Island Lake Cat Skiing, Fernie B.C.

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    Island Lake · In print & on screen

    Documenting a
    Legendary Place

    Long before the first social feed, there were magazine covers, film premieres and stories passed between skiers. Island Lake was in the frame. From Greg Stump, Scot Schmidt and Craig Kelly to the crews of today, this valley became one of the early homes of modern adventure ski filmmaking.

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    A skier turning through powder between the trees at Island Lake
    Island Lake, British Columbia · On the edge of wild.

    01 / The collection

    Cover stories.

    Before you ever skied here, you may have had us on your wall. Twenty covers from the Island Lake archive.

    Powder — December 1993 magazine cover
    PowderDecember 1993
    Onboard — Issue 2, February/March 1995 magazine cover
    OnboardIssue 2, February/March 1995
    TransWorld Snowboarding — January 1998 magazine cover
    TransWorld SnowboardingJanuary 1998
    Powder — November 1993 magazine cover
    PowderNovember 1993
    White Lines — February 1996 magazine cover
    White LinesFebruary 1996
    Warren Miller's Snoworld — Fall 1998 magazine cover
    Warren Miller's SnoworldFall 1998
    Explore all 20 magazine covers
    Bay Street Bull — Vol. 6 No. 5 magazine cover
    Bay Street BullVol. 6 No. 5
    Chillfactor magazine cover
    Chillfactor
    Fall Line — Issue 27 magazine cover
    Fall LineIssue 27
    Powder — September 1996 — 1997 Buyer's Guide magazine cover
    PowderSeptember 1996 — 1997 Buyer's Guide
    Snowboard Canada — Winter 2003 magazine cover
    Snowboard CanadaWinter 2003
    Ski Canada — December 1998 magazine cover
    Ski CanadaDecember 1998
    Ski Canada — March 1995 magazine cover
    Ski CanadaMarch 1995
    Snowboard Canada magazine cover
    Snowboard Canada
    Snowboard Life magazine cover
    Snowboard Life
    Snowboarder — March/April 1996 magazine cover
    SnowboarderMarch/April 1996
    TransWorld Snowboarding — October 1995 magazine cover
    TransWorld SnowboardingOctober 1995
    TransWorld Snowboarding — September 1996 — 1996–1997 Buyer's Guide magazine cover
    TransWorld SnowboardingSeptember 1996 — 1996–1997 Buyer's Guide
    TransWorld Snowboarding — November 1996 magazine cover
    TransWorld SnowboardingNovember 1996
    Snowing — May 1997 magazine cover
    SnowingMay 1997

    Select a cover to see the original. Cover artwork belongs to its publishers and photographers.

    02 / The collection

    A place in ski-film history.

    From the 16mm era to modern mountain cinema. A selection of films with Island Lake in the picture.

    In the early 1990s, filmmakers came looking for deep snow and found something more: a mountain community, extraordinary characters and terrain that kept them coming back.

    Meet the people behind the legend
    1. 1994

      Greg Stump

      P-Tex, Lies & Duct Tape

      Scot Schmidt, Craig Kelly and a valley coming into its own. Stump’s Island Lake shoot helped put this place into ski-film history.

      Apple TV
    2. 1996

      Greg Stump

      Siberia

      After the Siberian expedition, the crew returned to Island Lake to finish filming with Scot Schmidt and Craig Kelly.

      Filmmaker’s store
    3. 1996

      Matchstick Productions

      Fetish

      A 16mm journey through the Alps, Alaska and Island Lake’s deep snow, from the early days of Matchstick Productions.

      Watch at Matchstick
    4. 2000

      Warren Miller Entertainment

      Ride

      Island Lake joins the mountain destinations in Warren Miller’s globe-spanning celebration of life on snow.

      Apple TV
    5. 2002

      Teton Gravity Research

      The Prophecy

      Scot Schmidt shows the TGR crew around Island Lake in a film connecting freeskiing’s pioneers with its next generation.

      Teton Gravity Research
    6. 2011

      Sherpas Cinema

      All.I.Can.

      Island Lake is among the locations in Sherpas Cinema’s ambitious meeting of mountain filmmaking and environmental storytelling.

      Apple TV
    7. 2013

      An Island Lake documentary

      The Lines of Legends

      Twenty-five years in twenty-two minutes: the people, big lines and pursuit of freedom that shaped Island Lake.

      Apple TV
    8. 2016

      Teton Gravity Research

      Tight Loose

      Nick McNutt, Dash Longe, Tim Durtschi and Dane Tudor bring a new generation of skiing to the Island Lake film archive.

      Teton Gravity Research

    Years indicate film releases. Links open the filmmaker’s page or viewing options; availability varies by region.

    03 / The collection

    The small screen. Big country.

    Mountain stories, television specials and visits from familiar faces.

    Discovery · Bear Grylls

    Man vs. Wild

    The Canadian Rockies episode brings a different kind of mountain adventure to the Island Lake story.

    Episode on Apple TV

    Sherpas Cinema · TV special · 2011

    The Balance of Powder

    A powder-filled look at Island Lake and Mica, with footage from the making of All.I.Can.

    Watch the film

    Island Lake TV feature · 2014

    Freeride Media

    A visit to Island Lake from the lodge’s television archive.

    Watch on Vimeo

    Island Lake feature · 2014

    Ski TV

    The January 2014 feature from the original press collection.

    Watch on YouTube

    Island Lake · TV special · 2016

    Winter of Our Content

    Filmed entirely at Island Lake and narrated by Chuck Ragan, with the TGR crew exploring the terrain.

    Watch on YouTube

    04 / The collection

    Worth writing home about.

    Selected features from the people who came here, made a few turns and found a story.

    More from the press archive

    05 / The collection

    Stories from Island Lake.

    From our side of the lens: the people, days and details that make this place our own.