‘Downhill’ stars A-list actors and comedians (Will Ferrel, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Zach Woods); features realistic skiing; takes place entirely at a ski resort; and was released on Valentine’s Day. So it must be every skier’s favorite Rom-Com, right? Not exactly. Today, you’ll hear Amie and Jonathan’s strong reactions to one of the most puzzling ski movies we’ve ever seen.

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TOPICS & TIMES:

Why ‘Downhill’? (2:15)

The 10 Most Surprising Things (5:15)

Original vs the Remake (12:39)

Most Rewatchable Scenes (37:22)

‘Hottest Take’ Awards (46:02)

Who Needed BLISTER+ The Most (48:21)

Burning Questions (55:38)

Who Won The Movie? (59:46)

Our Final Grades (1:03:12)

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Blister Podcast

Bikes & Big Ideas

GEAR:30

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Jonathan talks with Nikolai Schirmer about snow monk warriors, obsessive weirdos, and his outstanding new movie, ‘Ski: The Greatest Ski Tour of All Time.’ Plus, Cody Townsend (who is in the film) joins in to talk about the evolution of ski culture, filmmaking, and more.

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Watch the Trailer for ‘SKI’

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Join Us! Blister Summit 2025

TOPICS & TIMES:

BLISTER+ Member Competing @ Kings & Queens (0:44)

Niko’s Film Tour & Travels (3:00)

Cody's Involvement (6:17)

Ski Movie or Not: Obsessive Weirdos (8:59)

Cody Jumps In(17:16)

The Evolution of Ski Culture (20:58)

Pressures of Production (27:50)

Niko’s Dream (42:28)

Being Present While Filming (51:25)

Niko on Cody (59:35)

Bad Facial Hair (1:02:41)

Where is ‘Ski’ Being Shown? (1:03:45)

Niko’s Favorite Ski Movie? (1:05:10)

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Blister Podcast

Bikes & Big Ideas

GEAR:30

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Jonathan and Amie Engerbretson break down Katie Burrell’s ski comedy, Weak Layers. It’s a hilarious, not-very-suitable-for-work movie that features many of your favorite skiers and an incredible number of great lines, but please, just remember to “Shhhhhhh!”

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Join Us! Blister Summit 2025

Blister Summit Awards 2024

TOPICS & TIMES:

Why This Film? (2:43)

Most Rewatchable Scenes (16:31)

The Lead Actors (21:58)

Best Lines (28:17)

Cameos (33:20)

Hottest Take Award (36:45)

Who Needed BLISTER+ the Most?

What’s Aged The Best? (43:00)

What’s Aged The Worst? (46:34)

‘Gimme More’ Award (55:49)

‘Gimme Less’ Award

Who Won the Movie? (1:00:53)

Our Final Grades (1:03:34)

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Blister Podcast

Bikes & Big Ideas

GEAR:30

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Mike and Jonathan talk about the state of snowsports films today, and make the case for 5 new films from 2024 that deserve your attention. So check out these films, let us know what you think of them, and let us know what else you think were some of the standout films of 2024.

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Get Yourself Covered: BLISTER+

Join Us! Blister Summit 2025

Blister Summit Awards 2024

TOPICS & TIMES:

Jonathan is Skiing, Mike’s Watching Ducks (2:29)

Circle of Madness, Markus Eder & Viktor de Le Rue (9:41)

Grown, Sammy Carlson (22:50)

White Gold, Bobby Brown (30:47)

How Long Should Ski Movies Be? (33:47)

Blue Hour, Amie Engerbretson (39:11)

Variable, Jamie & Doug Kennard (44:16)

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Blister Cinematic

Bikes & Big Ideas

GEAR:30

Blister Podcast

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Amie Engerbretson and Jonathan discuss this Lyndsay Lohan Rom-Com / Christmas / Ski movie, and have a very festive time debating whether it’s a Christmas delight or a modern-day dumpster fire. All that, plus you have an opportunity to win a brand new pair of Atomic skis. Check it out!

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Get Yourself Covered: BLISTER+

Blister Summit 2025

Watch: Falling for Christmas

Watch: Blue Hour

TOPICS & TIMES:

Amie Goes All In On Christmas (3:38)

Amies' New Film, Blue Hour (5:20)

Ugly Christmas Sweater Contest (9:35)

Why This Film?? (13:58)

Lindsay Lohan (14:58)

Christmas Rom-Com's (20:08)

Deciphering the Genre (26:13)

Most Rewatchable Scenes (28:21)

Todd's Family Christmas (33:14)

Best Lines (35:34)

What's Aged the Best? (39:21)

What's Aged the Worst? (40:38)

Hottest Takes (42:10)

Who Needed BLISTER+ the Most? (50:43)

‘Gimme More’ Award (52:10)

‘Gimme Less’ (54:14)

‘Burning Questions’ (56:32)

Recasting Couch (1:02:10)

Interlude: JE’s Wine Spill (1:02:51)

Remake? (1:05:44)

Who Won The Movie? (1:08:10)

Final Grades (1:09:14)

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Blister Podcast

Bikes & Big Ideas

GEAR:30

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In honor of its 30th anniversary, we’re discussing one of Cody’s all-time favorite movies; you’ll learn why it’s such an important movie to him; and you’ll hear Cody make the case for Dumb & Dumber being the greatest ski movie ever?? Check it out, and let us know if you agree.

