{"id":2460212,"date":"2016-01-20T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-01-20T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.outsideonline.com\/uncategorized\/how-pros-make-any-ski-day-look-amazing\/"},"modified":"2022-05-12T12:13:41","modified_gmt":"2022-05-12T18:13:41","slug":"how-pros-make-any-ski-day-look-amazing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.outsideonline.com\/culture\/books-media\/how-pros-make-any-ski-day-look-amazing\/","title":{"rendered":"How the Pros Make Any Ski Day Look Amazing"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pro skier Josh Daiek<\/a>\u00a0was in the Jackson Hole backcountry last winter when he realized he\u2019d missed about six calls. He called back and got the details: almost seven feet\u00a0of snow was forecasted for Chamonix, France, in the next two days, and he needed to catch a flight out tomorrow.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The only problem? Last-minute flights from the U.S. were more than twice the cost of flying out of Canada. So Daiek had to drive 12 hours through the night to Calgary, Alberta, to catch a flight to Europe. Within a day, he was chest deep in some of the best snow of his life.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The resulting footage\u2014over-the-head whitewash, an endless stream of bottomless French powder\u2014appears in a Salomon Freeski TV episode released last week called \u201cMoment\u2019s Notice 2<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve ever wondered how pro skiers and ski movie companies always seem to show up in a place just as a giant storm is dumping feet upon feet of blower snow, then here\u2019s your answer: They plan trips at the very last minute.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone\u2019s always like, \u2018What do you have planned for this winter?\u2019\u201d says Chris Rubens<\/a>, a pro skier from Revelstoke, British Columbia. \u201cThe truth is we don\u2019t have anything planned. Your job as a pro skier is to not commit to anything for as long as possible. That way, we\u2019re eliminating the roll of the dice when it comes to snow conditions and you\u2019re making a more educated decision about where to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf there is absolutely no fresh snow to be had, then you better be good at getting some spray up because if you can find some sunshine and get a little snow in the air, it will go a long way.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n

Rubens starred in Salomon Freeski TV\u2019s first \u201cMoment\u2019s Notice<\/a>\u201d episode in 2014, which showed the filmmakers calling athletes to invite them on a storm-chasing trip to Japan, departing in less than 24 hours. The footage captured in Japan again showcased the kind of deep, light snow most of us only fantasize about. It wasn\u2019t the first time a movie company captured a last-minute trip, but it did pull back the curtain on how those trips are orchestrated.<\/p>\n

A lot of companies will give themselves a seven-day range in which conditions may be right to shoot, which makes booking expensive, but ensures that they actually show up when the forecast says powder is imminent.\u00a0The Salomon Freeski TV crew\u2014which is small and nimble with just a handful of people\u2014can move quicker than other, bigger film crews. \u201cEverything fits on our back, and we have a dozen or so athletes we can call at any given time,\u201d says\u00a0Anthony\u00a0Bonello, a\u00a0filmer\u00a0and producer from\u00a0Switchback Entertainment<\/a>, which produces Salomon\u00a0Freeski\u00a0TV. \u201cThe technology has changed so much now that you can bring high production value in a suitcase. Instead of booking a heli, you can use a drone to get a good aerial shot. You can bring GoPros instead of importing a Cineflex.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Salomon certainly isn\u2019t the only company waiting as long as possible to ensure top-quality snow. \u201cI would say about 90-percent of my ski film trips end up being last minute and condition dependent,\u201d says Tahoe-based pro skier Amie Engerbretson<\/a>, who has filmed with Warren Miller and shot with countless ski photographers for advertising and editorial imagery. Even planned film trips can change at the last minute if conditions aren\u2019t right. Bonello says that for the Salomon crew, expense isn't a huge issue since\u00a0resorts often help with costs. And snagging that footage of a dream day in perfect powder can mean dollars in the bank for the company promoting the resulting viral video. \u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe difficulty for us is, how do we measure impact on sales when you have a program like web TV? We know how many people we can reach [on Salomon\u00a0Freeski\u00a0TV], and that ultimately can drive sales,\u201d says Benjamin Aiden, Salomon\u2019s global marketing and communications director. Each Salomon Freeski TV video brings in upwards of 400,000 views, which Salomon bets on as\u00a0potential new customers.\u00a0\u201cAfter that, we say the more powder, the more sales you\u2019re driving.\u201d<\/p>\n

But sometimes, a trip is planned in advance and you\u2019re forced to take whatever nature deals you. \u201cWe certainly don\u2019t always have epic conditions,\u201d admits Daiek. \u201cBut we still do the same thing we always do\u2014look for fun features to play around on or find unique lines to ski. So long as there\u2019s a good storyline behind the trip, it can be worth it even if the conditions aren\u2019t great.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rubens says as pro skiers, they have\u00a0to learn how to make even mediocre conditions look desirable. \u201cSometimes it\u2019ll be dust on crust, but we can make that look good on camera, even if underneath we\u2019re scraping ice,\u201d he says. \u201cPeople think I just ski powder all winter, based on the footage and my Instagram, but you have to understand I get paid to make it look good.\u201d<\/p>\n

Engerbretson calls that\u00a0\u201cmilking it,\u201d but it's less smoke-and-mirrors than finding the right setting and being a really good skier.\u00a0They\u2019ll find hidden pockets of north-facing snow, she says, or dramatic-looking wind ridges above ski lifts and cat tracks. If all else fails, skiers can find an untracked patch of snow, ski one flawless turn,\u00a0and send up a cinematic wave of snow.\u00a0\u201cIf there is absolutely no fresh snow to be had, then you better be good at getting some spray up,”\u00a0Engerbretson says.\u00a0“Because if you can find some sunshine and get a little snow in the air, it will go a long way.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The trick to scoring dreamy conditions and jealousy-inducing powder footage? Don\u2019t plan ahead.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":186,"featured_media":2049306,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"uuid":"9a0e12edaf9b9b923e2154589dafb64d","footnotes":""},"categories":[2575],"tags":[2653,2909,3278,2638],"byline":[37],"ad_cat":[],"legacy-category":[],"class_list":["post-2460212","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-books-media","tag-athletes","tag-chamonix","tag-japan","tag-photography","byline-megan-michelson"],"acf":[],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"How the Pros Make Any Ski Day Look Amazing","url":"https:\/\/www.outsideonline.com\/culture\/books-media\/how-pros-make-any-ski-day-look-amazing\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.outsideonline.com\/culture\/books-media\/how-pros-make-any-ski-day-look-amazing\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/19\/salomon-moments-notice_h.jpg","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/19\/salomon-moments-notice_h.jpg"},"articleSection":"Books & Media","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"eberger"}],"creator":["eberger"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø Online","logo":"https:\/\/www.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/favicon-194x194-1.png"},"keywords":["athletes","chamonix","japan","photography"],"dateCreated":"2016-01-20T00:00:00Z","datePublished":"2016-01-20T00:00:00Z","dateModified":"2022-05-12T18:13:41Z"},"rendered":"