Published in SnoWorld, magazine of the 57th annual Warren Miller film tour
YOU MIGHT THINK after 17 combined years on the U.S. Ski Team, a seven-year domination of X Games skiercross, multiple first descents on four continents for their own burgeoning film company, a trip to the Olympics, and three Warren Miller films under their belts that it would be time for the Brothers Crist to slow down. Hardly. SnoWorld caught up with elder brother Reggie after filming in Alaska for Off the Grid.
SnoWorld: You and Zach have accomplished nearly everything a big mountain skier or racer might dream of; why are you still in this?
Reggie Crist: For us it’s what we enjoy doing; and neither of us would be doing it if we didn’t push each other.
SW: Do you have any advice for aspiring stars of Warren Miller movies?
RC: If your true passion’s skiing and you stick with it long enough, then you will be successful. That’s something I can thank my parents for: they understood our passion for skiing. When your ski racing career’s over, most parents say, “It’s time to get a real job, guys,” and you have to buckle down and do something else. One of the coolest things was our parents allowing us to follow our passion for skiing.
SW: What can regular folks do—people who aren’t going to be Olympic caliber athletes, U.S. Ski Team skiers, or movie stars—to get a little piece of that Crist passion for life?
RC: Don’t be afraid to take an alternative route. If you wanna ski groomers your whole life, then that’s—[he’s at a loss for words]—you ski groomers to prepare yourself for the moguls; you ski moguls to prepare yourself for the backcountry; and you ski backcountry to prepare yourself for a first descent. Don’t get stuck on the groomers.
SnoWorld: So what really happens behind the scenes when two brothers film for Warren Miller in Alaska?
Zach Crist: We had fireworks–there were all these munitions laying around the house at all times; it wasn’t uncommon to have a bottle rocket go off inside the house—aimed at you.