Tim and Colter Find the World’s Dirtiest Skiing

After spending a month on the road, Tim, Colter, and their production team were ready to head back home. They set off from Bishop, California, after climbing and skiing a gnarly couloir on the Shining Buttress. Their plan was to drive straight to TGR's home office in Wilson, Wyoming. However, their best-laid plans were interrupted by serendipity, which manifested in the form of a lakebed. "One of Tim's goals for the trip was to go water skiing," said TGR cinematographer Pat Focke. "It didn't seem like he was going to get to do it, but then he turned onto this random dirt road and told us to follow him." Whether it was random chance, divine intervention, or a level of research which no one was aware Tim was capable of, the pieces fell into place. "We came across this lakebed at the absolute perfect time," recalled cinematographer Ben Dann. "We had been driving in a torrential downpour which stopped as soon as we reached the lakebed, leaving a thin, perfectly glassy layer of water."

 It's like water skiing at the sewage treatment plant! Eric Parker photo.

At first, it seemed too good to be true. "We weren't sure how soft the lakebed was going to be," said Focke. "But then Tim and Colter drove out onto the lakebed and started doing endless donuts, so we were pretty sure it was stable enough." After a ludicrous amount of donuts, Tim got into his ski gear. "It was hard to say how long the conditions would last, so we tried to get the shots as quickly as possible," said Focke. "It took a little bit for Colter to figure out the optimal speed and driving technique, but soon enough Tim was ripping around the lakebed." Both Tim and the Ranger were totally caked in mud, and required some serious cleanup. "The Ranger's windows had been open the whole time, so the interior was in pretty rough shape," recalled Dann. "We hosed down the Ranger as best we could, and Tim hopped straight into a nearby creek—but it was still a muddy drive back to Jackson."

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