Published in SnoWorld, magazine of the 62nd annual Warren Miller film tour
DAD (STEVE) WON SILVER in ’84. Uncle Phil won silver in ’80, gold in ’84. Grampa Spike managed the local ski area. You could say skiing is in Andy Mahre’s blood.
At age 16, Andy Mahre was staffing the White Pass table at local premieres of Warren Miller’s Ride. He’s worked those shows every year since, but now he’s more likely to get mobbed for autographs than for trailmaps.
Tyler Ceccanti joined Andy for this year’s filming. He says: “Andy’s just naturally talented, he makes everything flow really smooth. I grew up watching him in movies; he’s a big reason why I love to ski switch in pow.”
Andy’s advice for aspiring ski movie stars? “You’ve got to stay levelheaded—and motivated.” Yeah, right: levelheaded. Like launching into a narrow chute with loose goggles:
“I was standing above two sets of pillows, with trees on both sides. The plan was to drop in, hit a pillow or two, then gap over to the other set,” recalls Mahre. “My goggles weren’t tight enough and fell over my eyes on the first drop. I had one chance to adjust them … and failed. Luckily I crashed into the pillows and stopped. I felt for a split second I was going to launch into a group of trees, blindfolded.”