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No new Miller film, but still plenty of cinematic stoke in snow sports in 2023
With the sad news that Outdoor Inc. is pulling the plug on shooting new Warren Miller movies — at least for this season — it’s good to know so many others — like Teton Gravity Research — have taken the snow sports film baton and run so far with it over the years.
I’ve got a special place in my heart for the late, great Miller, who lived in Vail for 10 years and started his syndicated column at the Vail Daily, where I used to edit it.
So now that Outside has junked SKI Magazine, relegating it to digital-only status, and scrapped new versions of the Miller film (although supposedly they’ll use archival footage for a “new” 2023 film and shoot something new for 2024), I have a special, dark place in my heart for the god-awful media conglomerate.
I’m sure those films were expensive (reportedly approaching close to eight figures to shoot), and COVID-19 changed how we go to theaters, but there has to be a way to better honor a nearly 80-year-old institution.
One of my greatest skiing experiences was hanging with the Warren Miller crew at Points North in Cordova, Alaska, in 2005 trying to drink it blue so we could all go heli-skiing the next day. Never happened and wound up in Valdez, where we got the goods.
Sad to think that those shoots won’t be happening to that extent anymore.
Still, as I said in my lede, there are plenty of people filming plenty of crazy things happening on skis and snowboards these days. Take, for instance, the most recent Kings and Queens of Corbet’s hype video from Jackson Hole Mountain Resort.
The 2023 competition weather window is locked in for Feb. 4-11.
I’ve blooped in there once or twice, so to see these folks absolutely freaking sending it into the couloir is more than awe-inspiring; it literally makes me queasy and uneasy … in a good way. All it needs is some deadpan narration from Warren.
David O. Williams
Pat Parrish
January 25, 2023 at 3:06 pm
Great article, David. Yes, there was only 1 Warren Miller and he got us all hooked on skiing. I’ve lived in Vail off and on for many years (now full time cause I’ll be 80 in May!) But I used to go with friends in the 60s to see the newest WM movie at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium. It was a “NO MISS” event every year! Very impressive that you worked with him! And yes, his deadpan delivery was the best part of the films! Or certainly set them apart from other ski films. Our own Roger Brown has shot some impressive ski footage over the years. Now if we could only get George Gillett back to run this mountain like a ski mountain instead of a corporation, we’d be good. But I’m not holding my breath. Keep up the good work.