“Off The Grid” not on target.

“Off The Grid” not on target.

By Wendy Clinch •  Updated: 11/24/06 •  2 min read

Not for me, anyway.

Oh, I know I’m not the target audience. I think that’s mostly 20 year old males. But like any ski-obsessed fool, I recently found myself among the crowd at the Lebanon Opera House in Lebanon, New Hampshire, sitting through countless commercials, waiting for the new Warren Miller movie to begin.

For a ski-starved audience — the season hasn’t really taken off in New England — a Warren Miller movie is just what the doctor ordered. Everyone is so ready, so willing to appreciate anything ski-related that’s up on the screen. I know I am.

And though it was fun, I just wish I liked it better. I mean, it really got me psyched for skiing (as if I need any more of that!). And I love to see the exotic locales (the segment on Kashmir was great). And though I respect the aerialists, after awhile it all looks the same (why would you want to ski off a 250 ft cliff? Yes, you read that right — a 250 foot cliff. The same height as a 20 story building. Aside from skiing off the cliff, there’s very little skiing involved. So what’s the point?)

I know — I sound like an old stick in the mud. But I do enjoy watching technically great skiing; the kind that makes me wish I could rewind the film so I could track what they’re doing and learn something. And there was a considerable amount of that in the film. The skiing is truly outstanding. If I could ski anywhere near like the people in the film, I’d think I’d died and gone to heaven.

I’m sure I’ll go see next year’s Warren Miller movie, too. I’m a sucker for this sort of thing. I just wish “Off The Grid’ was a little bit more on target — at least for me.

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