Ski Racing - October 31, 2011

OUT OF THE GATE

Miller High Life

Ski racers star in Warren Miller’s “Like There’s No Tomorrow” BY ERIC WILLIAMS

Julia Mancuso and Steven Nyman wait for their ride in Portillo.

SALT LAKE CITY — It’s the world premiere of a major movie,
but instead of Champagne and inflated, bouncing chests, there’s
a shot-ski in the VIP room and inflatable gondolas bouncing
around the 2,000 or so seats at Abravanel Hall. Instead of the
red carpet, there’s the “white room” of powder ahead. Yep, it’s
time for the annual release from Warren Miller Entertainment.
This year’s film, “Like There’s No Tomorrow,” is the 62nd such ski
movie and it’s packed with faces familiar to ski racing fans.
The film company asked World Cup racers Julia Mancuso and
Steven Nyman to take an early trip to one of the U.S. Ski Team’s
summer bases in Portillo, Chile, to join racing legends Tommy
Moe and Daron Rahlves for a special shoot. Big-mountain skiers
Chris Davenport and Colby West rounded out the crew.
“The Warren Miller movies always represented the start of the
ski season to me as a kid, and to watch it every fall and get
excited for the winter was kind of the thing to do to get you en-
ergized,” said Nyman at the screening. “Now I am in it, it’s kind
of funny. It was awesome to go to Portillo in a different format.
I got to go with Warren Miller and go heli-skiing with my heroes
— with Daron, Tommy Moe and Chris Davenport — all these
guys I watched in movies as a kid; it was really cool. Usually I’m
in Chile to train, this time I was in a helicopter searching for good
corn snow, it was a sweet trip.”
Still, the movie-star life gave Nyman some added appreciation
for his current gig. “There is a lot of waiting, a lot of sitting around,
getting the camera right, communication and travel,” says Ny-
man, who is known for hitting the Wasatch powder between rac-
es. “In the movie, it looks really cool and it makes me appreciate
what I do; it makes me appreciate ski racing and the energy and
intensity that is constantly going.”
Having starred in a number of ski films, Rahlves is used to the
rigors of the ski film world. “Filming days are always the hardest
days to get through,” said the four-time Olympian at Abravanel
Hall. “The reason you’re filming is because the conditions are so
good, but there’s a lot of stall time where you are sitting around
waiting for things to get set up; you gotta make the most of every
turn.”