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TOPICS & TIMES:

Very Dumb Bets (3:00)

Greatest Ski Movie Ever?? (6:08)

Fun Facts & Film Factoids (12:41)

Most Rewatchable Scenes (29:44)

Best Lines (35:44)

What's Aged The Best? (43:57)

The Soundtrack (45:37)

What's Aged The Worst? (50:33)

Hottest Take Award (54:08)

Gimme More Award (58:06)

Memorabilia You’d Most Want? (1:07:56)

Who Won The Movie? (1:11:50) 

Our Final Grades (1:16:40)

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Blister Podcast

Bikes & Big Ideas

GEAR:30

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Jonathan talks with Connor Ryan, Ryan McClure, and Isaiah Branch-Boyle about their powerful new film, Surviving Our Story. This film is a ‘must watch’ for anyone who backcountry skis, splitboards, snowmobiles — or does any form of backcountry travel on snow.

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Get Yourself Covered: BLISTER+

TOPICS & TIMES:

Conditions That Day (4:45)

1st Slide (10:34)

2nd Slide (14:07)

Making Contact with Ryan (23:03)

Isaiah's Perspective (26:52)

Ryan’s Femur (28:49)

Search and Rescue (32:32)

‘Perfectly Bad’ Tourniquet (37:38)

Choosing The Focus of the Film (40:11)

Rescue Logistics & Costs (44:10)

The Importance of Story Telling (51:45)

Update on Ryan (56:16)

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Blister Podcast

Bikes & Big Ideas

GEAR:30

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James Bond films have probably put skiing and snowboarding in front of more people than any other film series. So Jonathan and James-Bond-aficionado, Simon Stewart, discuss this fact, then, in honor of the 25th anniversary of ‘The World is Not Enough,’ they break down that film — and its absolutely-all-time ski scene.

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Watch: The Ski Scene

TOPICS & TIMES:

Why James Bond? (2:22)

The World Is Not Enough (8:04)

Film Factoids (9:56)

Pierce? (13:06)

Most Rewatchable Scenes (24:14)

Ski Scene (27:20)

The Gear (35:31)

Airbag Packs History (40:35)

Best Lines (44:14)

What's Aged The Best? (49:32)

What's Aged The Worst? (50:47)

Not all gorgeous Women Are Crazy? (1:00:55)

Who Needed Blister Plus Most? (1:02:13)

Who Would Be The Cast and Next Bond? (1:07:08)

Memorabilia (1:09:43)

Who Won The Movie? (1:19:00)

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Blister Podcast

Bikes & Big Ideas

GEAR:30

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55 years ago today, the movie ‘Downhill Racer’ came out, and it starred two legendary actors, Robert Redford and Gene Hackman. The film critic Roger Ebert calls this “the greatest sports movie ever made,” and today, Jonathan discusses ‘Downhill Racer’ with one of the greatest American downhillers of all time, Daron Rahlves.

Now normally, our advice is that you should watch the film before listening to our conversation about it, but in the case of ‘Downhill Racer,’ we think that listening to our conversation first might help you appreciate the film even more, and see why Daron Rahlves & Roger Ebert both love it so much.

RELATED LINKS

Get Yourself Covered: BLISTER+

Get Our Winter Buyer’s Guide

TOPICS & TIMES:

Film Overview (5:32)

Robert Redford (11:30)

How Race Courses & Ski Racing Have Changed (16:28)

Memorabilia, Romance, & Heartbreak (31:25)

Gene Hackman (38:02)

Most Rewatchable Scenes (44:04)

Hahnenkamm Downhill (49:08)

Last Scene (57:07)

Best Lines (1:03:05)

Hottest Take Award (1:13:28)

Should the Film Be Remade? (1:16:26)

Who Won the Movie? (1:24:40)

Our Final Grades (1:28:01)

Meeting Up at WC Races in Sun Valley (1:32:10)

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Blister Podcast

Bikes & Big Ideas

GEAR:30

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Jonathan talks with our great friend and longtime Blister reviewer, Paul Forward, about a beautiful new series of three short films about Paul, called The Hard Way. It is presented by Sitka Films, and it delves into Paul’s lifelong passion for traditional bow hunting, and the ethics that guide Paul’s practice.

Paul and Jonathan have talked about some of these topics on various Blister podcasts, and we’ll include a link to those conversations in the show notes of this episode. But today, Paul and Jonathan go behind the scenes of the making of these films, and we flesh out some of the topics related to The Hard Way.

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Ep. 1: ‘The Hard Way’ (3 minutes)

Ep. 2: ‘The Hard Way’ (4 minutes)

Ep. 3: ‘The Hard Way’ (23 minutes)

CRAFTED: Paul Forward on Arrows

CRAFTED: Paul on Traditional Bows

Blister Podcast: Paul on Cooperation Across the Outdoor Industry

GEAR:30: Paul & Jonathan on Pow Skis in AK

TOPICS & TIMES:

How did this film come to be? (3:17)

Solo vs Solo for Filming (10:06)

The Depths of Experience and Hunting Philosophy (24:59)

Risk and O2 Demand (29:40)

Relative Risk vs Absolute Risk (42:13)

Luke Koppa, Mentorship, and Modern Tech (51:07)

Listener Question from Luke: The Hardway? (55:54)

Successfully Unsuccessful (1:12:01)

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Blister Podcast

Bikes & Big Ideas

GEAR:30

CRAFTED

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