Wednesday, October 25, 2006

Go beyond the edge of winter

Warren Miller?s latest release ?Off the Grid? plays Sun Valley


By SABINA DANA PLASSE
Express Staff Writer

For 57 years Warren Miller Entertainment has been making films about winter sports capturing the incredible athleticism of professional skiers and snowboarders on some of the world's most challenging terrain. The screening of "Off the Grid" in Sun Valley will be more than just a stop on the film's tour. Sun Valley is the birthplace of Miller's career and just so happens to be the home of several Miller cohorts.

"Off the Grid," will show at the Sun Valley Opera House Thursday, Oct. 26, at 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. as well as Friday, Oct. 27, at 6:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. For tickets and information, call 726-3194 or visit warrenmiller.com.

It all started in the parking lot when Miller was a ski instructor in Sun Valley in 1949. A vacationing skier asked Miller to film his skiing and handed him a Bell and Howell 8-millimeter camera to film. Thus began Miller's career.

"Warren Miller would sit on stage and give a live narration of the film that he shot and edited," said Kim Schneider, editor of "Off the Grid." "I started with Warren in 1978. This would be 28 years for me. I live in Ketchum and edit out of the house."

Schneider grew up watching Miller's one-man show and knew early on that working for Miller was a lifelong dream. "The combination of skiing and editing came together from the time I was 12 years old," said Schneider.

Schneider has worked through all the inventions of editing from flatbeds to desktop but is still as enthusiastic as ever about his work. He has raised his two sons doing Miller films in Ketchum. That means an intense six months of 18-hour days each year.

"Both my kids worked on the show, and both live in Los Angeles. Kyle is an assistant editor and Travis is a music supervisor for 'Off the Grid,'" Schneider said. "It's great to get the local talented people in the movie."

Not just behind the scenes but on the screen, "Off the Grid" features three of Sun Valley's best skiers who all raise the bar as world class skiers. Hailey native Lynsey Dyer features her talent at Big Sky and Moonlight Basin, Montana, which form Lone Peak Pass.

This lift-accessible terrain is not for the faint-at-heart. Hiking on the razor's edge of a mountaintop, Dyer, along with Chris Anthony and Mike Mannelin, make their quest for narrow ski chutes look like another day at the office. A professional skier winning freeskiing championships, Dyer has appeared in many ski films as well as several magazines.

Sun Valley natives Reggie and Zach Crist are featured in their own Alaska sequence presenting the ultimate of ski challenges captured in majestic helicopter footage from Girdwood, Alaska. A dynamic duo, their skiing landed both of them on the U.S. Ski Team. The went on to compete and win skier-cross events in the winter X-Games.

Skiing in Alaska is a favorite pastime for the brothers, and skiing in Warren Miller films is part of that.

"It's always fun to work with them, and they are a very professional crew," said Zach Crist. "It can be really complex to work in that environment."

Dropped off on the top of the Chugach Mountain Range, the Crist brothers navigate some very dicey terrain while chased by avalanches, but all the while surrounded by the incredible beauty of Alaska's mountainous frontier.

"There are scary moments. Skiing in Alaska is pretty intense even when conditions are safe. It is stressful and sometimes you have to ski in conditions less than ideal," said Zach Crist.

Always looking for something new, he added that his latest adventure is being a new dad.

This year "Off the Grid" features narration by Colorado native Jeremy Bloom, Olympic skier and wide receiver and kick returner for the Philadelphia Eagles. As a freestyle skier, Bloom holds six wins in a row on the World Cup mogul circuit and competed in the Winter Olympics in Turino, Italy.

Of course a Warren Miller film would not be complete without a few words from Miller to remind us all how far these winter sports have come. The World Snowball Fighting Championships in Hokkaido, Japan, the world's largest gathering of "monoboarders" and some very inspirational handicap skiers in Alaska are just a few of the many moments that make "Off the Grid" great motivation for the upcoming season.




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