There’s no guidebook to adventure, just stories to reminisce upon as you recount the experiences logged, rent free in the mind for a lifetime to come. This year’s double header of winter film tours took the spirit of adventure to heart, starting with the timeless story telling of Warren Miller’s ‘All Time’ as the leaves began to fall and the first breaths of winter brushed our hills in May, and capped off with a mid winter tour of our beloved Aussie Alps during the peak months of July and August for the inaugural Arc’teryx Winter Film Tour. With the INEOS Grenadier as our steadfast companion, we embarked on a journey that wove together the threads of Australia’s snow culture, one stop at a time.
Road trips have a way of revealing truths —not just about the landscapes we traverse, but about the communities we connect with along the way. Connected by the tarmac beneath our wheels, we got to experience the contrasting buzz of pre winter anticipation under city lights against the electric hum of mid winter madness in the heart of our winter snow villages, all from the comfort of the Recaro seats of our brand new Grenadier. We felt like ski bum royalty, rich in the experiences we were receiving along the way.
The Warren Miller Film Tour has always been more than just a ski movie—it’s a celebration. Seventy-five years of storytelling, distilled into one feature, ‘All Time’ felt like a scrapbook of memories, blending Sun Valley nostalgia with Shaun White’s effortless style and the youthful energy of today’s skiers at Woodward Park City. Yet what made the film unforgettable was how it mirrored the audience’s own lives.
Each stop on the tour brought its own energy, a new lesson to learn at every turn. Sydney’s Hayden Orpheum was our launch pad—a grand venue, echoing with the hum of 600+ eager punters, the cinema was brought alive by the onscreen antics. Our road trip was interlaced by our regional hubs: Wollongong, Canberra and Geelong, to name a few, brought with them the intimacy of smaller venues which fostered deeper connections.
Attendees shared with us their own stories at the door, where they started sliding and what they love about the snow – ‘I came to my first Warren Miller film in 1973, even met him once on a ski trip to America and I’ve been coming every year since’ one punter remarked. Every story, a reminder that what we were sharing on the screen has an impact beyond the two allotted hours. It was as though the film reached into their souls, pulling out their favorite memories and casting them on the screen.
The Grenadier was more than a tool—it was part of the story. Its uncompromising design reflected the journey’s unpredictability. Snow? It laughed in the face of it. Long hauls? At the blink of an eye. Like the mountains we visited, this vehicle demanded respect yet offered reassurance. It was built for roads that didn’t promise smoothness, much like the lives of the snow lovers we encountered.
If Warren Miller was the extroverted storyteller, the Arc’teryx Winter Film Tour was the quiet poet. Maven and Convergence didn’t just showcase the mountains; they explored the minds and hearts of those who live for them. The filmmakers, Divya Gordon and Taylor Bennie-Faull, painted landscapes not just of snow but of emotion, resilience, and connection.
At stops like Mt Hotham’s General Store or Falls Creek’s Frying Pan Inn, the conversations lingered long after the credits. It wasn’t just about watching; it was about feeling. A young skier in Jindabyne told me afterward, “I’ve been to these places, but I’ve never seen them like that.” These screenings felt like fireside chats in alpine lodges—intimate, reflective, and ra
What struck me most on this journey wasn’t the destinations. It wasn’t even the stunning visuals on the screen or the nuanced stories shared in Q&As. It was the in-between moments. The laughter of ski bums recounting misadventures while waiting for doors to open, the Grenadier’s engine humming steadily as we drove through misty mountain roads, feeling the pulse of each new community awaiting us.
Road trips have a way of stripping things down to their essentials. They remind us of what matters—connection, resilience, the freedom to roam, and the stories we carry with us. From Melbourne’s Rivoli Cinemas to Bright Brewery, Canberra’s Mont Equipment warehouse and back, every stop on the 7000km journey was a reminder of how snow has carved out a unique culture in Australia. It’s not just sport; it’s a lifestyle, a love affair, a calling.
The beauty of this journey lies not in its finality but in what it promises. Plans for the 2025 Warren Miller 75 and Arc’teryx Winter Film Tours are already taking shape, promising new films, new faces, and the same unwavering spirit. If 2024 was a chapter in a larger story, 2025 feels like a blank page waiting for new adventures to be written.
For those who came to this year’s screenings, thank you for being part of the journey. And for those who missed it, the road will be waiting. The Grenadier will be ready. And in the words of the great Warren Miller “If you don’t do it this year, you will be one year older when you do”.
