Adventure Film Works' fourth release tries to show a more personal side to Alaska. It documents a journey where one climbs the steep Alaskan peak rather than being heli-dropped. The film is edited in a chronological order and is essentially a documentary of the journey of three skiers and a dog to Alaska.

The journey of Miles, a seven-year pro Tahoe ski-bum who is nearing 30. Jeff, who gave up his rowing career and is now a software manager at Microsoft and lives in Seattle. Jackie, the youngest of the trio, is a former junior world champion at mogul skiing and is now entering the freeskiing competitions. Lastly, Hidatsa, Miles' 14-year old dog who skies whenever Miles does. This is the rider line-up. It definitely isn't your standard professional line-up that one expects when watching ski films, and is the only film where I recall a dog having their own segment (with the exception of the Meathead Films').

Don't be fooled by the title though, the viewer does get to see various terrain such as Mt. Baker. The Mt. Baker segment has an array of powder shots and cliff drops, including Miles stomping a backflip off a cliff. Sadly though, this is the best part of the film in terms of skiing.

From Mt. Baker the journey goes onwards to Whistler and Smithers where we get an insight into the remaining personalities of Jeff and Hidatsa the dog. What truly stood out in this segment was that there were countless shots of Jeff skiing already tracked runs which you barely see in ski films anymore. Essentially, what these various segments do is introduce the riders, their personalities and mentalities to the viewers and thereby bring about a more emotional theme to the film. This is further shown by the continuing reminder of the dangers the sport they love so much.

The film slowly progresses in sync with their journey and the viewer gets a greater understanding of the riders emotions, reactions and so forth. Once in Haines Pass though, things start to become a little bit more action-filled. In this segment the viewer gets to see the riders tear up some amazing backcountry open bowls, which they themselves climbed first. However, towards the end of the segment the reputable poor conditions of Alaska sweep in and drama unfolds.

Later on in the film the first Alaskan steep is climbed and skied, finally. Sadly though the film doesn't seem to concentrate on too much skiing in the latter segment of the film and instead concentrates on the mental state of the riders as they climb this absurdly steep mountain. One easily notices that the element of fear is constantly in these rider's minds and for them the fear sometimes gets the better of them.

With regards to the cinematography, editing and general soundtrack, it wasn't anything groundbreaking or truly impressive but then again this isn't a high-budget film, and it would be unfair to expect too much.

Disappointingly, the film didn't have as much Alaskan skiing as I would have liked it to have. It seems that perhaps the mental and physical ability of these riders resulted in them skiing fewer steep lines than expected. Nonetheless, there are a few steep-line shots and many more of open-faces, where Jeff performs superbly. This film may not offer the best skiing but instead what it does offer is an in-depth insight into the mentality and thoughts of riders as they ski terrain most of us could only dream of. AK The Hard Way is a true documentary of the trials and tribulations of Alaska, where achievement comes at a high cost.