The stoke starts long before the first chair spins. You can feel it building around the mountain as summer fades and the first hints of winter creep in. After months of trading skis and boards for bikes, boots for trail runners, and goggles for sunnies, we’re officially entering the home stretch.
Now comes the hard part: waiting.
The days get shorter, the air gets crisper, and suddenly every cloud has us wondering if it could be the one. We’re cross-referencing El Niño forecasts, digging through old ski photos, and counting down the days until Earth’s greatest substance starts falling from the sky.
So, how do we cope? Ski and snowboard films, of course. Between now and Opening Day, an abundance of films are hitting the big screen at Palisades and around Tahoe. From big-name productions to homegrown projects featuring local crews and familiar faces, there are plenty of ways to get psyched for the season ahead.
Explore the ski and snowboard films coming to a theater, event center, or bar near you, and let the fall froth begin.
Teton Gravity Research: Actually, It Is Rocket Science
Sunday, October 4th, 2026
For more than 30 years, Teton Gravity Research has been redefining ski and snowboard filmmaking, and its latest film, Actually, It Is Rocket Science, takes that legacy to new heights. Expect mind-bending lines, massive airs, breathtaking cinematography, and the world’s best athletes pushing the limits of what’s possible on snow.
From Alaska and British Columbia to Japan, Finland, Andorra, and Jackson Hole, this film follows athletes as they dissect big-mountain lines, calculate massive gaps, and put the physics of skiing to the ultimate test.
Featuring an all-star cast including Kai Jones, Maggie Voisin, Colter Hinchliffe, Nick McNutt, Karl Fostvedt, Kelly Hilleke, and more, Actually, It Is Rocket Science is guaranteed to get you fired up for winter.
Event Details:
Location: Olympic Village Event Center
- Showtime: 5:00pm
Rab x Sports Basement: The Feathers Film Night
Sunday, October 11, 2026
The Rab Feathers Film Tour makes its stop at Alibi Ale Works in Truckee for an evening of outdoor films celebrating the people who keep chasing what’s around the next corner.
The night features four films from across the outdoor world. For the Love follows Hayden Jamieson, Jacob Cook, and Will Sharp into Chile’s Cochamó Valley as they attempt to free climb the steep granite line Picaflor. New Terrain follows snowboarder Krister Kopala and aspiring mountain guide Thea Røhme as they pursue their mountain ambitions in western Norway while navigating risk, tragedy, and their relationship.
Winner Gets Cake tells the story of the journey into the unpredictable world of the fell running community. Rounding out the night, Mountain of Mystery ventures into remote British Columbia, where skiing, whitewater kayaking, and surfing become ways to explore our connection to the natural world.
Event Details:
- Location: Alibi Ale Works
- Date: October 11, 2026
- Showtime: 5:00–8:00pm
Matchstick Productions: The Way Out
Friday – Sunday, October 16 – 18, 2026
Known for its raw storytelling and iconic ski films, Matchstick Productions returns with its 34th annual ski film, The Way Out, a tribute to the timeless culture and lifestyle of skiing. From heavy Alaskan spine lines and deep Japanese powder to the iconic villages of Switzerland, the film captures skiing as more than a sport. It’s a path toward freedom, adventure, and connection.
Featuring legendary veterans alongside a new generation of breakout talent, The Way Out celebrates the people, places, and moments that make skiing what it is. With stunning mountain landscapes and the unmistakable MSP style, the film delivers a reminder that the soul of skiing isn’t dead. It’s waiting wherever snow falls.
Whether you’re counting down to opening day or simply looking for your next dose of winter stoke, The Way Out is a film you won’t want to miss.
Event Details:
- Location: Tahoe Art Haus & Cinema
- Showtimes:
- October 16: 8:00 pm
- October 17: 6:00 pm & 8:00 pm
- October 18: 5:00 pm
Truancy: Window Shopping
Saturday, October 17, 2026
Truancy returns with its second film, Window Shopping, following a crew of friends with roots in Tahoe as they chase freeride lines, halfpipe sessions, and whatever opportunities the winter gives them. The crew includes Mack Winterberger, Zeb Schreiber, Owen McKibbin, Evan Wischmeyer, Micah Rodarte, Ryan Lapp, and snowboarder Cass Jones, with co-founder Wade Peek behind the camera.
