We are all having to spend more time at home than we might want right now. So, let's use this time to stir up great memories of crazy fun things we got to do while on a ski vacation somewhere up in the mountains. Let's live vicariously through these difficult times and dream of skiing and snowboarding, drinking hot chocolate by a warm fire, taking in spectacular mountain vistas and breathing the cool clear mountain air.
Here's our definitive guide to Quarantine worthy Ski Movies. It covers a range of tastes, contains few academy awards, but they are all fun in their own way.
Take your pick!
Chalet Girl (2011): iTunes / Amazon
Enjoyable from start to finish, this charming romantic comedy is genuinely funny and has plenty of romance. OK, so in the first few minutes it signals pretty much exactly where it is going to end up plot-wise - but most rom-coms do that.
STORY: While working a job at an exclusive ski resort to support her Dad, Kim (Felicity Jones) learns to snowboard and is so good at it that she enters a competition with a huge cash prize. She has to dig deep to overcome her fears, but her life gets more complicated through her spoken-for boss, Jonny (Ed Westwick). [TRAILER]
Downhill (2020): iTunes / Amazon
A recent movie that received mixed reviews despite the setting and great imagery of a family taking a ski vacation together. A character-driven comedy working its way through a painful and real conflict - but it is set in the mountains, so we can celebrate that!
STORY: Barely escaping an avalanche during a family ski vacation in the Alps, a married couple is thrown into disarray as they are forced to reevaluate their lives and how they feel about each other. [TRAILER]
Downhill Racer (1969): iTunes / Amazon
A classic ski racer storyline
A smug and overly self-assured downhill skier, David Chappellet (Robert Redford), joins the American ski team and quickly makes waves with his arrogant behavior and even flashier maneuvers on the slopes, falling into conflict with the team's coach (Gene Hackman). A rivalry also develops between David and Johnny Creech (Jim McMullan), the man who considered the team's best skier, as both push themselves and each other in a race to the Olympic Games. [TRAILER]
Streif: One Hell of a Ride: Red Bull Movies
Follow Erik Guay, Aksel Lund Svindal, Max Franz and Hannes Reichelt through an emotionally charged year as they train for the world’s most dangerous skiing challenge: the Streif at Kitzbühel, Austria.
Dumb And Dumber (1994): iTunes / Amazon
Not technically a ski movie, but it's set in Aspen, Colorado and is simply one of the funniest movies of all time.
STORY: Imbecilic best friends Lloyd Christmas (Jim Carrey) and Harry Dunne (Jeff Daniels) stumble across a suitcase full of money left behind in Harry's car by Mary Swanson (Lauren Holly), who was on her way to the airport. The pair decide to go to Aspen, Colo., to return the money, unaware that it is connected to a kidnapping. As Harry and Lloyd -- who has fallen in love with Mary -- are pursued across the country by hired killers and police, they find both their friendship and their brains tested.
Winter in Vail (2020): Hallmark Channel
It is a Hallmark movie, so of course, it's not going to be 100% accurate. Don't go calling up the Academy or anything. But if you keep your eyes and ears open for Vail things and insert your own blend of satire into it, it's great and you won't stop laughing.
STORY: Chelsea inherits a house in Vail where she meets Owen and gets a well-deserved break. Together, they put on Strudelfest to show the charm of Old Vail. [TRAILER]
Copper Mountain (1983): Amazon
It is said that you are not a true Jim Carey fan unless you have seen this (and maybe that is what it will take for you to make it all the way through), but set in Copper Mountain CO there are definitely some funny moments in this 80's ski romp.
STORY: With contrasting outlooks on fun, two friends travel to a ski resort, with one looking to hit the slopes, while the other spends time trying to pick up women. [TRAILER]
Ski Patrol (1990): iTunes
STORY: Pops (Ray Walston) is the longtime owner of an easygoing ski lodge, but its future is put in jeopardy by cutthroat businessman Sam Maris (Martin Mull). Intent on replacing the lodge with an enormous resort, Maris schemes to get Pops' lease revoked. What he doesn't count on is the mountain's madcap ski patrol. As the crazed crew leaps into action to save Pops' business, Maris begins to wish he'd never thought of building his eyesore on their winter playground. [TRAILER]
Warren Miller Ski Movies: Amazon / Website / YouTube
Warren Miller is known as skiing’s greatest ambassador, its most entertaining storyteller, and as the godfather of action sports filmmaking. His published works include over 750 sports films, several books and hundreds of non-fiction articles. The movies have inspired generations to come to the mountains and play.
