Lake Louise Ski Cinema

The steep terrain and alpine exposure of Lake Louise Ski Resort, within Banff National Park, have served as a primary crucible for action sports media in North America. A critical inflection point occurred in the late 1980s and early 1990s, when a raw, localized filmmaking aesthetic bridged the “ski bum” subculture and professional distribution; establishing Alberta on the freeskiing map.

Real Action Pictures (RAP Films). Calgary-based Real Action Pictures, founded in 1988 by Jon Long and James Angrove, departed from the traditional centres of ski film production in the United States. RAP identified a cultural energy among Bow Valley skiers dissatisfied with competitive racing; by establishing a production hub in Calgary, Long and Angrove provided a consistent platform for Lake Louise athletes in the burgeoning home-video market. Annual feature-length releases; from 1988 until approximately 1998; were narrative explorations of winter culture rather than stunt compilations.

The Snow Zone trilogy. RAP’s most significant contribution to the ski film canon is the Snow Zone trilogy: Into the Snow Zone (1989), Return to the Snow Zone (1990), and Tales From the Snow Zone (1991). These films established a “Canadian trio” of athletes; Trevor Petersen, Eric Pehota, and Kirk Jensen; who became synonymous with backcountry exploration. Carving the White (1993) featured Terje Håkonsen and Shaun Palmer; It’s the Source (1993) famously included Adam Yauch (MCA) of the Beastie Boys. Snow Drifters (1995) and Burning Winter (1996) showcased Andrew Sheppard and Shane McConkey. The transition from 16mm film to VHS allowed RAP to reach a global audience, solidifying Lake Louise as a destination for high-consequence freeskiing.

Andrew Sheppard and Kirk Jensen. Two local athletes dominated the RAP era: Andrew Sheppard and Kirk Jensen. Sheppard; a former racer who met Long at Lake Louise in the late 1980s; combined technical precision with big-mountain line selection; his mentorship bridged the VHS era and the modern professional scene. Jensen’s backcountry segments in the Snow Zone trilogy articulated a vision of the Canadian Rockies that was rugged, unpolished, and intensely technical. Both were described as “ruling the hill” between shoots, embodying a “dirtbag” professionalism that prioritized mountain mastery over commercial gain.

Terrain and filming. Lake Louise offers topographical variety suited to action sports cinematography; the groomed front side versus the steep Back Bowls, the ER-7 chutes for technical steeps, and alpine exposure for scenic vistas. RAP founder Jon Long highlighted the convenience of shooting at Lake Louise, where steep powder could be accessed via lifts rather than helicopters, enabling high production volume.

Succession: MSP and Sherpas Cinema. Eric Hjorleifson (“Hoji”); born in Canmore and mentored by Sheppard at Lake Louise; bridged the RAP era and Matchstick Productions (MSP). His debut segment in MSP’s 2004 Yearbook catapulted him to prominence; MSP releases such as The Stomping Grounds (2021) continue to feature Lake Louise and Rockies terrain. Sherpas Cinema, a Bow Valley production company, introduced a high-art sensibility in films like All.I.Can (2011) and Into the Mind (2013). Their 2017 collaboration Look Up, with spoken word artist Shane Koyczan, framed Lake Louise, Sunshine, and Norquay as a “visual and audio love note” to Banff National Park; shifting from raw punk energy toward contemplative, conservation-minded narrative.

Freshtival and preservation. Freshtival, launched in Calgary in 2003 by Steve Saranchuk, became the region’s first major ski movie festival; a venue for MSP, Poor Boyz, and TGR premieres and a seasonal heartbeat for the community RAP had documented. In 2011 James Angrove announced a project to remaster the RAP Films library, preserving the only professional-grade footage of certain first descents and early extreme manoeuvres in the Canadian Rockies. The remastered Snow Zone trilogy and Snow Drifters ensure the “soul of winter” as captured by Jon Long remains accessible to future generations.