For the love of ski movies

…WE SHARE A MOMENT WITH SOME OF THE STARS OF THE BIG SCREEN

BY RHYLLA MORGAN

The shorter days and the outbreak of puffy jackets on the streets are tell-tale signs, but for me it’s that first email to arrive in my inbox about a ski movie at my local theatre that underlines the countdown to snow season.

I love the pre-winter ritual of filing into the cinema and sitting in the dark with friends. I love the shared experience (complete with popcorn and crowd reactions) as we soak in the summit views, lean into those smooth POV turns and get collectively fired up for winter.

Whether you experience these films on the big screen or watch on a laptop in your trackie pants they feel like much more than simple entertainment. They bust open doorways into our imagination, tickle us with dopamine and lure us back into the mountains. Just as professional athletes visualise performance and pilots do hours in a simulator, when I am crunching on a Malteser in the theatre it’s (sort of) like taking a master class.

So, to further our pre-season preparation I reached out to a few athletes who have inspired me through recent ski movies to ask them about what it feels like to be in the kind of films they watched as young athletes, to share what was happening in the moments in these shots (taken during filming) and what it means to see ourselves on screen.

Portraits clockwise: Anna Segal, Caite Zeliff, Elyse Saugstad, Amy David. Photos Mattias Fredriksson and Eric Parker. Right: Anna Segal on a line that represents a “pivot” in her career where her progression from slopestyle competitor to big lines in the backcountry comes to fruition. Photo: Erin Hogue.

Anna Segal

The first ski film I really remember was a VHS tape of “Propaganda’ by Poor Boyz Productions I bought and watched on repeat, every afternoon when I got in from skiing. If I’m honest sometimes I think I’m not rad enough to be the one up on the screen. You pour your physical and mental energy, your whole winter and spring into creating a segment and it feels almost surreal when people come up at screenings to congratulate me. I can only speak from my white, female perspective but I would fast-forward through videos to find the segments featuring my idols. Usually there were only a handful of shots of athletes like Kristi Leskinen, Sarah Burke, Marie Martinod, Michelle Parker and Grete Eliassen but I connected with them as role-models and it lit that fire for me to try it for myself.

This image was captured by Erin Hogue who was out with another film crew but was in the right place for this shot. I was filming with BLANK Collective in 2021 in a zone called Chocolate Bowl south of Whistler for Tales of Cascadia. This area has infamous Alaskalooking spines, which can be accessed by snowmobile. The snow was deep and in just my second year of owning and learning to snowmobile I arrived at the bottom of this face sweaty, exhausted and depleted from the ride in.

The sun was set to pop so our filmer Jeff Thomas raced me to the top where I was suddenly alone, boot-packing along the ridge to find my line. It’s spooky being on a big line with no one else’s energy or guidance, just your own intuition and self-belief as you wait for the radio call. I take a deep breath and drop in. Although I appear small on this giant face you’ll can see I only made a couple of turns as I had to ski fast to race the sluff chasing me. It felt like it was over in 10 seconds. This image represents a pivot in my career and the culmination of many lessons learned in the mountains. To capture it in one word? Personal progression (I know, it’s two!)

It’s good to see more women getting more opportunities to shoot in ski films and creating our own opportunities but there’s so much work still to be done. Brands need to get behind a diverse range of athletes. We all need to see people ‘like us’ doing what we dream of doing.

Amy David

“It feels amazing to have achieved a goal I worked towards for so many years. I remember the first TGR film I watched in Jackson as a teenager and how inspired I was seeing what is possible on skis and incredible places around the world. My mind was opened… and now I’m featured in this year’s film, I’m still inspired by the other athletes and what they accomplish.

This photo was taken on my first day of filming in Cooke City, Montana. Nic Alegre took the photo as the sun set behind the mountains. We were on the hunt for beautiful light, and we found it at this moment…. I recall this day feeling like a major breakthrough. If I were to caption this image with one word that would be it – breakthrough.

The first time I saw my segment of Magic Hour was at the premiere in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. My dad and I sat together which meant a lot to me, a long-standing family support system has made a huge difference in my life. I was surprised to hear a squad of kids cheering my segment. It was especially surreal when a group of girls came up after the show and were so stoked. It brought me back to how inspired I was as a kid and continue to be when I see people I relate to and look up to. My goal is to inspire others to push themselves and know their value.”

Amy has said as a kid she’d check photos of herself skiing or horseriding to see if her ‘hair was blowing back’ because that meant she was flying or going fast. Safe to say if that helmet wasn’t on this shot would pass the test.

Caite Zeliff

“The second I started watching ski films my world changed forever and I knew I wanted to be in one. I was so inspired by the terrain, the attitudes of the athletes and the outdoor lifestyle I saw in those films. I was hooked and started rearranging my life to make my new dream a reality. Sharing my skiing with an audience can be nerve wracking because it is something that means so much to me and I put a lot of time and energy into. When an audience responds with hoots and hollers and excitement, it fills me right up. I love the opportunity to inspire and share the art we create with the world.

This photo was taken during my first AK film trip with TGR on the coast in Seward. We’d been struggling with conditions and high winds, so we had to be really focused on this day. In this moment I was fully consumed. When I am airborne, time stops, and everything becomes quiet. I love this capture of that peaceful moment when everything feels right in the world. That would be the one-word caption – peace.

I am really excited the ski industry is seeing the importance of representing people of every walk of life. I was lucky enough to have people like Angel Collinson, Elyse Saugstad, Ingrid Backstrom, Michelle Parker and others to look up to. They showed me it was possible to be a woman and jump off big cliffs. It is easier to push yourself when you are surrounded by others showing the way. When I watch another woman lace a backie or stomp a 50-footer it gives me confidence to step up too.”

Elyse Saugstad

“I remember loving ski films as a kid but there were very few women in them – and I think we can still do better. You cannot underestimate the impact of seeing yourself represented – there is such power when someone who looks like you is doing what you aspire to, it underlines what’s possible and is so important.

I think we are steadily moving into a time when our gender is less interesting to people and are having a conversation that is simply about being professional athletes, and the skiing itself.

In this shot I am up in Alaska, it was getting late in the trip, so the pressure was on to capture footage as the days ticked down. It had been hard to find good snow that season and we’d started moving inland to zones we’d not scoped. That’s always unsettling in AK because you want to let it rip and ski hard to create an impact for the camera, but you can’t just dial it up to 10 on unknown terrain. It’s so dangerous and consequential up there. My memory of this day was we were cautious, feeling our way and finding a fragile balance.

If I was to caption this image with one word to sum up the feeling in that moment it would be a sound rather than a word, a deep sigh of relief.”

Long may these films celebrate skiing and give a stage for athletes like Amy, Caite, Elyse and Anna to inspire us, even if we may never ski quite like they do.

Join the awesome Amy David in Magic Hour (2022) and revisit Stoke the Fire (2021) to see the phenomenal Elyse Saugstad and fierce Caite Zeliff.

Want more inspiration in your Instagram scroll? @tetongravity @amyjanedavid @ elysesaugstad @caite_zeliff @anna_segal @seasons.film @warrenmillertour

Third generation Alaskan Elyse Saugstad looks completely at ease airing it out, although this is home she’s very clear, “I’ve never thought ‘I can ski that just because I grew up here’. It takes a lot of experience and skill to take on the more difficult terrain that exists all over the Chugach mountains.”

A trip to British Columbia is filled with life-a rming moments. Deep, consistent snowfall and vast mountain ranges create a playground of endless possibilities.

Elevate your ski experience in British Columbia, Canada. Visit HelloBC.com/ski