But finding those opportunities became the story of the season itself. After a serious backcountry accident left Peek with five breaks in his left leg, surgery, and months of rehabilitation, the crew suddenly found itself without its filmer for a significant portion of winter. Add competition schedules, school, changing snow conditions, and the usual unpredictability of a Tahoe season, and getting a second film across the finish line became an accomplishment of its own.
That’s where Window Shopping gets its name. The crew spent the winter finding whatever windows they could to ski, film, and keep the project moving. The result is still very much a ski movie, with the crew pushing their skiing and production to another level, but this time there’s more happening behind the lines.
Event Details:
- Location: Truckee Community Arts Center
- Date: Saturday, October 17, 2026
- Showtime: 6:30–9:00pm
Mountainfilm on Tour
Saturday, October 17, 2026
Mountainfilm on Tour returns to Palisades Tahoe for a night of adventure, inspiration, and big-screen stories that celebrate the outdoors. This collection of films highlights resilience, perseverance, community, and the people who push themselves to explore what’s possible in the mountains and beyond.
Arrive early to get into the festival spirit with adventure, ski, and climbing brands, games, giveaways, and dinner from MOGROG Rotisserie. Raffle prizes from participating brands will also be up for grabs, with proceeds benefiting the Sierra Avalanche Center.
Whether you’re here for the films, the community, or a little extra inspiration before winter, Mountainfilm on Tour is the perfect way to kick off the season.
Event Details:
- Location: Olympic Village Event Center
- Showtime: 6:30 pm
Ski For the Love: Way She Goes
Wednesday, October 21, 2026
Sometimes Tahoe delivers neck-deep powder. Sometimes you’re winch waterskiing across a golf course. That’s the way she goes.
Ski For The Love brings Way She Goes to the Tahoe Art Haus & Cinema for a season spent riding the highs, lows, and everything in between. What starts in Tahoe eventually takes the crew around the world, chasing snow and shenanigans through Japan, Canada, Alaska, Argentina, and New Zealand.
But this one is especially fun for the hometown crowd. The film features a stacked crew of local rippers, including Noah Gaffney, Josh Gold, Connery Lundin, Jedidiah Kravitz, and more. These are skiers you might spot ripping around Palisades Tahoe in the middle of winter, only this time you get to watch where an entire season of chasing snow took them.
Way She Goes isn’t trying to make winter look perfect. It’s about rolling with whatever the season throws your way, finding the goods when they’re there, and having a damn good time along the way.
Event Details:
- Location: Tahoe Art Haus & Cinema
- Date: Wednesday, October 21, 2026
- Showtimes: 5:00pm & 7:30pm
Zero G Films: Low Tide
Thursday, October 22, 2026
For the Tahoe crowd, this one hits especially close to home. The film showcases some of the local rippers who know these mountains best, from Palisades Tahoe Pursuit Team athletes to well-known Tahoe shredders that have become a familiar sight around Olympic Valley. Alongside the Jackson Hole crew, they bring Low Tide to life showcasing the hunger for snow that defines a winter spent in the mountains.
The premiere is also a chance to experience the film the way a ski movie should be experienced: surrounded by the community. Come early for merch and raffle entries, catch Low Tide on the big screen with the crew, and stick around for gear giveaways and a room full of people who are just as ready for winter as you are.
Event Details:
- Location: Alibi Ale Works
- Showtime: 5:00pm early show | 7:30pm Late Show
- Date: October 22, 2026
National Geographic: Everest: The Other Side
October 30 – November 12, 2026
Everest: The Other Side follows elite ski mountaineers Jim Morrison, a Tahoe local, and Hilaree Nelson, whose relationship and shared life in the mountains led them toward one of the most ambitious objectives imaginable: climbing and skiing the direct North Face of Mount Everest.
Thousands of climbers have reached Everest’s summit by way of Nepal’s southeast ridge, but only a handful have reached the top from this side of the mountain, and no one had successfully skied the direct North Face. Already accomplished ski mountaineers who understood both the rewards and consequences of pursuing huge objectives, Morrison and Nelson put everything into their shared dream.
Directed by Jimmy Chin, the Academy Award-winning filmmaker behind Free Solo, the film is as much about love, loss, and the pull of the mountains as it is about skiing one of the most coveted lines on Earth. And with Morrison’s deep roots in the Tahoe community, this is a story that should resonate especially close to home.
