The 10 Best Ski Movies of All Time

10. Zootspace (2021)

These days, ski movies can sometimes feel like spit-shined gear and outdoor lifestyle advertisements. They’re shot on enormously fancy cameras, feature butter-smooth drone shots, and depict skiing as a powder-laden, picturesque affair. The grimy streets of Zootspace offer a counterpoint.

The opening shot follows a shirtless skier as they speed towards a yet-unknown feature, which, as the first few seconds progress, is revealed to be a pool. He soars over the pool’s edge, almost—but not quite—clipping his head on the coping. Later on, one member of the crew smashes a table with an atomic elbow. The in-your-face tone of Zootspace is set. The film doesn’t have helicopter missions or Alaskan lines, but it's funny, raw, and contains arguably one of the best zero spin shots ever (scrub to the 27:24 mark to see it). Those traits have made it an influential cult classic, particularly amongst street skiers.

9. Paradise Waits (2015)

Teton Gravity Research’s Paradise Waits ping pongs across the globe, serving up a mix of hellaciously steep lines and bottomless powder. The curveball comes in the form of a standout street segment shot in the streets of Boston, Massachusetts, after an enormous snowstorm.

On hand are Clayton Vila and Cam Riley who make an immediate impression by jumping off a multi-story parking garage. Outside of the streets, Angel Collinson, among others, delivers award-worthy big mountain shredding. From front to back, Paradise Waits exemplifies why Teton Gravity Research is one of freeskiing’s biggest production house names.

8. Is There Time For Matching Socks (2021)

About one-third of the way through Is There Time For Matching Socks, the film’s crew appears against a white backdrop. They’re wearing partially unzipped tracksuits, eating fruit, and dancing to a mean number from the Viagra Boys. The frenetic scene, which is interspersed with shots of The Bunch doing their thing in the streets, is kooky—in a good way. Is There Time For Matching Socks presents The Bunch at the height of their powers. The skiing and the filmmaking here are equally unorthodox, leaving a lasting impression.

7. Romance (2019)

Level 1 remains a driving force in freeskiing. They champion the multi-film Level 1 tour each fall. The film production house returned to the yearly film format with 2024’s featurette-length Wasteland and, in 2023, dropped Full Circle, a moving documentary that starred professional skier Trevor Kennison.

Still, Level 1’s 2019 release Romance marked the end of an era. And what a farewell it was. With appearances from freeskiing’s historical and present vanguard (Mike Hornbeck, Lucas Stål Madison, and Keegan Kilbride, to name a few), Romance is a snowsports love letter that delivers unadulterated hits of ski movie magic.

6. Claim (2008)

Does a trick or line count if you don’t claim it? Claim, a film from Matchstick Productions, takes a tongue-in-cheek approach to answering that question, lampooning ski movies and the broader ski industry.

Self-referential jokes and a musical interlude from Colby West don’t mean that Claim skimps it on the skiing, though. The film’s stacked cast includes Mark Abma, Ingrid Backstrom, and Rory Bushfield, who, to keep the gag going, put on a claim-worthy show. One incredibly smooth segment featuring Eric Hjorleifson scratches an itch we didn’t know we had.

5. Aspen Extreme (1993)

The definition of “ski movie” is fluid, but, at least to us, it usually refers to films made by skiers, for skiers. Still, sometimes Hollywood productions take a swing at our sport, creating results that are fun in a silly, B-movie kind of way. Aspen Extreme is one of those films. It tells a story we’ve all heard—or lived—before: two guys from the flatlands move to Aspen for a taste of the mountain life. Antics predictably ensue—as they often do in ski towns.

4. G.N.A.R. the Movie (2011)

A chapter of skier Robb Gaffney’s Palisades Tahoe, California, guidebook Squallywood (Palisades Tahoe was previously known as Squaw Valley) outlines “Gaffney’s Numerical Assessment of Radness.” Known as G.N.A.R., the game emphasizes the fun and silly parts of skiing, awarding points for skiing specific lines and completing ridiculous challenges, like riding a run naked.

G.N.A.R. the Movie tells the story of an attempt to play this game in a somewhat organized fashion. The nudity quickly derailed the plan—ski resorts don’t tend to appreciate bare man butt—so the competition invitees got creative, directing the prize money toward an epic road trip. Today, G.N.A.R—both the game and the movie—remain vital freeskiing mementos.

3. All.I.Can (2012)

Sherpas Cinema knocked everyone’s socks off when they released All.I.Can in 2012. It melted down the traditional ski movie formula, providing a remix that addressed skiing’s number one challenge, climate change, with unique cinematographic flair.

Perhaps All.I.Can’s greatest success is that it made this genre-defining (and defying) leap without sacrificing what piqued everyone’s interest in the first place: skiing. JP Auclair’s street segment in All.I.Can remains unforgettable, but other moments, like a party shred through a forest that oscillates between snowiness and snowlessness, stand out, too.

2. Few Words (2012)

Candide Thovex is an enigma. On the hill, he rarely (if ever) appears without goggles and a signature balaclava covering his face. Interviews featuring the legendary Frenchman are scant, and on social media, he certainly doesn’t have an issue with being too verbose. “Morning line,” reads the caption of one of his Instagram videos (the video sees Thovex double backflip across an 80-plus foot gap). It’s apparent Thovex prefers to let his skiing do the talking.

Few Words, then, is a fitting title for a documentary telling his story. The film provides a rare look into the life of one of skiing’s most influential icons and serves as an important reminder that, despite all the signs pointing towards the contrary, Thovex is, indeed, human. Watch it for the skiing or watch it for the story—both will pique your interest.

1. The Blizzard of Aahhh’s (1988)

In 1988, when Greg Stump’s The Blizzard of Aahhh’s released, freeskiing, as a cultural movement, was yet to be cemented. This film, with its fresh pop music soundtrack and stacked skier roster (Glen Plake, Scot Schmidt, and Mike Hattrup are among the crew), poured the gasoline that eventually grew into a raging fire. Before twin tips, as we know them existed, Stump and company proved that skiing was hip, cool, and the next big thing. The Blizzard of Aahhh’s is mandatory viewing for skiers who want to know how the modern iteration of our shared sport got its start.

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