Page 66 - Flathead Beacon // 2.19.14

66 | FEBRUARY 19, 2014 SPORTS
FLATHEADBEACON.COM

LURCHING FROM ONE
NEAR DISASTER TO ANOTHER. Warren Miller
Knee-Deep Powder

A
S I’VE SAID MANY TIMES, dations for all of them and handles 200
when I produced my irst ski customers a week with an annual gross

movie, there were fewer than 15 income in excess of $25 million.
chairlifts in the world. Everyone who While Mike was skiing here at the
went in the ski business during the fol- Yellowstone Club last week he talked
lowing 25 years was a real innovator. about what he might do next. He talked
One of those innovators was an Austrian a lot about building a resort at a place he
named Mike Wiegele, who talked his fa- calls Eight Peaks. He wants to ofer skiing
ther into a plane ticket from Austria to in helicopters, snow cats and chairlifts.

Canada. Mike never returned home.
During his visit here, Mike said,
I irst met Mike when he was teach- “When I wrote that letter years ago, in-
ing at the Sugar Bowl in 1962 when he viting you to ilm helicopter skiing in
skied for my camera in knee-deep Don- Blue River, I sent that same letter to the
ner Summit powder snow.
other ive or six ski ilmmakers and you
From California, Mike went to Banf were the only one who responded.” Thus
in Alberta, Canada, were he ran the ski began a 45-year friendship.
school until he decided he would ski in At the age of 75, with a 14-year-old

the Canadian Rockies west of Banf using hip replacement, he is still out skiing and
helicopters instead chairlifts.
guiding his helicopter operation in Brit-
Fast forward to the spring 1969. I was ish Columbia.
inishing up the Jean Claude Killy, 13- Mike used to guarantee a 100,000
week television series with 40 employ- vertical feet of skiing in a week. When fat
ees and a client who refused to pay me skis were invented that amount of ski-
for what he had promised.
ing almost doubled overnight and price

When I returned home from Europe adjustments had to be made. Everyone I
one of the many letters I had received know has a wish or bucket list. Put Mike’s
was a note from Mike Wiegele inviting name on your list because I have never
me to come up and ride in his helicopter heard of anyone who has come back from
at no charge. I had been away from home a week of skiing with him that was disap-
for two months and, as I was dead broke pointed.
and frantic, I sent one of my best camera- About 30 years or so ago when he was
men at the time, Rod Allin.
building his base of operation for his re-

Mike only had 13 customers that en- sort, I produced a movie for him called
tire winter and he jammed them all to- “Seven days in paradise.” My closing
gether while Rod Allin was there so he statement in that ilm so many years ago
would have skiers to ilm. When I saw has been repeated in a lot of my stories or
some of the footage Rod shot, I phoned advice. All I said was, “If you don’t do it
him and told him to stay as long as Mike this year you will be one year older when
would ly him around and he still had you do.”
some unexposed ilm.
I’ve used that statement many years
When Rod’s footage of Mike was seen at the end of my movies, but I wonder
by my audiences the next fall, the ski ilm how many missed experiences there are
business was changed forever. The foot- in your life because you didn’t hear this
age was outstanding.
advice until you saw one of my shows?
Today Mike has 11 helicopters lying Remember, it is Mike Wiegele heli-
out of his Blue River headquarters and copter skiing in Blue River, British Co-
he now has 240 employees, accommo-
lumbia. You won’t regret it.

For more of Warren’s wanderings go to www.warrenmiller.net or visit him on his Face-
book page at facebook.com/warrenmiller. For information on his Foundation, please
visit the Warren Miller Freedom Foundation, at www.warrenmiller.org.

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