Maverick Mountain on the big screen

By Nick Gevock of The Montana Standard - 12/31/2008

Watch DVD teaser video here "Ride White Thunder"

Plenty of ski resorts have their own movies.

And now, thanks to a new DVD that highlights Maverick Mountain, the small, but friendly, ski hill does too. Dan Counter, owner of Counter Productions, recently completed a video titled "Ride White Thunder" that features Dillon's local ski hill.

"It shows our personality, what we are," said Randy Shilling, Maverick owner. "We aren't a big commercial ski area, we are a community ski hill.

"I say it's the way Montana used to be — that's Maverick Mountain." That small town feel was what Counter illustrated in the video, which he shot over a month last ski season.

The film includes clips of skiers and snowboarders having a good time on the slopes at Maverick, which is located 40 miles west of Dillon in the Grasshopper Valley near Polaris.

The hill may not be flashy. But its 2,000 feet of vertical drop, short lift lines and friendly nature make it a local favorite for Dillon families, University of Montana Western students and other area skiing and snowboarding enthusiasts.

The film, like Maverick, is all about having fun.

Counter on the back of the video case summed up the resort: "Here it's all about enjoying the skiing, and when you're done have a beer, pet the dogs, enjoy the view … don't worry about the kids." Ah yes, the dogs and the kids, both of which are always welcome at Maverick.

There are clips with kids carving turns and doing tricks. There are shots too of adults making runs, hitting jumps and other skiing maneuvers.

The video also highlights the homemade food and good times in the small lodge at Maverick.

It's all set to music performed by the Dillon Junior Fiddlers, a youth group of violin players. But the original score didn't include the locals.

"It was canned music, and it sounded like funeral music," Shilling said. "So I said you've got to do something about the music." Counter heeded the advice. The fiddlers came up to Maverick on a weekend and performed while Counter filmed it. He set the entire film to the music.

Shilling said that's just another element of the production that makes it emblematic of what Dillon and Maverick are all about.

"It fits in pretty good," he said.

Reporter Nick Gevock may be reached at nick.gevock@mtstandard.com.

On the Net: http://skimaverick.com/