Most skiers who have become identifiable by more than family and friends have won gold medals or set speed records. Scot Schmidt gained recognition by leaping off cliffs.

For Scot, the route to the edge of a cliff began in Helena, Montana, and had its roots in a promising racing career. After graduating from high school in 1979, Scot moved west to Squaw Valley to continue the search for points and ever higher rungs on the competition ladder.

"My goal at the time was to be a professional ski racer," Scot said. "My points were really good, but I didn't have the money to travel and go to the FIS races that I qualified for.

"I was working five days a week and racing and training on weekends. That’s when my results got worse and worse. I wanted to race professionally, but there weren't any B circuits at that time, so I just raced in fun races.

"I worked for the race department in Squaw Valley as a pace setter and a course setter for the Nastar program."

Squaw Valley has terrain that can be a challenge to any skier accustomed to speed. Scot's adventures in the upper reaches of Squaw Valley led to his first appearance in a Warren Miller film.

"I had developed a reputation as being one of the more daring skiers at Squaw Valley. One day Warren Miller showed up with a camera crew and they asked me to ski for them.

"We had a perfect day - the snow was good, everything right for jumping and skiing some chutes. When Warren Miller saw the footage, he was really impressed.

"I got a letter a couple of weeks later saying that it was the most exciting footage he'd seen in a long time and asked me if I would be interested in going along the next time he filmed in a foreign country. I wrote back and said yes."

Scot Schmidt's first appearance in a Warren Miller movie was in "Ski Time" doing what he does best at Squaw Valley. He appeared again in "Ski Country" and" Steep and Deep" skiing in New Zealand, and is back again this year skiing in the Alps in "Beyond the Edge."

Jumping for Scot is that extra dimension that most of us look for but rarely find in our own skiing.

"Jumping is a little like downhill racing. I free ski mostly on 220 cm downhill racing skis. Squaw Valley is good for jumping, because it's well groomed and you can get a lot of speed. There are cornices, ridges and cliffs. It's fun going fast off those things."

"My racing background helps my jumping ability. I don't know what makes me any better than anyone else. But I guess it's being used to speed. Downhill was my best event. I always enjoyed downhill racing.

"I had considered doing some speed skiing, but I'm not too interested. It involves a lot of sidestepping. You spend all day getting up the mountain for one or two runs. It is also expensive. I didn't have the money for the suit, the helmet and all the special equipment it takes."

Is it possible to make a living on skis without being a world-class racer?

"There isn't a lot of money in making ski movies, but I've been happy to do it. It's been a living. I've been able to travel all over the world, so I can't hold down a regular job. I spent most of last winter in Europe and some time this summer in Argentina. We had a fantastic time.

"I'm signing sponsor contracts this year. It's mainly because of my being in Warren's movies that all these things are happening. The guys in Warren's office are really good and they are doing a lot of negotiating for me. They're good to work with."

After traveling in Europe and skiing in New Zealand and South America, Scot still considers Squaw Valley his favorite place to ski.

"I like Squaw Valley," Scot said, "but because of insurance rates, some of the steepest chutes and places we used to ski have been closed. So the good old days are gone. We can't do what we used to do.

"There's no problem like that in Europe. That's why I enjoy Europe so much. You can do whatever you want to do. Everything is so much bigger and it's not patrolled the way it is in the U.S. You have to be very careful. There is avalanche danger and there are glaciers everywhere, so there are holes and crevasses to look out for. It can be dangerous."

In Europe, Scot worked with two different cameramen. Fletcher Manley was in Europe for about six weeks, and Gary Nate shot additional footage near the end of the season. For Scot, it was his first trip to Europe and first experience traveling in Europe.

"The weather was really never very good," Scot said. "There were very few sunny days, and we sat around for weeks waiting for the sun to come out. The skiing was about like I expected. The areas are just so big. The things you can do there are endless.

"But the jumbos I've done at Squaw Valley will be the biggest I'll do. I think I've reached my limit and I don't expect to jump any higher than I already have.

