While we love good ski porn… there’s something to be said about documentaries. Sure, eating a piece of high-quality cake is amazing, but without a good meal featuring all the courses, you come away lacking something. With winter knocking on the door, it’s the perfect time to revisit some of the best ski documentaries we’ve watched over the years.
The FIFTY
Not just a movie but rather an entire series, this is one of the most interesting ski documentaries we’ve ever watched. Longtime Lake Tahoe skier Cody Townsend’s quest was to climb and ski all of the lines documented in the iconic book Fifty Classic Ski Descents of North America. Ambitious doesn’t even begin to explain how BIG this endeavor is. NO ONE has completed all 50. In 2024, after successfully skiing 46 of the lines, Cody announced the end of the series. But he’s leaving the door open to tackle the final four on his OWN terms.
Will he finish and be the first? Who knows, but that’s not the best part. It’s the adventure in attempting it, not whether he successfully finishes it or not.
Dream Job
Just shy of fifteen minutes long, this satire is exactly what the doctor ordered. A hysterical comedy, it follows an average skier (comedian Katie Burrell) working in the ski industry and her attempt to become a professional skier herself. Her dry wit and quick one-liners will make you laugh, but it’s much deeper than that. It showcases three of the industry’s biggest names: big mountain extreme skier Christina “Lusti” Lustenberger; Girls Do Ski founder and coach Leah Evans; and Diny Harrison, the first female certified mountain guide in North America.
McConkey
What can be said about McConkey? Legend. Rad skier. Pioneer. Big personality. Pushing the envelope. Words cannot express how much he shook up the industry in a good way. If you’ve been living under a rock or just want to reminisce, this film is definitely something to watch. A great tribute, it captures his life, death, and legacy along with providing insights from his close friends and family.
Streif: One Hell Of A Ride
In every sport or athletic endeavor, there’s a certain event that’s a measuring stick for past and present champions. In golf, it’s the Masters. For auto racing, it’s Indy. And in skiing, it’s the Hahnenkamm. Just as Augusta National Golf Club has its legendary holes, the Streif has its own infamous sections, including Mausefalle, Steilhang, and Hausbergkante. Each presents its own challenges and has become part of the race’s legendary reputation. This film tells the story of this legendary downhill run and charts the bravery and fearlessness of those professionals who launch themselves down this icy route.
Edge Of Never
Watch on YouTube
Chamonix and the surrounding Mont Blanc massif are home to some of the most intimidating big mountain ski terrain on the planet. How dangerous? Between 1990 and 2017, a staggering 102 people lost their lives in just ONE section of the standard climbing route up Mont Blanc, the infamous Goûter Couloir and adjoining ridge. That’s the kind of mountain we’re talking about! It’s also where legendary skier Trevor Petersen lost his life in an avalanche in 1996. Nearly a decade later, his 15-year-old son Kye returns to tackle the SAME descent that claimed his father’s life. With guidance from three experienced mentors, including the legendary Glen Plake, Kye confronts the mountain, his father’s legacy, and the VERY real dangers of big mountain skiing. Talk about a story that’ll have you on the edge of your seat!
Snow Day: Life, Death and Skiing
Watching pro skiers send it definitely gets the blood flowing, but what REALLY inspires us is seeing skiers who are still enjoying the slopes in their seventies, eighties, and even nineties. This film documents a crew of age-endowed individuals and their decades-long tradition of getting together to go skiing. As their stories begin to unfold, you’ll realize that no matter the adversity or hardships, you’re NEVER too old to ski! For more motivation to keep getting out on the mountain, check out our article: What’s the Fountain of Youth? Answer: Skiing.
Swift. Silent. Deep.
Most of us may think fraternities only exist on college campuses, but that’s not the case with the Jackson Hole Air Force. This elusive and secretive band of powder hounds formed in the 1980s and became known for many things. Ski hard, party hard, and stir up a bit of controversy! Love them or hate them, they helped usher in Jackson Hole’s open-boundary policy in 1999, forever changing how skiers accessed the surrounding backcountry. This is their story, featuring legends such as Warren Miller, Scot Schmidt, and the late Doug Coombs.
Steep
Where to watch: Steep can be surprisingly hard to track down these days! Check Apple TV or Fandango at Home for digital rental options, or Amazon for a physical DVD copy. Availability may vary.
Just as Dogtown and Z-Boys gave us an in-depth look into skateboarding’s rebirth in the mid-70s, Steep does the same for big mountain skiing. Starting with the pioneers of steep skiing in the 1960s, it charts the progression of increasingly BIG lines, including Bill Briggs’ legendary first ski descent of the Grand Teton in 1971 and groundbreaking descents from pioneers such as Doug Coombs.
On Our Watchlist This Winter: Full Circle
Sometimes you don’t realize how much something means to you until it’s taken away. I know that firsthand. After a snowboarding accident triggered an illness that went undiagnosed for years, I lost the ability to snowboard for nearly FIVE years. When I finally strapped back in, I had a whole new appreciation for EVERY turn. I shared that journey in my personal story about losing snowboarding and finding my way back.
That’s why Full Circle has me so PUMPED! The documentary follows adaptive skier Trevor Kennison and Barry Corbet, whose lives took unexpected turns following spinal cord injuries. Their experiences are very different from mine, but the idea of reclaiming something you’re passionate about, even if it means doing it differently, REALLY hits home. We haven’t watched this one YET, but it’s at the TOP of our winter watchlist. And you can stream it on Netflix!
Of course, you can’t go wrong with ski classics like Blizzard of Aahhh’s or a Warren Miller flick. But there’s something SPECIAL about a documentary that takes you beyond the incredible skiing and into the stories behind it. Whether you learn a little ski history, laugh your butt off, or find inspiration to keep getting after it, these are the kinds of films that remind us why we LOVE this sport. And if you’re looking for more winter inspiration, check out our favorite snowboarding documentaries too!
