If hurtling down a mountain at speeds clocking 135kph is all in a day’s work, how does Olympic gold medallist Jon Montgomery find a new kind of rush? After reaching the top of the podium at Vancouver 2010, the charismatic skeleton champion enlists three of his closest friends for an athlete’s ultimate road trip – in fact, it’s the BEST. TRIP. EVER.
Premiering Saturday, November 27 at 7 p.m. ET/8 p.m. PT on Discovery Channel, this one-hour special follows the adrenaline-seeking crew of four – which includes Montgomery’s fiancée and teammate Darla Deschamps, his best friend and conditioning coach Kelly Forbes, plus his friend and skeleton teammate Sarah Reid – as they drive across British Columbia in a 2010 Toyota 4Runner – a winning combination of off-road capability and on-road driving comfort – engaging in a little friendly competition. Tackling extreme sports from kite surfing and slack-lining to heli-biking and Vancouver’s gruelling Grouse Grind, the foursome is attempting most of the activities for the first time. With bragging rights – and besting their own personal gold standards – on the line, the competition is fierce!
Skeleton racers Montgomery, Deschamps and Reid are joined by their conditioning coach Forbes. A former skeleton racer himself, a back injury forced Forbes out of competition, but over the past two years he has developed innovative – and challenging! – ways to train his friends and teammates. And so, as the group embarks on a six-day “vacation,” Forbes leads the crew to test out the most exciting and extreme sporting adventures B.C. has to offer. They pile into a 2010 Toyota 4Runner and start their journey that showcases the best of beautiful British Columbia. Along the way, Forbes functions as a guide, introducing the team to other “adventure athletes” who coach the foursome in high-adrenaline sports they’ve never tried before.
But is being an Olympian enough to master every sport? They soon find out…
With just six days, an extreme sports “bucket list” and a game-for-anything attitude, the foursome revs up their 2010 Toyota 4Runner and starts their BEST. TRIP. EVER. Highlights include:
· Kite Surfing – Nitinat, a world mecca for kite surfing, is a salt lake that boasts the area’s most consistent winds – which is perfect for kite surfing. The setting is ideal, but Forbes’ “innovative sense of direction” means they’ve arrived late after a long drive and only one of the crew finds kite surfing success… sparking the first friction of the trip.
· Night Surfing – it’s a beautiful sunset in Tofino, B.C., but the day is far from over. Warmed by the fire of a little friendly competition, the gang dives headlong into the Pacific for a “team surfing” competition – Montgomery and Deschamps vs. Forbes and Reid. Complete with, ummm… wrestling masks.
· Tree Climbing – Every kid does it, so how hard can it be? Forbes introduces the crew to an expert tree climber who shows them how to use mechanical ascenders, a crossbow and other cool tools to conquer a 70-metre-tall old-growth cedar. It’s a race – and when strength is less important than skill, it’s anyone’s to win.
· The “Grouse Grind” – This iconic Vancouver landmark is nature’s stairmaster. Climbing its 2830 steps to the top of Grouse Mountain has become a race among enthusiasts striving to beat constantly changing records. Piece of cake for Olympians, right? But they aren’t endurance athletes and the arduous 2.9km hike – at times, at a 30 degree incline – takes a surprising toll on one of them.
· Slack-lining – The foursome heads to the Squamish Chief, an iconic mountain between Vancouver and Whistler where mountain climbers hone their skills. With the help of a world-class mountain rigger, the crew is coached in the art of walking a slack line. Rigged between two peaks – across a 300-metre chasm – the friends need every bit of courage to make the heart-stopping walk.
· Heli Biking – When the team arrives in Whistler, it is Montgomery’s first visit since he captured Skeleton gold in February. But they’re not here to slide – they’re hitting Whistler Bike Park. After tackling some of the country’s most challenging mountain bike terrain, the guys take it up a notch and move to Rainbow Mountain… which is accessible only by helicopter.
With a unique approach to storytelling, BEST. TRIP. EVER. features two sets of cameras covering every move this team makes. One set is literally placed in the hands of the foursome to document their own trip – watch as they assign each other camera duties! A remarkable 16 HD cameras capture every second of the action, adrenaline and real fear. Cameras are body-mounted, helmet-mounted, board-mounted, bike-mounted, and even high-wire-mounted to ensure that the team can share their fears, frustrations and triumphs as they face each new wild adventure challenge. A second set of cameras offers full coverage of the group’s activities, scenic and beauty shots, heli-shoots, etc. captured by the professional production crew. Together, this offers the viewer an immersive experience shared with friends on the trip of a lifetime in one of Canada’s most beautiful regions.
The adventure continues online. Visit besttripever.ca for bonus video and behind-the-scenes footage; “Jon’s Top 5” lists (from favourite sporting moments and top movies to best bites); team bios and a photo gallery; background and links to the adventure companies featured in the special; and more info on the team’s TOYOTA 4RUNNER. BEST. TRIP. EVER. will be available for online viewing following its broadcast.
BEST. TRIP. EVER. is produced by Toronto-based Castlewood Productions.