"I've probably jumped 130 feet, vertically about 80 feet. That's about like jumping off the top of an eight-story building. The last big jump I did, I was coming in so fast that it was really scary - but that's what made it so much fun. After that landing, I knew I couldn't go much higher.

"I've always liked the challenge. Sometimes I'm not sure I want to do what I'm doing, but I'll end up doing it anyway because I like pushing myself. I think that's the greatest thrill."

Cliff jumping isn't a subject likely to be taught in even the most advanced ski classes, so anyone interested in exploring that other world will be self taught.

"You don't want to go up there and start leaping off things," Scot said. "I worked myself up to the bigger things by starting off with little cornices and cliffs. I got a pretty good feel for what I could handle and what I couldn't

"At Squaw Valley we had the 90 meter Olympic jump. Four years ago we could pack it out and run that. I think going off the 90-meter hill on downhill skis was one of the greatest thrills I've ever had.

"We did it a number of times. We would just climb all morning, ump and then go skiing in the afternoon. We got about the same distance with downhill skis as we would have with jumping skis. We were landing on the lower end of the steep section just before the compression. I'm not sure how far it is - almost 90 meters."

Although skiing north of the equator in the winter and south of the equator in the summer make skiing almost a year around occupation, Scot has been developing his boardsailing skills while living in Santa Cruz, California.

"I'm starting to get into it professionally," Scot said. "I’m sponsored by O'Niell, The North Face and Windwing designs. Windwing makes my sails.

"Windsurfing is definitely an advanced sport. With eight-foot wave boards, the thrill is the same as skiing. It's not one of the most difficult things I've learned, but it's good for me because I'm learning something new. I've done so much skiing it's nice to get the same thrill out of doing something else."

After a few days windsurfing in the fall, Scot was scheduled to appear with Warren Miller at some of the showings of "Beyond the Edge."

"It's fun seeing the response of the audience to the movie," Scot said. "People really enjoy the shows - they're great. It's fun to share that experience.

"I know there are a lot of kids gunning for me now. When I do the shows and they see what I do, they think I have the greatest job in the world. There will probably be some young guys going for it. I like that. I really enjoy what I am doing now."

 - Published in the 1986 SnowWorld

Click HERE to watch hundreds of clips on our YouTube channel.

Click HERE to watch hundreds of clips on our YouTube channel.

Hey, it's Aspen!

I just wanted to share my latest video blog. This was from Royal Oak, MI, my last stop of all the Flow State premiers. Thanks so much for letting me experience such awesomeness. It means a lot to me.

Also, if you want to check out my other video blogs, they document all of my experiences that I treasure from being a part of the Flow State film tour.

Thanks again,
Aspen

Click here to watch Aspen's other videos.

ESPN’s popular Winter X-Games recently announced it was dropping ski and boarder-cross from the events list, shocking the sport and its fans. Warren Miller Entertainment athlete Daron Rahlves, an Olympic medalist in ski racing, as well as in skier-cross at the X-Games was one of those caught off guard, and disappointed, by the decision.

Rahlves, however, as a passionate racer and fan of ski and boarder cross had already created his own imaginative version of the event – and named it the Rahlves Banzai Tour. A mix of ski racing, big mountain skills and Chinese downhill, the event is open to the public. Racers run four at a time from the top of mountain to the bottom, over varied and natural terrain…hand-selected by Rahlves.

The races haves been steadily gaining in popularity since Rahlves organized the first race in 2009, and an official 4-stop tour in 2011. The event scored an appearance in last year’s WME film and on NBC’s Red Bull Signature Series. We caught up with Rahlves to find out more about his tour and why it might be great training for the pros despite the X-Games disappointment.

My goal is to provide the best ski and snowboard race on the planet where the most skilled, calculated, creative and aggressive natural terrain skier/rider with finesse will come out on top. With four at a time anything can happen and the fastest doesn't usually win. What makes this event so relatable is it's held on open runs off the groomers that the public skis. I set the track with the emphasis on flow, terrain, speed changes and overall fun. No one type of ski is an advantage - run whatcha brung! 

The loss of the X-Games could be a great opportunity for the Rahlves' Banzai Tour in getting more competitors and big names to compete. There is no other event like this in the world. The prize money makes a nice pay-day, and the title of Banzai Champ is well respected.

