MSP’s The Way Out Celebrates Canadian Powder and Skiers

MSP’s 34th Annual Ski Film “The Way Out” features Canadian powder stashes and skiers in a big way, with four British Columbia destinations and 12 Canadian skiers appearing in Matchstick Productions’ new film.

Matchstick Productions returns this fall with its 34th annual ski movie, The Way Out, taking a global crew from Alaska spines and Japanese powder to Switzerland and Norway. But Canada — and particularly British Columbia — has a major presence in the film.

Of the eight destinations featured by MSP, four are in BC:

Whistler, BC — backyard Coast Mountain terrain and one of freeskiing’s longtime proving grounds.

CMH Monashees Lodge, BC — deep Interior BC powder in the Monashee Mountains.

Mike Wiegele Heli-Skiing, BC — the legendary Blue River heli-ski operation and its massive tenure in the Monashees and Cariboos.

Northern Escape Heli-Skiing, Terrace, BC — big Northwest BC mountains, deep coastal snow and serious alpine terrain.

That puts half of The Way Out’s featured destinations in British Columbia. The international locations are Haines, Alaska; Myoko, Japan; Arolla, Switzerland; and Hemmelig, Norway.

Canadian Skiers in The Way Out

The athlete roster is just as Canadian, with 12 skiers connected to Canada’s Western mountain scene:

Mark Abma — Pemberton/Whistler, BC
Chris Rubens — Revelstoke, BC
Eric “Hoji” Hjorleifson — Canmore, Alberta
Logan Pehota — Pemberton, BC
Lucy Leishman — Nelson, BC
Janelle Yip — Revelstoke, BC
Marcus Goguen — Whistler, BC
Dylan Siggers — Fernie, BC
Alex Armstrong — Squamish, BC
Jonathan Rollins — Rossland, BC
Sam Kuch — Nelson, BC
Adam Kuch — Nelson/Whitewater, BC

It’s a strong cross-section of Canadian freeskiing, from veterans Abma, Rubens and Hoji to a newer generation including Goguen, Leishman, Rollins and Adam Kuch. MSP’s complete film roster includes 26 skiers, putting Canadians close to half of the talent in the movie.

The BC roots run deep. Logan Pehota grew up skiing the Pemberton backcountry, Marcus Goguen came through Whistler’s freeride scene, Dylan Siggers grew up freeride skiing in Fernie, Jonathan Rollins is a product of Rossland and RED Mountain, while Sam and Adam Kuch come out of Nelson and Whitewater.

MSP describes The Way Out as a film about the culture and lifestyle of skiing rather than simply another collection of big lines. For Canadian powder skiers, there should be plenty that feels close to home.

The film will be heading heading out on the annual Matchstick film tour soon, details here.