Event Details:
- Location: Tahoe Art Haus & Cinema
- Dates: October 30 – November 12, 2026
- Multiple showtimes available daily
Warren Miller: Days Off
Wednesday – Thursday, November 4 – 5, 2026
No winter kickoff is complete without Warren Miller. For more than seven decades, Warren Miller has been capturing the spirit of skiing, snowboarding, and mountain culture, and its 77th film, Days Off, keeps the tradition going with a global celebration of skiing for skiing’s sake.
Hosted by Katie Burrell, Days Off follows the world’s best athletes as they trade competition for pure, unscripted fun. From heli-drops in Alaska and high-alpine adventures in Chamonix to deep powder in Hokkaido, Japan, the film travels across the world’s legendary mountain destinations including Banff, Deer Valley, Revelstoke, Whistler, and Pemberton.
Get ready for big lines, deep snow, legendary athletes, and the kind of mountain stoke that will have you counting down to opening day.
Event Details:
- Location: Olympic Village Event Center
- Showtimes:
- November 4: 7:00 pm
- November 5: 7:00 pm
Salomon: Quality Ski Time Film Tour
Thursday, November 5, 2026
Instead of bringing just one film to the big screen, Salomon serves up four different takes on skiing and the people and places that surround it. Blank Patterns follows Jacob Belanger, Ugo Troubat, and Emma Patterson, whose style and vision are helping shape modern freeskiing, while Places turns the camera toward the mountains themselves, exploring how climate, geology, and time shape the places where we ski.
All-Electronic-Transmission taps into the creative spirit of freestyle skiing through Sami Ortlieb and the Depart crew, blending skiing with art and the influence of freestyle’s earlier eras. Then Almost Alone in the Alps heads across the French and Italian Alps with Fabien Maierhofer, Jérémy Prevost, and Xavier Caihol on a journey toward the Mediterranean.
Four films with four completely different perspectives on skiing. That sounds like some pretty quality ski time to us.
Event Details:
- Location: Tahoe Art Haus & Cinema
- Date: Thursday, November 5, 2026
- Showtime: 8:00pm
Stio: Girl Winter Film Tour
Wednesday, November 11, 2026
The Girl Winter Film Tour brings five women-centric short ski films to the big screen for one night of big lines and stories from women across the snow sports world. VIVID follows Devin Logan, Jenna Dramise, Nicole Cordingley, and Sierra Schlag, flipping the script on the traditional hard-charging ski film by putting joy, connection, and individuality alongside seriously good skiing. Biscuits heads into the British Columbia backcountry with Nat Segal and Erin Spong in search of those elusive moments of pure mountain joy, while Rapid Fire documents Mali Noyes’ 47-day push to ski all 93 lines in Utah’s Chuting Gallery.
Theory of Butter follows Analise Gates and Maddie Gerritsen, aka the Butta Dawgs, on a bike, raft, and ski-powered quest through Colorado’s San Juan Mountains in search of the mythical “Butta.” Rounding out the night, Winter Elements turns the camera toward the women working throughout the ski industry, celebrating the people behind the scenes whose work helps make winter happen.
And the night doesn’t end when the credits roll. Each screening is followed by a Q+A and poster signing with athletes and filmmakers, creating a chance to hear the stories behind the stories and celebrate the women pushing snow sports forward both on and off the mountain.
Event Details:
- Location: Tahoe Art Haus & Cinema
- Date: Wednesday, November 11, 2026
- Showtimes: 4:45pm & 8:00pm
Pangea Collective: Freeride Film Tour
Friday, November 20, 2026
Tahoe will once again be well represented with this one as local shredders Britta Winas and Delila Quinn are among the athletes featured. As Pangea Collective rounds out their film tour with the last stop in Tahoe, the big screen will display a couple familiar faces in front of a hometown crowd.
This tour highlights the athletes, filmmakers, and places that continue to push freeriding forward. Consider this an evening to celebrate the community that makes freeride skiing and snowboarding the gnarly piece of art that it is.
Come for the film and stay for gear giveaways and a chance to connect with athletes, filmmakers, and fellow skiers and riders.
Event Details:
- Location: Alibi Ale Works
- Date: November 20, 2026
- Showtime: 7:30pm
Kick Off Winter With Us
These premieres are your chance to get the stoke flowing, reconnect with the ski and snowboard community, and get fired up for another legendary season at Palisades Tahoe. Each night promises unforgettable moments that will carry you straight into opening day.
Grab your crew and join us for a film this fall as we celebrate snow, community, and the legendary season to come.
