For those of you who were watching Super Bowl XI, you may have seen that Michelob Ultra commercial starring Kurt Russel during the first quarter. What you may not know is that it was actually shot right here at Snowbird, earlier this season. While this might seem like a cool, one-off thing, there have actually been  quite a few other commercials and movies that have been filmed here that are pretty well known (or not). I’ve decided to rank them for you all out of the kindness of my heart. These rankings are based on my personal opinions, not on ratings or reviews, so if you disagree, feel free to write me a message about why you think I’m wrong and send it to totally-real-email@snowbird.com. I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.

Movies:

1. Wind River
   First off on the list is Wind River, starring Jeremy Renner and Elizabeth Olsen. This was Taylor Sheridan’s directorial debut and was widely recognized, winning 17 awards and receiving 27 nominations, including the Un Certain Regard Best Director award at the Cannes Film Festival. I'm personally a huge fan of his work and thoroughly enjoyed this film. Set on a remote Wyoming reservation, Wind River follows a U.S. Fish and Wildlife tracker (Renner) and an inexperienced FBI agent (Olsen) as they investigate a murder of a Native American woman on the Wind River Indian Reservation in brutal winter conditions. This film delves into some pretty harsh topics and themes, highlighting the vulnerability that many indigenous women and their communities face and the injustices that tend to be overlooked or forgotten. It certainly isn’t an easy watch at times, but is incredibly compelling nonetheless. Most of the movie’s climax near the end was shot at Hidden Peak, and there’s a great frame of Renner with the Pipeline chute clearly visable right behind him. Wind River can be watched on Netflix.

   My Rating: The movie equivalent of skiing in a no fall zone, not easy, but absolutely demands your attention the whole time, and is something you soon won’t forget. 

    

   

    

2. Better Off Dead
   At the number two spot is a classic teen comedy, Better Off Dead. It stars John Cusack as Lane Meyer, a California high schooler who is just a bit too obsessed with his girlfriend. He tries out for his high school ski team and when fails to qualify after a race down K-12, his girlfriend leaves him. He becomes emotionally distraught and starts making half-hearted suicide attempts, embarrasing himself further. A French exchange student moves in across the street, who he starts to fall for, and she changes his outlook on life. This movie overall features quite a few scenes at Snowbird, most notably with Great Scott being used as the trail K-12. There are also a few scenes shot around Gad Valley. My favorite (and most ridiculous) scene though, has to be when the paper boy is chasing Meyer down the hill during the climax on a bike yelling “I want my two dollars!”, and then goes flying off a massive cliff (the Hellgate Cliff across the road). If you’ve ever heard someone make that quip, this is the movie they’re referring to. Unfortunately, Better Off Dead isn't free anywhere on streaming currently, but can be rented on Apple TV and Prime Video.

   My Rating: Feels like skiing with your friends as a teenager: chaotic, hilarious and somehow the most important thing at the time. 

    

   

    

3. Ski Patrol
   Third on the list is a 90’s low budget comedy, Ski Patrol. If you call yourself a Snowbird skier, you should watch this at least once. I won’t lie, it can be pretty ridiculous at times, but it’s a funny and purely entertaining watch nontheless. Set at the fictional resort, “Snowy Peaks,” the plot centers on a shady businessman, who teams up with some ski school lackeys in an attempt to take control of the resort from its owner. Their plan hinges on using the ski patrol’s nonstop shenanigans as evidence to revoke the mountain’s lease, but the patrol fights back and chaos ensues. A large portion of the movie is shot at Snowbird, with some pretty solid movie skiing throughout. Watching some of the ski scenes made me laugh as a lot of them were runs that are impossible to ski in one line, but editied together to look like one run. It would cut from Great Scott, to Lower Regulator, to Fluffy Bunny to Who Dunnit all in one run. The end of the movie also features the old Mid-Gad restaurant which was fun to see again. The moonwalking bit during Stanley’s dance scene also got a pretty good laugh out of me. If you’re looking for some goofy humor and a bit of nostalgia, Ski Patrol is a good one, and can be found on AMC+.

   My Rating: Feels like drinking too many beers at après – dumb, but a great time. 

