New West Q&A

Inside ‘Wintervention’ With Colorado’s Star Snowboarders

By Jackie Williams, 12-07-10

	A still from the filming of "Wintervention," Zack Black on the pipe in Breckenridge. Photo by Braden Gunem.

Warren Miller films have hit Antarctica, New Zealand, Georgia (the country, not the less-exotic state). The company’s latest, “Wintervention,” brings the daring a little closer to home, featuring Breckenridge, Keystone, Telluride and Vail Valley, places where “skiing and the mountains are a part of everyday culture in Colorado,” according to the filmmaking team.

Two of Breckenridge’s star snowboarders, Zack Miller and Steve Fisher, are featured.

Johnny Moseley again narrates the 61st Warren Miller Entertainment film, answering the questions from those suffering acute cases of snow addiction. Skiers in their seats find out what it’s like to sail from the southernmost city in the world, Ushuaia, Argentina, to Antarctica, where there are 24 hours of daylight and you can ski down a glacier or an iceberg to the bottom of the world.

One segment this year features the secluded Greater Caucasus Range in Gudari, Georgia, formerly inaccessible to foreigners due to political and civil unrest. The Georgian government opened it for the Warren Miller crew and world-class athletes. The footage is awesome and unbelievable.

New West talked with Fisher, who grew up in Breckenridge and is part of the Winter Dew Tour, and Black, who’s currently training for the X Games, about what it’s like to be filmed for the most anticipated ski movie of the year.

NW: So when and where was the filming done for your segment?

Steve: Done in February in Breckenridge.

NW: What were the conditions?

Zack: We had one powder day and two sunny and perfect park days.

Steve: They were amazing! Couple of days of fresh snow, and a couple of bluebird days!

NW: How were you picked to be in the film?

Zack: Breckenridge asked us to be in the film to represent the resort.

NW: How did you feel about that?

Steve: Great! Glad to have the opportunity to film with WM! Legendary movies!

Zack: I was pretty excited to be involved in such a big project.

NW: What’s the most memorable thing that did not appear in the movie? 

Steve: We had a great day of riding POW, which didn’t really make the final edit… Which I thought we had great shots there.  Oh well…

Zack: We did some filming on the jumps that wasn’t really shown in the movie.

NW: What were some of the highlights when filming?

Zack: Lapping the prefect park at Breck with snowmobiles was a definite highlight.

Steve: Just amazing all around!

Wintervention is on its world tour, although it made its early rounds around the West. For more information and to watch the trailer, visit the Warren Miller website.

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