Photo Credit: skiershop.com Schmidt and Plake getting ready for complete raddness in Chamonix (where can we get a pair of those gloves Scot?!?!)
Where would we be without ski porn? Watching others slay pow and go big has made its mark on just about everyone who slaps a board or two sticks on their feet. From Warren Miller and Dick Barrymore back in the day, to TGR and MSP in the now, ski movies have had a profound effect on us all. We all have our collective favorites, and in the end, some movies continue to get mentioned again and again, and keep getting watched and watched.
While we understand the inherent subjectivity of such a list, we still want to know from you our readers, what do you think are the top 10 best ski movies of all-time? There are other lists out there, but, meh-we can do better!
Maybe this will take you 30 seconds to type, maybe you’ll be in a contemplative mindset for the rest of the day. Here’s a list we came up with, and we know we forgot a bunch, so let us know, and let’s see what we come up with.
G.N.A.R. (The new undisputed #1?)
There’s Something About McConkey (McConkey at his best)
Immersion (A soulful flick from Scott Gaffney)
1999 (Footage of one of Squaw’s best winters)
Walls of Freedom (How many Squaw ski bums were brought out here from this flick?)
Last of the Ski Bums (One of the originals that started it all)
Daydreams (The Craig Beck Classic)
The Blizzard of AAHHH’s (Usually, and for good reason, the movie that sits atop the list)
License to Thrill (Great Squaw footage, classic Plake action)
P-Tex, Lies, and Duct Tape (An honorable mention in a quiver of rad Greg Stump flicks)
Lines of Influence (A local Tahoe flick you need to watch)
Extreme Skiing 3, The Scot Schmidt Story (What more needs to be said here?)
TB Series (Standard Films is about to release their 20th film this season! Best snowboard porn ever!)
Hot Dog…The Movie (People are still trying to live this dream, people)
Deeper (A great vision, from a great group of riders)
Ski Movie 1, 2, and/or 3 (MSP getting it done with laughter and style)
Yearbook (Many call this the best of MSP)
Global Storming (A dirt-bag classic)
Teddybear Crisis (This one’s for the jibbers out there)
Better Off Dead (Just point it Lane Meyer!)
Ski Patrol (If you saw this when you were young, you probably wanted to move to a ski town shortly thereafter)
Ski School (This one might be on the list more so for it’s cover, and also for the Whistler fans out there)
Aspen Extreme (“like a fish”…amazing line right there, and so many more. Cougars got really popular after this one)
Downhill Racer (The 1969 classic that helped bring ski culture to national attention)
The Spy Who Loved Me (James Bond getting gnar)
Swift. Silent. Deep. (Epic documentary on the Jackson Hole Air Force)
Mind the Addiction (One of TGR’s best and most revered films)
Deep and Light (Warren Miller’s first flick-done in 1949!)
10. Steep
9. Degenerates
8. Global Storming
7. Ski Movie 3
6. Teddy Bear Crisis
5. Lame
4. Blizzard of Oz
3. White Balance
2. The Massive
1. Better Off Dead. I mean lane skis the K27 on one ski for God’s sake!
Feeney I agree with your #1 pick but K27? Come on everyone knows its the K12 on pure snow.
Dam, you’re right! Well everything after the Olympics looked so easy.
good to see Steep in there …
1999. No contest.
^ nope.. 2nd Nature The best of MSP : this is the best!
http://www.sportsflicks.com/products/Second-Nature-DVD.html
trust me .. i know everything
MSP’s “Hit List” is one of my favorites
Hit List the remix was way, way better too.
“The Way I See It” needs to be on here…
that was shockingly good but Shane’s part made the whole movie
13!
Anomaly?
Sage’s seg was the only really good one I remember in Anomaly.
The Game and Degenerates by PBP need to be on that list. PBP’s new stuff sucks but those two movies changed skiing
and sorry Bert Anomaly sucked
All of those + Claim
Parental Advisory up there for me
TGR’S High Life and Tangerine Dream are my fav’s
high life is one of the best new “classics” for sure
Claim is the best ski movie ever made!
McConkey’s scene with Juke box Hero, you cant beat that!
Good call – gotta get some Saucer Boy in the mix.
Met Greg Stump at Big Sky a few years ago. We always liked Blizzard. Strangley, Greg thought another of his films was better (Siberia).
We have traveled to Chamonix a couple of times to ski since Blizzard. It is quite a pilgrimage to see some of the places skied then and now. I am glad we had the stimulus of Greg’s film to get us going. Love to spend the entire winter there.
License. No contest.
any love for tanner hall’s “Believe”………that and MSP’s “Yearbook”
Harvest!!!! What? No makey? “that’s bloody insane”!
TGRs Tangerine Dream
Idea from nimbus is the best i think
agreed! Most ski movies take place in far away places, showing skiers doing things that I will never do (2ft of blower on a 3000 ft alaska spine line? c’mon). Idea took some innovative athletes and showed them getting creative on the type of terrain we’ve all skied. Idea started the whole “no poles on hellbents throwing floaty tricks to insane switch landings.” Not to mention a totally dope, totally original soundtrack. Not even a top 10 mention?
