Posted by Mark Piquette on Tue, Jun 22, 2010 @ 09:57 AM
At some point in the ski season, whether on a chairlift, around the lodge after heliskiing or maybe sitting in traffic on I-70 in Colorado..the debate ensues...what are the top ski movies. Not ski movies in the Warren Miller, TGR or Matchstick sense, but Hollywood movies with or about skiing. You might think there are not that many but check out IMDb. Here are my top 5:
5. The Spy Who Loved Me: One of the best opening scenes of the James Bond series. Plus CMH "friend of the show" John Eaves does all the skiing for Roger Moore.
4. Out Cold: Technically about snowboarding but who cares. Some quality "us" vs. "them" plot line along the lines of Caddyshack. Any movie that has "6 Million Dollar Man" star Lee Majors is all good. Plus you can check out a young Zach Galifianakis from "The Hangover". Pro snowboarder Todd Richards puts in a cameo as well. Oh and in Japan this movie was called "Cool Boarder".
3. Better Off Dead: "I want my $2.00". I have seen this movie probably 20 times- which says a lot about me. John Cusack as Lane Meyer skiing the K-12 is pure gold. I use the line "Go that way really fast, if something gets in your way...turn" on every heli-ski trip. Especially useful on Mega Bubba at CMH Galena.
2. Hot Dog: Watching it now the skiing is dated but the overall fun of this movie cannot be denied. Chinese downhill anyone? The cast of characters is classic - Harken Banks, Squirrel Murphy and Rudi Garmisch- what's not to love. Plus Shannon Tweed in hot tub! Watch the ballet skiing scene...who thought that would be a good idea on skis...thankfully that aspect of skiing is gone.
1. Downhill Racer: This is probably the best movie about skiing in my opinion. It came out in 1969 but holds up really well. Robert Redford and Gene Hackman are great as always. The footage of old school racing from Kitzbuhel and Wengen is fantastic.
So there are my top 5 ski movies that end up getting quoted and watched on a regular basis. Who will be the first to chime in that their favorite is "Aspen Extreme"?
Posted by John Entwistle on Fri, May 07, 2010 @ 12:34 PM
If you live anywhere north of the equator, and not in Western Alberta (where it has been snowing for the last week), you have probably noticed that the white blanket covering the surrounding mountains is slowly starting to disappear. For many of us, this is simply a transition from winter to summer. We turn the heating in our offices off, and turn the air conditioning on. Not much changes in our day to day lives. I mean sure, we can no longer ski or partake in other winter activities, driving becomes substantially less stressful, and we start to wear less clothing, but our day to day routines are, for the most part, the same.
Now this is all fine and dandy, but what about our faithful ski guides? Their day to day is dealing with that blanket of white stuff we all love to ski and snowboard on. But what on earth do they do when the snow melts away? Do they just stand in their ski boots and wait for it to snow again? Do they move to the other side of the world where it is snowing? Or do they go in to hibernation like bears in the winter?
A couple of days ago, an email came through the office asking the guides what their plans for this upcoming summer. I was lucky enough to be included in this email and all I have to say is that I am absolutely amazed at the lives that these guys lead! And just to give you an idea on how amazing these guides' lives are, they started out each of their responses with: Nothing too special, Regular life stuff, and Pretty mellow... YA RIGHT!
Steve Chambers, manager of CMH Revelstoke, moves south. And not so far south that he finds snow again, but just south enough that he finds himself in Los Angeles, California. In L.A. Steve takes over more of the parental duties while his wife (who is expecting the newest addition to their family in September) works as a film editor. When he isn't doing his fatherly duties on land, he takes to the water. Plans for this summer include "surfing as much as humanly possible" and joining fellow Revelstoke guide John Luttrell and family on their around the world sailing journey in French Polynesia. And finally, in preparation for next winter, Steve will be doing some work removing an old fuel cache and installing a new one up in Revelstoke so that us heli-skiers can get more skiing in next winter!
