Catching up with Tim Durtschi

Tim Durtschi is recovering from knee surgery, but he answered some questions about filming with WME, skiing with Kip Garre, and what we can expect from his segment.

How old were you when you first started skiing? I started skiing when I was 2 years old…and I never want to stop.

When did you first compete? I got into contests and freestyle when I was 15 and had my first sponsors by 17. 

Is this your first Warren Miller movie?   I have been featured in the Freeski segments of Wintervention, Dynasty, and Children of Winter, but this is the first film where I will be a featured athlete in a featured segment.  It will be cool to see how the segment turns out, and I will be on tour this fall to share it with the fans.

What was the best part about filming?  It was fun to film with Tom Day, and I knew about his history as a skier and as a filmer so it was great to finally meet him.  I got to ski alongside Seth Wescott and Kip Garre I was deeply saddened when I heard about Kip’s death. I only knew him for a short time during our filming at Points North, but I will always miss him.

Can you tell us a bit about your segment? What should we expect?   There’s a lot of big mountain ski action in Cordova Alaska.  Tom Day got some great shots from the Helicopter, and we worked on some fun follow cam shots.

What was your favorite part about filming for this movie?  Getting to experience Cordova, Alaska— it is different from any heli ski trip I have ever been on.  The clubhouse feel that Points North offers is really unique.  Our film crew got to share our experience with the guests of Points North. We shared dinner together in the dining hall, played ping pong, and all stayed in the same hotel.

You also film with Poor Boyz Productions. How is filming with WME different?  When I am with PBP, I am usually focusing on putting together a segment that represents my entire season.  When I am with WME I am focusing on that specific trip.  It doesn’t make it any easier though, I am still skiing at a high level and the footage will be high energy in both movies.

What were the conditions like when you were filming?  We got extremely lucky and hit a really good stretch of sunny days and fresh snow.   I think things rolled in as smoothly as possible and we got all the shots we wanted.  Let’s just say we were all really shocked with how lucky we got!

Tell us about your recent knee surgery. I had a piece of bone floating around that needed to be removed. I waited until summer so I would have plenty of time to recover.

What are your plans for this summer? Rest, get strong and ready for next year, I will also be working with my clothing company, Saga Outerwear on next years gear.  My mind is on skiing all throughout the year and being involved with a company makes those ski-less days that much easier to bear.

What are your plans for next winter? I want to ski as much as I can, try some new tricks, and have fun. 

Do you want to film with WME again?   Yeah totally— I would love to do a trip with Andy Mahre.  I have wanted to ski with him forever and we always cross paths at Mt. Hood in the summer but as for a film trip together, we gotta make it happen!