I'd like to see the big guns come out and give it a shot. There will be competition from the locals and others who come out for these events that know how to get down the mountain.

I hope they're not scared of putting their reputation on the line. Come on. How'd you get to that level anyway?

For 2013 the Rahlves' Banzai Tour is planning on four stops like last year. It will take place in February and March 2013. All events will be in the Tahoe area, with a cap of 150 competitors at each event 2012 it was a huge success. Then we have the "Super Finals" where I race against the men ski winners from each stop. It's the only time on tour I get in the mix to put my title of "Banzai Master" on the line and a wad of cash waiting for the winner if I'm dethroned. Fortunately in 2012 I kept the title and was able to pay the rest of the tour's bills.

Registration will be open December 2012 on the website and is open to men and women skiers and snowboarders, 18-years old and up. We also raise money for The High Fives Foundation to do good for our community on top of a wild event. It will be a good time for everyone involved with parties on top of the action. Race dates will be posted on www.rahlvesbanzai.com.

It’s off-season for Points North Heli-Adventure’s owner Kevin Quinn, meaning he is down at Lake Tahoe, CA, but for Quinn, it’s never actually ‘off’ season. Chauffering people via air to fun stuff is what makes the PNH owner, operator, and lead guide tick. As in, right now, Quinn is having a blast prepping his plane, a 1953 Cessna equipped with giant bush tires, to fly another round of partygoers to the infamous Burning Man festival in the Nevada desert.  

This curious endeavor is perfectly normal for Quinn, who comes from a family heritage of Alaskan bush pilots and clearly suffers from an obsession with aviation.

“The best way to describe the plane is a dune buggy with wings,” Quinn says gleefully about his Cessna, sounding like a kid explaining his or her dream bicycle. “I do this every year -  I take 30 or 40 people up to Burning Man, they help me pay for the fuel. It’s just about a 30-minute flight.”

The plane, which fits just about 3 or 4 people plus gear, makes multiple drops, and then, according to Quinn, most of the passengers find their own way back after the festival. For making all these trips, however, he admits he’s never actually been inside the festival gates. “I’d like to go sometime, for one day and night, just to say I’ve been, but it’s not really my cup of tea,” he said.

This of course, is just as well, since even though Alaska heli-ski season seems far away, the attention it takes to maintain the successful business, which is now the largest heli-ski operation in the US, is never ending. “[PNH] is constant, year-round work,” says Quinn. “I’m always looking to upgrade – for example, we launched a non-motorized ski touring operation up there two years ago, and that has taken off like wildfire. We’re almost sold out for next year already.” 

In addition to flying the Burning Man air taxi, gliders, and whatever else he can get off the ground, Quinn spends a full 40-hour work week on PNH, even in August. “I work on permitting, and of course I talk to guests and potential clients.  We [Quinn owns PNH with his wife and fellow ski guide Jessica] do everything ourselves. We haven’t hired any outside help – but we are passionate about what we do. I’ve never met anyone who said they didn’t want to go heli-skiing.”

Quinn, who skis in this year’s Warren Miller Entertainment film in the PNH segment in Alaska, also hops back and forth to his native Alaska in the summer, running client fishing trips in remote and wild Katmai National Park. “All my aunts and uncles run fishing lodges now, and Alaska is in my heart and soul for sure.”   

When it comes time to relax, for at least five or six minutes at a time, and enjoy some summer weather, Tahoe still gets a little credit on the PNH radar. “Tahoe is a pretty beautiful place, Quinn admits. “Squaw Valley is my second home.” 

Check out Kevin Quinn and Points North Heliskiing in this year’s film Warren Miller’s Flow State. 

If you met Aspen Spora on the chairlift you’d think he’s like every other 11-year-old kid – he loves to play Xbox, jump on the trampoline, and constantly begs his mom to stay up late. But once he enters the park, you forget he’s about to start the sixth grade. Instead of watching the big boys throw tricks from the sidelines, Aspen is right behind, if not, ahead of them, leading the pack through the superpipe.