Jeff Bodnarchuk, guide with the Nomads Program, is hoping to be out heli-hiking in both the Bobbie Burns and Bugaboos. He is also planning to get out mountain biking and relaxing after his nomadic winter. His major expedition for the summer will be getting in as much family time as possible and raising his little boy.
The last guide we talked to, Mike Welch, hopes to be up at the CMH Galena lodge where he is lodge manager. He will be overseeing some potential renovations to the guest rooms. In his spare time he will be mountain biking and dirt biking around local trails. Lastly, Mike will be out in the wilderness sharpening his eye for photography and pursuing photo opportunities so that he can share some amazing pictures from Galena with you next winter!
All I know is that it sure would be great to live a summer in any of these guys shoes. I guess when you have such an adrenaline filled job in the winter, it pays to "sit back" and "relax" during the summer.
Personally, I am going to be hanging out around the head offices here in Banff, working on tones of exciting things for the upcoming winter. I hope to get up to one of our lodges to do some heli-hiking at some point. I have also set a personal goal to summit a mountain every weekend this summer (wish me luck!). Mountain biking, photography, and barbequing are also all in the plans.
What are your plans this summer? Will I be seeing out at one of our lodges for some summer adventures? Or maybe out on the trails in the backcountry?
Until later,
John
Posted by Topher Donahue on Mon, Feb 08, 2010 @ 03:58 PM
Of all the exciting roles in a heli-skiing operation, the helicopter pilot is a hardest for the rest of us to relate to. While guides are leading and skiing, and the guests and lodge staff are whooping and choking on face shots while helicopter snowboarding and skiing, the pilot often seems isolated in the world of their machine. I often wonder: Is the pilot having fun, too?
I recently received a little insight into what it’s like to be in the pilot seat of a heli-ski operation from Matt Conant, a pilot who has been flying (and skiing) in the snow forest of CMH Galena for the last 15 years. He is a second-generation pilot with specialized low-visibility training, and one of the most relaxed helicopter pilots you’ll ever meet. While researching the heli-ski book, Bugaboo Dreams - A Story of Skiers, Helicopters and Mountains, I spent a little time sitting in front of the fire at CMH Galena Lodge with Matt and he gave me an insight that reveals much about how the masters of the heli-ski world view their job.
He said: “It’s more than just flying. For me, heli-ski flying is being part of the whole program, knowing where the groups are and becoming familiar with the runs.”
So I recently contacted Matt for a few more insights. Here’s what he had to say:
TD: What are the most fun flying conditions for you?
MC: The most fun flying conditions for me are when it’s snowing like crazy and the groups are having a blast and I know exactly where I am and where I am going. As a heli-skier myself (20 years of it) I definitely get excited when everyone is having fun.
TD: Regarding heavy snow, I’ve heard a couple of airplane pilots carrying on about how you heli-ski pilots should just mark the GPS coordinates of your pickups and landings so you wouldn’t have to worry about weather. Do you use GPS?
MC: All CMH pilots have GPS navigation available to them on Alpine aircraft. Coordinates of landings can be easily entered. I personally have several key runs entered. Although I seldom use GPS, it can be a valuable tool while heli-skiing. (We don’t use it much because) the heli-ski flight visibility minimum is half a mile – more than enough to navigate at slow speeds. A heli-ski pilot familiar with his area would seldom need any navigational aids to find any landing.
TD: So, with GPS coordinates, could you stick a heli-ski landing with zero visibility?
MC: Absolutely not. Even the best approach systems used at airports still require some visibility. Even in theory, a zero-visibility GPS approach to a heli-ski landing would not be possible.
(Here's a link that shows how even military technology cannot yet land helicopters in zero-visibility.)
TD: Thanks, Matt. Anything else?
MC: I’ve been flying and skiing at CMH Galena for 15 years. It’s the best place I know to do both. Come fly with me.