    

    

    

4. Mountainhead
   At the number four spot is Mountainhead, a satire that came out this past year on HBO Max. Mountainhead stars Steve Carell, Ramy Youssef, Cory Michael Smith and Jason Schwartzman as four mega-rich and influential “friends” (watch it and you’ll get it) who meet up at one of their mountain retreats, Mountainhead. It was written and directed by Jesse Armstrong, who also did the show Succession. I personally really enjoyed Succession, so I was fairly disappointed overall when I watched Mountainhead. Succession did a great job blending drama and satire and had me both laughing out loud and on the edge of my seat. As Mountainhead fits into a similar niche, I was expecting the same, but this did neither for me. Most of the movie was just four mega rich guys talking and plotting in a mountainside mansion while stuff happens on the news. I will say, it was a pretty good commentary on some of the things that have been happening lately and it is pretty easy to imagine some of the characters as real people. Mountainhead was mostly shot at a real house at Deer Valley, which you can actually rent out, and it does look as wild as it did in the movie. However the scene that puts this movie on this list would be the one where the four snowmobile up to the ridgeline and each write their networth on their chest. That was filmed on Gorilla Pass, which is right at the beginning of the High Baldy bootpack. This was overall a decent watch, but really nothing special. Mountainhead can be found on HBO Max.

   My Rating: Feels like skiing groomers on a powder day, kind of boring and you could have had a better time doing something else. 

    

    

    

5. 6 below: Miracle on the Mountain
   At the bottom of the list, we’ve got 6 Below: Miracle on the Mountain. This was … certainly a movie of all time. Based on the true story of Eric LeMarque (played by Josh Hartnet) who was a former professional hockey player who became addicted to drugs. He goes on a trip to Mammoth Mountain (left unspecified in the movie), and gets lost after going off into the sidecountry when a storm rolls in. He spends 8 days surviving in the wilderness battling  withdrawals, the freezing cold, wolves and starvation while having flashbacks of his life. The plot might sound interesting, but it just wasn’t. I found myself bored while watching, there was a lot of bad acting, and it was cringeworthy at times. This is the kind of movie that you’d only watch because there wasn’t anything else playing on a sad cable tv at a low-budget motel you stayed at once. The movie ends with the real Eric LeMarque giving what is supposed to be an inspirational speech to a group of youth hockey players, which was terrible, and probably the most cringeworthy moment of the whole movie. The majority of the inbounds shots were filmed at Snowbird, with the old Aerial Tram making an appearance. Other shots included the top station of Peruvian Express which was seen from Hidden Peak, as well as the Powderbird Heliport, which doubled as the Ski Patrol headquarters. The surrounding mountains in the Wasatch were used for many of the shots in the backcountry when he was lost. I’ll be honest, this is not one I’d recommend to anyone, but can be found on the Roku Channel.

   My Rating: The movie equivalent of spending multiple hours in the red snake and then turning around because the canyon closed.

    

   

Commercials: 

1. Michelob ULTRA | The ULTRA Instructor ft. Kurt Russell, Lewis Pullman, Chloe Kim, & TJ Oshie  
   Naturally, the Michelob ULTRA commercial lands the top spot on the list as it was aired during the Super Bowl, and is also the most entertaining on the list. Featuring Snowbird athlete Dillon Flinders as “Greg’s” stunt double, this one is pretty cool. 

    

2. Prada | Prada Linea Rossa Ski featuring Gus Kenworthy and Julia Marino
   Promoting Prada’s ski line, Linea Rossa, this ad features Gus Kenworthy and Julia Marino doing some sick skiing and snowboarding around Snowbird, with closeup shots of the outerwear.
    

3. Subaru | Make Tracks: Snowbird and Woodward Park City
   Of course, Subaru had to make the list, being one of our favorite and beloved partners as they were running a promotion in conjunction with Woodward Park City that gives you a free 5 day pass with every purchase of a new Subaru.

    

Honorable Mentions:

• Snowbird | Snowbird Sunshine 1972 Promo - Powder Skiing & Snowboarding
  I’m giving this an honorable mention because even though it’s a comercial for Snowbird, it’s the original commercial, filmed back in 1972. It highlights many of the resort’s amenities and the quality of skiing. You can see this one played on a loop on the TV’s at SeventyOne in The Cliff.

   

• KIDZ BOP Kids | Sorry (Official Music Video) [KIDZ BOP 31]
  Yeah, that's right, they filmed a Kidz Bop music video here, right on the Plaza Deck and Skiers Bridge. You didn't know it, but every day you walk through there, you walk on hallowed ground. 

• Backstreet Boys | I'll Never Break Your Heart (Snow Version)

  So for some reason, they did two versions of this music video, and the the Snow Version as it's called, was filmed here at Snowbird. This version was made to be released in Europe as they thought it'd do better than the other one made for US release. 

   

• S2 E6 How Did They Fix That? | Snowbird Ski Resort

  This was a pretty cool episode of "How Did They Fix That?". They go into depth on the day-to-day operations of the resort, from avalanche mitigation, to grooming, to vehicle maintenance, and more. See how many of your favorite Snowbird employees you can spot across the episode. The episode can be found on Paramount+.