SKI MOVIE PREMIER season is in full swing which is also one of the first signs that ski season is right around the corner. Lovingly referred to as “Ski Porn” in the world of skiing, ski film premiers offer an experience that every snowsport enthusiast should partake in at least once during their ski careers. Accessing one is probably easier than you think too. Most major film companies lineup national tours that hit major ski towns and larger metropolitan areas all across the country, and trust me, being part of one is an experience all in itself. I can vividly remember my first when I was just a lowly freshman at Montana State and how it’s now turned into an experience I seek out every year.

Last night I had the opportunity to represent Big Sky Resort and attend the Bozeman premier of The Dream Factory at the Emerson Cultural Center. As an avid skier, nothing is quite as inspiring as watching the world’s best pros skiing huge, epic lines in Alaska and skiing them at a level most of us can only imagine. The Dream Factory is the newest release from the seasoned and veteran team at Teton Gravity Research (TGR). Based in Jackson, WY, TGR has become synonymous in the ski industry for putting out some of the most progressive yet grass roots driven footage. While many of their films have large segments filmed around Jackson, The Dream Factory focused on skiing in the great state of Alaska.

The Dream Factory was no let down either; TGR produced yet another great film that took you on not only a tour of Alaska’s breathtaking and exhilarating peaks but also gave you an interesting journey through Alaska’s famed history in heli-skiing. Broken into segments, the filmed offered a bit of background on the major turning points and a look back at archival footage from some of AK’s first major descents. The history portions then lead into clips of today’s pros revisiting these same lines and ripping them all over again. It was a great way to draw on the similarities between todays sport of skiing and how yesterday’s pioneers lead the revolution of big mountain freeskiing.

While not all ski films are created equal, there is one overwhelmingly unifying similarity, and that’s the all-around amazing vibe and high level of excitement throughout the audience. This electrifying energy radiates through the crowd and becomes heightened even more by the film’s soundtrack. Huge smiles, high fives, hoots, hollers, oohs, and ahhs are to be expected throughout the film as the crowd cheers on their heroes and dreams of the day when they might get the opportunity to drop into a legendary AK line.

Don’t fret if you’re a local Bozeman/Big Sky resident and missed The Dream Factory premier; here’s a list of few other notable ski film premiers dropping the next few months in Bozeman:

Poor Boyz Productions – Triple Threat – September 19th
Level 1 Productions – Sunny – September 27th
Match Stick Productions – Super Heroes of Stoke – October 10th
Teton Gravity Research – Further (snowboard film) – October 25th

-Kipp Proctor