Jason Robinson’s hitchhiking, snowboarding odyssey film “Mosey” premieres at the Whitefish Performing Arts Center on Friday, Oct. 23.  

Doors open at 6 p.m. with music in the lobby by local funk group Cat Anatomy and a DIY postcard mail room. “Lifeline” by Bjorn Leines will screen at 7 p.m. and will be followed by “Mosey.” The event is free with a suggested donation of $20 for adults and $5 for children. There will be a raffle to support filmmaking and a live auction to benefit Browning’s Shred Club.   

Robinson’s sophomore film translates into “stepping into the unknown.”  

“Or something that you may be afraid of,” he said. 

Mosey is a true solo venture. Robinson was both the subject and photographer as he spent a month in the spring hitchhiking across Northwest Montana to hit four remote snowboarding locations. 

“You could say I had guardian angels,” Robinson said. “God was with me and the universe opened up for me. I was relying on the kindness and generosity of strangers.” 

Robinson figures he walked 50 or 60 miles over the journey but hitchhiked several hundred. His pack with splitboard gear weighed about 75 pounds.  

For Robinson, it was a collision of his past experiences: professional snowboarding and urban backpacking. Both have shaped his world view of putting good energy out and leaving the rest up to fate, he said.  

Robinson is always inspired by his brother, Aaron, who died in a snowboarding accident in Chile in 2011. Robinson also had Stratton Matteson’s legacy driving him forward. Matteson was a snowboarder from Bend, Oregon who died in an avalanche in February. He was known, among many things, for cycling to trailheads from afar with his splitboard strapped to his bike.  

Up to 20 different people and entities picked up Robinson as he traversed from the Mission Range to Blacktail Mountain, Whitefish, Essex and Choteau. 

Most kind strangers were local. Some are featured in the film as part of the journey. Robinson recalls being picked up by Buddy Sinclair in Browning, a fifth-generation Montanan who told him stories about the land while guiding Robinson to his next snowboard location safely.  

Robinson combined Go-Pro and tri-pod filming to amass about 30 hours of raw footage. The editing process was smoother for “Mosey” following his debut of “Veil: In Search of the Last Mountain” last year. 

The film’s presenting sponsor, Blacktail Mountain Ski Area, has provided 200 free lift tickets to be handed out at the event as well as 100 tickets for a Nov. 13 screening at Marshall Mountain in Missoula. Blacktail is also supporting Plant a Seed Project, a nonprofit founded in honor of Robinson’s brother that helps underprivileged youth get out on the snow. Other presenting sponsors for the Oct. 23 event are Stumptown Snowboards and Bloominati. 

Robinson hopes that the film’s message resonates beyond the snow.  

People should “just go for it,” he said. “I think if your heart is in it, and you do it from a good place with good intentions, things will work out,” he said. “It’s either a learning lesson, or a success, or a combination thereof.” 

    Mosey watercolor map by Zac Fawcett.
  

    Jason Robinson at Blacktail Mountain in "Mosey." (Photo provided)
  

    Jason Robinson in "Mosey." (Photo provided)
  

    Jason Robinson in "Mosey." (Photo provided)