Click to share thisClick to share thisLegend of Aahhh’s
Ski filmmaker Greg Stump talks island fever, procrastination, and hot girls
By Emily Stifler Explorebigsky.com Managing Editor
Greg Stump left an indelible mark on the ski industry. His films are cult classics, and some, like “Blizzard of Aahhh’s,” “Groove Requiem” and “Ptex, Lies and Duct Tape,” are worth watching many times over.
A 15-year-old in a 51-year-old body, Stump can pull off lewd and classy in the same sentence.
His long-awaited new film, “Legend of Aahhh’s,” is a look into the history of the ski film history. Told in Stump’s unique, quirky and insightful manner, it’s the story behind the story, according to ski legend Scot Schmidt.
“If you like Greg Stump movies you’ll love this one,” Schmidt says.
----------------
Q+A
Emily Stifler: Where did you learn to ski?
Greg Stump: I grew up in Gorham, Maine and learned to ski on the old railroad bed behind our house. Dad got us wooden Penguin skis and we slid down the slight hill of maybe 15 feet. The next summer, I piled up old rail ties to increase the vertical. The local Kiwanis Club ran a rope tow in Gorham with 150 feet of vertical and lights, where we skied at night.
ES: Tell me about your career in the ski industry.
GS: I was national freestyle champion in ‘78, and North American champ in ’79. Then I started skiing for Dick Barrymore. [Skiing] for him in “Vagabond Skiers” in 1979, I saw filmmaking could be a one-person show… that was it. I had the bug.
I started making ski movies in 1983, but I haven’t made a feature film since “Fistful of Moguls” in ‘99. It got too dangerous.
[When] I was with Craig Kelly and Scot Schmidt in Russia, we just escaped getting killed by avalanches two or three times. Then we had another close call at Island Lake Lodge in Canada. I heard Scot and Craig over the radio, scared. I’m not a church-going person, but at that point I made a pact with God, Allah and the Goddess. I said, ‘If you get these two guys off this ledge safely, I quit.’ And that was it.
ES: What’s up with your new film, “Legend of Aahhh’s?”
GS: It’s a historical look at the ski film industry from the ‘30s to the present, with a big emphasis on “Blizzard of Aahhh’s” and “License to Thrill”— kind of like “Dog Town and Z Boys” or “Riding Giants,” but for skiing. Originally I was going to call it “Snow White Trash” and make it more autobiographical. It’s still a thinly disguised memoir. It’s pretty weird making a movie about yourself.
ES: Is it a ski movie?
GS: There’s skiing in it, but it’s not ski porn. I think it’s intelligent and whimsical. It’s sexy. Funny when it’s supposed to be funny, sad when it’s supposed to be sad. I sold it to a distributor in Hollywood that does boutique edgy rock and roll type movies and have had clients like the Grateful Dead and Rush.
ES: What was it like shooting with Schmidt in Chamonix?
GS: We were running hot during “Blizzard of Aahhh’s.” The guaranteed way to make a bluebird sunny day is to party hard the night before.
ES: Where do you live?
GS: In Victor, Idaho. I lived in Whistler in the ‘90s then moved to Maui in 2000. I moved my studio there and went 13 months with no shoes. I commuted to Hollywood to direct crazy stuff like Super Bowl commercials.
Eventually I got island fever, so I drove around the west looking for a place I could afford. It was either a 400 square foot apartment in Aspen for $400,000, or eight acres with Teton views and a crazy studio.
ES: What are you working on now?
GS: Procrastination. I’m working on a presentation on an infomercial I’m making with a scientist from the Steadman Philippon Research Institute in Vail. It’s about Opedix Compression Tights, pants that look like long underwear but have built-in bio-mechanical wraps to simulate muscles in the leg and keep the knees aligned. They reduce quad fatigue by 40 percent. And of course [producing music videos] with Lukas Nelson and Promise of the Real.
ES: Do you consider yourself an artist?
GS: I didn’t until I was about 35. Then I went, ‘what the f*** am I?’ I said, ‘just relax, you’re an artist.’ I’m definitely on my game as far as editing. That’s my passion—working post-production. I love live [music] performance movies. I’m a decent writer, a pretty good narrator, and I can hold a camera.
ES: Do you still ski?
GS: I haven’t been skiing much. Working on the film the last three years was pretty heavy duty. And I hurt my knee about three years ago. I had Dr. Steadman do an ACL graft on my left knee last April. So perhaps this year…
Besides, I lived in Whistler for a decade, and I could walk to the lift. Whistler is like the French Alps. No offense to Targhee or Jackson, but they’re kind of boring compared to Whistler. I can see Targhee from my house but it’s still 45 minutes away. I’d rather read a book or go cross-country skiing than drive to go skiing.
ES: Have you skied in Montana?
GS: I skied [and filmed] in the Bridgers in 1990, when we snow-catted in with Lonnie Ball. I’ve never skied Big Sky, but enjoyed the Yellowstone Club. Montana had a lot of nice people. I had a blast in Big Sky. What’s that bar called… the Blank Stare?
ES: When are you going to show “Legend” in Big Sky?
[I’m working with this] major theatrical distribution company now, and it’s in their hands. I’m sure they’ll do Big Sky, and if they don’t I’ll come up there myself.
ES: How’s your love life?
GS: I’m dating a drop-dead gorgeous 30-year-old. The cutest girl I’ve ever met. I’ve gone out with some beautiful women, and this one takes the cake. I met her in Hawaii, and we were friends for years. She doesn’t ski and doesn’t want kids. It’s fantastic.
ES: What’s with Baron Von Stumpy—is that a nickname?
GS: I’m self-anointed royalty. Shouldn’t everybody be? Maybe not… nobility would get so crowded.
This story was first published in the Winter 2011/12 issue of Mountain Outlaw magazine.
