardless of their gender, please continue.

I am gradually chipping away at my stack of new snowboard DVDs at home (thanks to Howard from Platinum for this enjoyable dilemena), and last night's screeing was See What I See from the all-female riding crew at Runway Films. Helmed by infamous multi-tasker and pro shred Leanne Pelosi, along with former Skid and Dinosaurs Will Die founder Jeff Keenan, Runway stepped in when Misschief Films bit the dust three seasons ago, creating a colony of sorts for the best lady pros in the snowboard industry.

Leanne and Jeff have no problem attracting the best riders to their crew, with the only exception being the few who land a spot in a male-dominated video (such as Annie Boulanger with Absinthe and Priscilla Levac with Standard this year, or Marie-France Roy with Rome). That being said, I'm sure many of Runway's riders would quickly say they prefer to ride with Runway, given how pressure-filled an all-male riding and filming situation can be. But really, as someone on the outside looking in, this is not for me to say. Point being: Runway has a lot of good riders and seemed to have no lack of strong footage from these riders for See What I See.

Snowboard videos are consistently judged on two points: quality of riding and quality of production. As a snapshot of female progression, this video delivers with better jibs, better tricks, better spots and better style. Watching young Raewyn Reid smoothly lock into street rail combos, and seeing Jamie Anderson aggresively spin off backcountry drops, indicates that women's snowboarding is better than ever. And Natasza Zurek's closing part is a true banger. It's often easy for people to forget about Nat, especially in the grips of recent Marie-France Roy mania, but few riders can deliver in such a diverse mix of terrain (and with such good style) like her. Many others drop in with strong parts or mini-parts, and attention was clearly given to ensuring filler was kept out. Watch it and you'll agree.

As for the production values, I am way impresed. Annoying, staged intros are dropped in favour of cool, grainy Super-8 lifestyle footage of the riders. The editing is tight and effective, and the filming is clean and captures the tricks and lines well. (Can you describe filming as "clean"? Oh, well.) The overall quality of the video's production, direction and editing is a big, big step up from La La Land, last year's release, and I think it will earn Runway some well-deserved respect. The video doesn't feel cute-sy or contrived, but rather has a cool, organic flow and feel, and jumps well from rider-based parts to location-based segments. And best of all, it wraps up in a cool 30 minutes: the perfect length for any snowboard video.

Check out the trailer for See What I See here: http://push.ca/media/p/3379.aspx

And check out a previous blog on women's snowboard: http://push.ca/blogs/mattsn/archive/2008/09/30/the-ladies.aspx