A new documentary on Vail’s high-flying Ravinos will screen at the Colorado Snowsports Museum this weekend
Film takes viewers back to the 1970s when the club challenged mainstream culture and sparked a revolution in extreme skiing
Vail Trail/Vail Daily archive
Have you ever seen someone shredding Vail wearing a Ravinos motorcycle-club style patch on their back and wanted to learn more?
A documentary film about the legendary ski and snowboard club is set to screen this weekend at the Colorado Ski and Snowboard Museum at 5:30 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday.
The screening is $20 for ski museum members and $25 for non-members. Doors open at 5:15 pm with the film set to screen at 6 p.m. Light refreshments will be served at both screenings.
The film takes viewers back to the early 1970s, when the Ravinos challenged mainstream culture and sparked a revolution in extreme skiing.
“Identifiable by the iconic flaming skull insignia patches on their cutoff denim jackets, the Ravinos gained prominence by hosting parties on St. Patrick’s Day to showcase inverted aerials,” the documentary directors write in their synopsis. “The crowds grew bigger and rowdier and eventually led to them being shut down by the authorities.”
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The film is directed by Whistler, British Columbia-based filmmaker Alex Clapin, who first met the Ravinos eight years ago while living in Colorado.
“I experienced firsthand the energy and support that this community provide to those around them,” Clapin said. “It helped me overcome boundaries and try things I wouldn’t have otherwise, which has stuck with me ever since.”
The film is produced by Colorado local Fred Winter, with help from director of photography Drew Balfour and Executive Producer Dave Pleshaw.
The timing of the film is set to coincide with the date that the Ravinos are known for celebrating, St. Patrick’s Day, which has significance going back to the crew’s original patch-in sessions of the 1970s after the club moved from the Oshkosh, Wisconsin, area to Colorado. Once in Vail, “they found what they were after,” writes Ravinos biographer Bill Jacobsen.
“The biggest, wildest party in Vail occurred every year on St. Patrick’s Day. It became known as the Wail in Vail and was, in a way, a vestige of the gigantic celebrations in Oshkosh every year on that day.”
While it is unknown exactly what year the Midwest crew began flying its colors, the Rocky Mountain Chapter and the Wail in Vail began in 1972-73 following the 1972 Aerial Championships. But the party only lasted eight years, as inverted aerials were banned from all National Ski Areas Association ski areas, including Vail. The last Wail in Vail on Vail Mountain happened during the 1980-81 season.
Clapin’s documentary picks up in the 2000s after the descendants of the original Ravinos discovered their parents’ patches and sought to revive the crew.
“With a new vision of becoming ambassadors for the mountain, they have carefully regained access to the original location (a 20-foot cliff gap called the “Wailer”) and continue to fight for acceptance and belonging,” the documentary directors write.
For tickets, visit http://snowsportsmuseum.org/shop.