By the time he reached 5’4”, he was a member of Team O’Neil, skied with Tom Wallisch, and landed sponsorships from some of skiing’s biggest brands. While we’re used to seeing him rip with the pros, his contagious laugh and playful attitude remind us that he still get’s a child’s lift ticket.

He dreams of the day he’s old enough to live out of his car so he can chase the snow says his mom, Stacy Spora. Too bad he’ll have to wait five years to drive a car. Aspen is one lucky kid to have a mom as cool as Stacy. A snowboarder herself, Stacy shares the same passion for the hill as Aspen. 

A few years back, she moved the family to Northstar, Calif. so Aspen could keep doing what he loves – skiing. Stacy admits it can be difficult to travel so often. She goes out of her way to cook organic meals and make sure he is doing well in school. “I want to see him succeed and do what he loves,” she said.

In between Tweets about animal crackers and Mac n’ Cheese, Aspen told us about his summer and what it was like to shoot with the Warren Miller Film crew.

What have you been up to this summer?

I just got back from skiing at Mt. Hood and in Canada. I was at Camp Of Champions in Whistler. It’s the coolest summer camp around. But I’m not doing anymore skiing this summer. I hate waiting for the next season. I just want the snow to come.

What do you do when you’re not skiing?

I have a pair of inline skates so I like to go to the skate park with my friends and do tricks. It really helps my skiing too. I also like to play Skate 3 on Xbox. It’s a skateboarding game. It’s awesome.

How was filming Flow State?

The skiing shots were pretty easy but the lifestyle shots were hard. It took me a million tries to get out of bed.

Because you hate waking up?

No, because I had to pretend like I was sleeping and that’s really hard to do without laughing. Filming the movie was awesome though and I got to ski with Toby Miller. He’s a super happy and nice guy to be around.

Who’s your favorite skier?

Probably Tom Wallisch. Yeah, he’s my favorite pro skier. He’s always pushing the limit and every time he does a trick it’s something I’ve never seen before. It’s always new and crazy. He’s always inventing things. I want to be like that.

What was it like to meet Tom?

Amazing! Have you seen the Joss edit with Simon Dumont? Remember in the edit when Simon Dumont goes up to Tom and says, “Jesus, is that you?” When I met Tom I walked up to him and said, “Jesus, is that you?” He laughed and then we talked and skied. 

Are you excited to go back to school?

I’m excited to see my friends but I don’t want summer to end. Well, I do because I want ski season to start. 

Is it hard to go to school and ski at the same time?

Hmm. You know, that’s a really hard question. Let me think about it for a minute. (Pause). Well, I switched schools so that I could do both. I was homeschooled for a while and did some classes online but this year I’m going to a Middle School by my house. I’m glad I’ll be going there with my buddies.

My mom always makes sure that I do my homework, and packs my lunch, and gets me there on time. You know, all that mom stuff.

Check out some behind the scenes footage of Aspen Spora in Warren Miller Entertainment's upcoming film, Flow State, here.

Just a few years ago, after a move to Squaw Valley, CA, a low-key East Coast mogul skier blew onto the competitive big mountain scene, with aggressive lines, strong skiing, and memorable airs. The skier even snatched one of skiing’s most coveted awards for impressive and well-executed airs right out from under the noses of the usual suspects for winning it. With that, Jackie Paaso became only the second female in over a decade to win the Sickbird Award. And that is how the ski world got to know Jackie. 

Now, four years after her memorable entrance on the Freeskiing World Tour, Paaso still is based in Tahoe, but she finds herself traveling the world for ski competitions and filming with Warren Miller Entertainment more than at home. Since 2008 Paaso has had many successful appearances on the invite-only Freeride World Tour, and she is gearing up for another big season of competition on the freeskiing circuit. Intent on pushing the envelope, Jackie doesn’t plan to rest on her laurels anytime soon. Aside from her personal goals, she wants to help raise the level at which the women compete and ski. She is guaranteed to change the women’s scene, and leave it better than she found it.

