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Endless Winter

The legacy of Warren Miller Entertainment

Warren Miller's ski film "No Turning Back" pays homage to the 65 years of mountain culture and adventure filmmaking that has taken the legendary filmmaker around the world. Photo courtesy of Warren Miller's "No Turning Back"

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You may not recognize the name of retired filmmaker Warren Miller, but chances are high you've seen some of his work. Starting in 1950 with his debut documentary feature, Deep and Light, Miller shot a new nonfiction film about skiing and/or snowboarding every year for 54 years. He captured some of the most dramatic winter sports footage of all time. He then narrated his films, live, to appreciative audiences in more than 130 cities, often in cinemas close to ski resorts. Miller retired to Orcas Island in 2004, but still writes and cruises Puget Sound on his 47-foot Bayliner yacht. Well, he's earned it.

Meanwhile, the production company he founded decades ago is still going strong, albeit with no direct participation from Miller himself. The company's latest film, No Turning Back, was shot and produced by cinematographer Josh Haskins, working closely with ski racer Chris Anthony. It follows a cadre of elite snowboarders and skiers from Montana to Mount Olympus. (Yes, Greece has an actual Mount Olympus. It rises to 9570 feet. Opa!) The film takes stunning side trips to Norway, the Swiss Alps, Chugach Mountain peaks in Alaska and deep powder in Niseka, Japan. World-class athletes make the slopes look fairly easy, but even reaching some of these exotic locations can be daunting. Despite these difficulties, Haskins and his crew have done it again: they've immortalized feats of human daring and athleticism by freezing breakneck action into slow-motion glory.

If you're a winter athlete, you owe it to yourself to take in a screening of No Turning Back, especially a WME feature that arrives with extra goodies. Everyone who attends a screening receives a gift collection with a discount voucher at REI, a two-for-one lift ticket to Stevens Pass, lift tickets to Mission Ridge and White Pass, and additional vouchers for Big White, Red Mountain, Silver Star, Sun Peaks and Whitefish resorts. As if that weren't enough, screenings will feature drawings for ski gear, winter vacations and other valuable prizes. "It's not just a film," WME's press release promises, "it's an experience."

So, as the title of Miller's 1957 effort inquired, Anyone for Skiing?

NO TURNING BACK, 6:30 and 9:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 14, Washington Center for the Performing Arts, 512 Washington St. SE, Olympia, $19, 360.753.8585

NO TURNING BACK, 6 and 9 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 15, Pantages Theater, 901 Broadway, Tacoma, $21, 253.591.5894

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