I loved how it wasn’t just the same old ski porn of pillows in BC, huge lines in AK and sunny spring park shoots. It was just some bros with a camera skiing switch in deep pow. and Chris Benchetler is way underated
Parental Advisory vol. 1
The Sherpa’s All.I.Can should be on there.
i dont think i could disagree more with this list.
The Bolero Project FTW!
1) The Blizzard of AAHHH’s
2) 1999
3) Hot Dog – “You people… stay out of our way. You may ski on zat side OR on zat side, but stay out of zee meedle! “
10. Claim
9. Anomaly
8. Ski Movie 2
7. On Top of The Hood
6. Shanghai 6
5. All I Can
4. Blizzard of Aahhhs
3. Believe
2. Everyday Is A Saturday
1. G.N.A.R
i agree with everday is a saturday at #2, especially because it was CR’s last movie segment
Better Off Dead, Hot Dog and Aspen Extreme are must haves…
MSP Yearbook – I literally remember sitting at the bar at Squaw and watching it on the big screen and when he launched off the Eiger saying holy shit outloud. Honestly, the sickest move I have ever seen.
TGR’s Further – Jeremy Nobis’ patented straight line.
Claim is another solid effort.
what about “shredder”? or “frozen”? and best of all… apocalypse snow
Never heard of Shredder, Frozen was a complete waste of film, and Apocalpse Snow is ultra rad. I still have my VHS copy from the 80′s.
Hot Dog bought me to Squaw and then I tried to imitate everything I saw in the Blizzard of AAAAAAHs which had come out that year. I pulled more iron crosses hucking cliffs imitating Schmidt…
(Well, I also tried to imitate what I saw in Hot Dog, but Sylvia and Sunny were apparently long gone. Rosie was still available however.)
Aspen Extreme, hands down. It gave us such gems as, “I hear you’re the best skier on the mountain”‘ “Skiing’s the easy part”, “We’ve got a renegade goin’ O.B!” and “Bryce is my roommate”.
Chug Life, haha naw, only kidding. I think All I Can should be in there though.
What was the Dick Barrymore flick that starts with a back layout over an approaching Santa Fe freight train?
Maybe not top 10, but The Man Who Skied Down Everest made that dude a hero in Japan.
Steep is the best of all. Most of the others are just disconnected clips. Blizzard is a good one. Claim is great just because of Shane McConkey performance.
that suggestion list lost my respect for not including a single PBP movie.
umm … The Game? Propaganda? Degenerates? come on.
MSP’s Sixth Sense was ill, hailing the New Canadian Air Force.
then there’s Level 1′s Forward. Hibbert’s part is outrageous, and Dace Crichton’s is an urban game-changer.
AND … you gotta throw in Mercon’s Guatamalan Persuader. That shit is punk fo’ realz.
harken banks, lane meyers, and tj burke all have a spot in my heart. but I bet i’ve watched walls of freedom 1000 times. if something about mcconkey doesn’t still make you laugh/cry then check into the morgue. but I’m suprised no one said seven sunny days yet. the Bond spoof “sorry darling, matchstick needs me” pure awesomeness. and “the hit list” soo, got any big trips lined up! who am I kidding love them all, could go on for days….stars skis and hucks. pray for snow!
Better Off Dead
Hot Dog
Gnar
better off dead is definitely up there. no one mentioned “breathe” scott gaffneys first film(?) my favorite. its fantastic. robb absolutely RIPS it up. makes me want to ski donner pass so bad. watch it! ..if u can find it
I think Adrenaline Descents was his first film, followed by Edge of Existence.
not one mention of thats it thats all or art of flight? planet earth meets some of the best snowboarders to ever live?
“Best ski films”
For how good Walls is, Breathe is Gaffney’s best flick.
Under The Influence might be my favorite TGR flick. Sage set a new standard in that one.
I think TGR is underrepresented on that list.
1999 is my all-time favorite though. I don’t know if it will ever be topped. That was also my first season living in Squaw, so I might be biased.
1242
Claim and Anomaly are incredible…. and honestly, haters can hate, like most people, I grew up on the east coast, and some of the meatheads movies are incredible, and early stept (road to nowhere anyone?)
Any clue how anyone can even watch Deep and Light?
10. Classic Ski Films Vol. 1-3
9. Shred’em All
8. Ammo
7. The Art of Flight
6. Attack of La Nina
5. Hot Dog: The Movie
4. Blizzard of Ahhhs
3. GNAR
2. Out Cold
1. Lost in Transition
Boom
how can you even consider gnar when it hasn’t been released. you can’t even own gnar…. wtf. sell me a dvd dammit!
Extreme Winter & Ski Time should be on the list.
Top 5:
5: Uprising
4: Global Storming
3: Sick Sense
2: Hot Dog – the Movie
1: Ski Movie 3 (even if edited to just include Candide and Seth)
you know, now that I think of it – fistful of moguls has to be in there somewhere…
Signatures – sweetgrass productions
Steep – good tribute to Coombs.
Claim
The way I see it
Snowriders II
Blizzard of Ahhhhhs
I have a nomination for the list since you missed an important one…
Dumb and Dumber. It is a ski movie of sorts set in Aspen. When Lloyd’s tounge freezes to the chairlift – classic.
So please tell me there’s a chance you’ll add this piece of cinema art to your list!