Nick McNutt‘s Ski Bum Story

Nick McNutt‘s ski bum story is one of the best. After ten years of dirtbagging it, Nick became a big-name pro skier and one of the faces of TGR movies.

When Nick moved to Whistler at 17, he quickly became the skier other skiers were talking about because of his huge switch landings…something that wasn’t too common back in the day. While he filmed with smaller production companies, Teton Gravity Research’s 100K Collab contest was the thing that changed his life…and he didn’t even win.

The Powell Movement podcast talks about his journey to pro skierdom, getting buried in an avalanche with a faulty beacon, the aftermath, and much more. One of Nick’s oldest, loose-cannon friends asks the Inappropriate Questions!

Self-made ski film star Nick McNutt was a humble, hardworking carpenter that stood out for his unmatched ability to land and ski switch in powder, nosebutter any surface, treetap against the laws of physics and piece together creative pillow lines with super smooth style.

Nick grew up in Kimberley mostly skiing the park on a pair of carving skis that he and his dad turned to twin tips with a heat gun. When he moved to Whistler at age 17, Nick bought his first pair of powder skis, a snowmobile and started spinning off pillows and backcountry booters, landing mostly switch and taking a million falls along the way.

He’d work all at job sites all summer and fall to take winters off, skiing more than 100 days a year and sledding as much as he could. At 25, after a POV edit racked up nearly 40,000 views on Vimeo, he entered TGR’s 100K Collab contest, came in runner-up and secured an invite to film with the company through a late-night game of pool with its founders.

His first film segment in TGR’s “Almost Ablaze” earned him Rookie of the Year at the IF3 International Freeski Film Festival and Breakthrough Performer at the 2014 Powder Awards. Powder magazine said the rookie skied with the versatility and creativity of a seasoned veteran. He’s also been nominated for “Best Powder” and is a three-time nominee for “Best Male Performer”. Nick narrates the 2018 film “Far Out”, in which he overcomes many obstacles in Albania’s Valbona Valley.

When he’s not skiing, Nick climbs, plays guitar, mountain bikes and XX.

Accomplishments:
– if3 Awards Rookie of the Year (2014)
– Video parts in TGR’s The Co-Lab, Almost Ablaze, Tight Loose, and Paradise Waits
– Video part in Valhalla’s Sweetgrass
– Powder Awards Breakthrough Performer
– Powder Awards Best Powder
– Three-time nomination for Powder Award’s Best Male Performer