After her double-dropping, Sickbird-winning debut, Paaso has kept her bar high, and in doing so, forces other competitors – men and women - to see what can be done and push themselves as well. Paaso again made waves in competition when she hit a nearly 50-foot air onto less than optimal snow, with the highest score of the day overall (male and female) to win the women’s contest in the 2010 Nissan Freeride World tour stop at Squaw. “I want to compare my skiing to the guys. That’s my goal – to just be the best skier I can be personally,” she said. 

Paaso is part of an elite crew, and she no longer needs to only look to the men for inspiration. Some of her fellows on the comp circuit, such as Sweden’s Janette and Christine Hargin, and Norway’s Ane Enderud, and the USA’s Crystal Wright are a few of the skiers that come to mind when Paaso thinks of how the level is being pushed up. “The more the amount of girls out there pushing it, the more younger girls will be motivated to get out there and push it.”

Off-snow training in the summers consists of downhill mountain biking, which, Paaso says, is as close as one can get to skiing without skiing. The intensity, physical and mental requirements are just what she needs to keep focused and sharp for the upcoming season of skiing. These are things she will need, in order to chase her goals of winning as many competitions as possible next season, create more adventures, and become more involved in filming.  

You can check out Jackie Paaso and fellow skier Aurelien Ducroz in shredding lines in Arctic Norway in the this year's Warren Miller flick Flow State.

When former Olympic skier Jeremy Bloom invited pro skier Chris Anthony to his Wish of a Lifetime Gala four years ago, Anthony was not entirely sure what the organization was all about. Still, he accepted the invite, and found the evening so inspiring that by the time he left, he wanted to get involved.

Bloom founded WOL in 2008 as an organization to help deserving senior citizens accomplish something they have dreamed of, and for whatever reason, have not been able to. Wishes previously granted range from helping aging veterans visit the WWII Memorial, to going skydiving, to taking simple train rides symbolic to the individual. Among other seniors who have made their mark, one of the recent recipients of a Wish of a Lifetime grant was a member of the World War II’s famed 10^th Mountain Division troops.

Anthony’s segment in this year’s Warren Miller film Flow State is a tribute 10^th Mountain Division, and the impact this small group of veterans have had on the ski industry as we know it. What Anthony learned during the filming of this piece provided the personal connection he needed to increase his participation with WOL. In addition to the 10^th Mountain Segment in Flow State, Warren Miller Entertainment teamed up with Anthony to make a documentary film, focused on the contributions and achievements of the 10^th Mountain, which they will be able to use for educational and fundraising purposes.

“The plan for Wish of a Lifetime Foundation to team up with myself and host [the documentary] premiere in Denver, will be a timely honor to the greatest generation as well as raise money for the foundation and the Colorado Ski Museum, to grant more wishes,” said Anthony.  

Bloom’s WOL, inspired by his grandparents, has touched a lot of hearts, and boasts an exponential increase in wish granting abilities in the four years since its inception. The exceptional generosity of corporate and individual donors, young and old, has allowed WOL to grow from granting four wishes the first year, to 191 wishes granted in 2011.

“We’re on pace to grant even more in 2012,” said Carrie Packard, communications director for the foundation. “Our mission is to inspire an entire generation and to create a cultural shift on how we view aging. Our belief is that growing older doesn’t mean you have to stop dreaming and living a life of purpose.”

Anthony says that is just what is happening. “The WOL foundation has a way of connecting the youth of today with our seniors, and in the process give something back while saying thank you. The process brings a smile to all parties.” 

“My personal reward has been the ability to reconnect with our elders as well as saying thank you through WOL,” said Anthony.

This year’s nearly 600 guest Gala was held in mid-July at the Seawell Ballroom in Denver. Along with athletes like Bloom and Anthony, dozens of Olympians spanning generations, and current professional athletes attended. A silent and live auction was held to raise money. Politicians from Senator Bob Dole, to Colorado Governor Hickenlooper have wholeheartedly commended the WOL mission.

To donate, or for more information and to keep an eye out for next year’s Gala, and Warren Miller Entertainment’s 10^th Mountain Division documentary film, visit Wish of a Lifetime’s website.

To watch the 10^th Mountain Segment in Flow State, Check WME’s Tour Calendar.