Streamables - Ski Flicks To Watch During Quarantine

Sick of Netflix Yet? Here Are Some Binge-Worthy Wintersports Films That Will Help You Get Through This Time At Home

But before we begin, here's a quick pro-tip for casting these videos directly from this blog post to your TV. They're totally watchable on a smaller device, but we recommend giving these films some room to breathe.

HOW TO CAST TO TV 

 2019-20 Backcountry Film Fest

This one is near and dear to our hearts. Flylow is one of the title sponsors of the BCFF. The Winter Wildlands Alliance has put together the Backcountry Film Festival for the past several seasons as a way to showcase the organization and the work they do to promote and protect winter wildlands and the human-powered recreation opportunities our public lands offer. 

The 2019-20 Backcountry Film Festival is a collection of 10 short films produced by filmmakers from around the world. If your ski season got cut short, these are some films that will definitely cheer you up.

If you like what you see. Please consider a donation to the Winter Wildlands Alliance. This film festival is a big draw for the organization so it's incredible to see them pull off this new format given the current events.

Donate To Winter Wildlands Alliance

Film Line-Up:

1. Welcome / Sponsor Videos
2. Can’t Ski Vegas – Ben Page, Joey Schusler, and Thomas Woodson
3. Drawn to High Places – Nikki Frumkin, Elise Giordano, and Jaeger Shaw
4. Endless Winter – Nikolai Schirmer
5. Leave Nice Tracks (Festival Cut) – Marius Becker and Dan Cirenza
6. Soundscapes – Steven Bumgardner (Midpines Media)
7. Climb for Equality – Caroline Gleich
8. Colter: A Legacy of Adventure (Full version) – Sawyer Thomas and Riis Wilbrecht
9. Backflippers – Luigi Dellarole (Highland Production)
10. Climate Change in the Kennels – Denali National Park
11. Peak Obsession – Cody Townsend

1999: A Film By Scott Gaffney

We're going to go ahead and say it, after 20 years, this film still holds up. The skiing from Rob Gaffney, Shane McConkey (duh), and friends in this movie was so far ahead of its time. We guarantee that after watching this, you'll wish you could ski like Rob. You will also wish avalanche control was as easy as shooting a potato gun.

Seriously, if you're a skier in your 30s or 40s, this film will be pure stoke and nostalgia, the best feelings you can get when you're stuck in your house. If you're younger than that, then this is a seminal work that lit the path to the freeskiing world we know and love today.

 The 2006 Double Feature

Follow Me Around - Mack Dawg Productions  | Teddybear Crisis - Kris Ostness

There was something in the water in the winter of 2005-2006 and the subsequent movie releases in the Fall of 2006. Also, we just like the flow of ski movies from this era. This was before everything was about heli-skiing in Alaska or big global trips. These films are full of super fun backcountry cheese wedges and urban rails, which still feel somewhat attainable as a viewer. You can watch them and think "if I just get a little bit better, I could go hit that jump."

Are you ever going to get that good? No, probably not. But the relatability makes them entertaining as hell to watch. Don't get us wrong, today's ski movies are incredible. But a heli budget is almost a prerequisite to "ski like a pro."

First Up In Our 2006 Double Feature: Follow Me Around, Mack Dawg Productions

We pulled this one for our single-plank friends. Though, if you're a snowboarder, chances are you've seen everything Mack Dawg ever produced, so no need to preach to the choir. Mack Dawg's movies are legendary. Honestly, if we could have found the full version of Double Decade on YouTube we probably woulda picked it.

For you skiers new to Mack Dawg, know that they were typically at the bleeding edge of snowboarding, especially on the more urban side of things. And since snowboarding during the mid-aughts was on the bleeding edge of skiing, you can pretty much trace the evolution of the sport by watching older snowboard flicks. Also, snowboard flicks always had better music. 

And Finally, Teddybear Crisis

This film is nasty. Just watch it...

Unfortunately, it's only on Vimeo so you can't screencast it to your TV as easy. Pull out the HDMI cord or use a web browser on an Amazon Fire Stick. But seriously, watch it.

Teddybear Crisis from Howie Arnstad on Vimeo.

Cast Any YouTube Video In This Blog Post Directly To Your TV In 3 Easy Steps

Things You'll Need Before We Begin:

1. A cold beer.
2. A YouTube Account, logged in on the device you are reading this blog.
3. A streaming device plugged into your TV (i.e. Roku, Amazon Fire, Google Chromecast, Apple TV, etc)
4. The YouTube App on that streaming device, logged into the same YouTube account mentioned above.

Step 1:

Crack beer. Enjoy a nice long sip.

Step 2:

Desktop

Click play on any of the YouTube videos above. Stay hovered over the video and click the "Play On TV" button. Click your streaming device from the list.

How to Do it on Desktop

Mobile

A little techier. Hit the three little dots in the upper right-hand corner. Tap share -> Copy. Open up the YouTube App on your phone. Drop in the link in the search bar. Watch the video in the YouTube App. Then cast from the app to your TV's streaming device.

Step 3:

Sip beer. Turn it up Enjoy ski flick on the big screen.

Jump back to your video: Backcountry Film Fest, 1999: A Scott Gaffney Film, 2006 Double Feature

 Huh...this was kinda fun. Maybe we'll do one for summer films next.