Film documents JH Air Force’s crusade against closed boundaries
Wednesday, January 02, 2008
By Brigid Mander
Jacskson Hole, Wyoming - A logjam of skiers and snowboarders chatters along the traverse to the gate that leads to Cody Peak. Skiers make a beeline for the south boundary. Those sporting wax stay high or weave between slower riders, aiming for the exit where some sacrificial lamb is stuck holding the boundary gate open. Their main concern is beating everyone else to their chosen line.
As ingrained as this scene may be in Jackson Hole’s current culture, it was only relatively recently, in 1999, that Jackson Hole Mountain Resort permanently opened its boundary gates. Before that, the area was almost solely the domain of a group known as the Jackson Hole Air Force (JHAF), a band of dedicated skiers that dodged ski patrol, plotted missions, quoted Henry David Thoreau’s “Civil Disobedience” to justify their actions and sometimes even landed in court.
Although things have changed since the JHAF led its stealthy crusade against closed boundaries, their legend, story, and spirit has continued to grow in stature. Now, with a once unthinkable step into the limelight via local filmmaker Jon Klaczkiewicz’ latest project, questions about the elusive group will be answered in “Swift. Silent. Deep. The Movie,” slated to premiere in the fall of 2008.
Ten years ago, when Klaczkiewicz (known to the world as J.K.) arrived in Jackson he heard of the shadowy exploits of the Air Force. “When you are standing in tram line, and you hear this lore, these legends…there is a veil of mystique surrounding it for sure,” he said.
Despite being privy to the scene for years, it took seeing an article about the group in Powder Magazine for Klaczkiewicz to realize that their story could appeal to more than hardcore ski bums. “I started looking seriously into the possibility of film,” he said.
Now, after two years of work, Klaczkiewicz is in the last stages of producing an insider’s history of the development of open gates and the origins of big mountain, no-holds-barred skiing in Jackson Hole.
Founded in 1984 by Howie Henderson and Benny Wilson, the JHAF was a reaction to what the group deemed restrictive and archaic resort policies. Aware that resort boundaries were crossed with ease in other areas, the two men became partners in crime - literally - to ski their chosen terrain. They didn’t do it for the powder, though.
“Back then, it was always blower powder, even inbounds,” laughed Henderson in a recollection sure to inspire the greenest of envy among today’s skiers.
At the time, Henderson had just graduated from the University of Michigan. Wilson was an ex-Marine. After coming of age in the Vietnam era, they were more than ready to challenge authority in order to ski new terrain. They were rebels with a cause - and not a popular one. Other skiers thought they were crazy to hike when there were lifts and even crazier to fling themselves into the fog of avalanche danger that blanketed the backcountry.
“Back when the Air Force mattered,” Henderson said, “people didn’t want it.” Wilson brought the motto of the Marine Reconnaissance Battalions to the ski world, adapting the “Swift. Silent. Deadly” motto to “Swift. Silent. Deep.” The phrase was perfectly tailored to the JHAF’s modus operandi. The diamond-shaped patch Wilson created became the only tangible evidence of the group.
Devious and clever, they dressed in nondescript gear so they could fade from the brightly-colored public scene in order to pursue their poaching. They skirted ski patrol, resort workers, disapproving fellow skiers and Johnny Law. To accomplish their goal without compromising their safety, the group became self-taught in route finding and snow science. Season after season, they skied what they wanted and inadvertently created legend along the way.
“Their passion is what ultimately inspired me to make the film,” Klaczkiewicz said. To tell the group’s story, he assembled an experienced cadre of filmmakers, editors, writers, photographers and publicists. Industry veterans Steve Casimiro, Troy
Beauchamp, Chad Jackson, Becca Scott and Peter Pilafian contributed talent. The project has come a long way on a shoestring budget, and Klaczkiewicz credits hometown apparel company Cloudveil for providing the initial start-up funds.
The film is a “classic American rebel story of pushing barriers,” Klaczkiewicz said. It is character-driven documentary inspired by the passion and devious innovation of its subjects.
Most of the ski footage is archived material, supplied by Henderson, who owned Teton Video at the time, and 16mm footage contributed by Rick Hunt. It captures skiers like Tommy Bartlett, Rick Hunt, John Hunt and Doug Coombs, as well as material contributed from other individual collections.
Local photographers Wade McKoy and Bob Woodall contributed shots from over the years to round out the visuals. Filming wraps this winter, and the movie is slated to premiere next fall.
Reception to the project has been warm from the ski industry, and Klaczkiewicz has a lot of confidence that this story is one that will be appreciated by not just skiers but a larger mainstream audience. “It doesn’t matter if you are in that scene to appreciate this story,” he said. As for Henderson, he is supportive of the movie, but admits that, at first, he was a little baffled by all the hype and interest in the Air Force legacy.
“It was just a bunch of skiers that didn’t give a f*** if patrol hated them.”
Photo: Tom Bartlett and Ty Vanderpool by WADE McKOY/Focusproductions.comPERMALINK:
Film documents JH Air Force’s crusade against closed boundaries | Planet JH News Article: Sports & Recreation
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