Aspen talent appears in Teton Gravity Research’s ‘Pressure Drop’ at the Wheeler

The Wheeler Opera House will be buzzing with hometown pride at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 15, when Teton Gravity Research presents its latest film, “Pressure Drop.”

It will be an evening of poster signings, prize giveaways, a ski raffle, and an opportunity to meet some of Aspen’s athletes as the film follows “some of the world’s best skiers and snowboarders, alongside the next generation.” 

Skiers and riders will take on massive lines and big mountain terrain, according to promotional materials. 

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Two Aspenites in the film represent exactly that: Colter Hinchliffe, who has been part of the Teton Gravity Research family in movies for more than a dozen years, and newcomer Kelly Hilleke, who will have his debut ski movie appearance in Aspen.

Colter Hinchliffe

Born and raised in the Roaring Fork Valley, backcountry freeride skier Hinchliffe started his relationship and years of collaboration with TGR in 2012. The extreme sports media company was founded in 1996.

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“I love doing it. It’s a big focus for me,” Hinchliffe said. 

This year, Hinchliffe had the opportunity to go to Valdez in Alaska.

“That was my first time going there, and that’s something I always wanted to check off my list as a skier. It’s one of the ultimate destinations,” he said.

Hinchliffe added that TGR allows him to travel the world and experience these unique mountains. His filming sessions for TGR usually last about two or three weeks. This year, in Alaska, the weather was worse than usual, so their whole segment ended up being filmed in three “good” days.

“It takes a little while to start getting comfortable with being on big, steep, scary lines and getting comfortable with the size of things, and then you’re also really battling with conditions,” Hinchliffe said. “There ends up being a lot of pressure on any single one of these runs because they can kind of make or break your season, which can, in turn, make or break your career.” 

For Hinchliffe, the risk wasn’t just the weather. Due to a previous knee surgery, he knew he had to be extra cautious.

“That’s always a big risk that we’re taking. Injury happens to all of us,” Hinchliffe said. “The decisions we make out there are very, very calculated. I think that’s something that a lot of people don’t realize is how much thought goes into every single line we drop into.” 

He adds that he really enjoyed the addition of athlete Molly Armanino to the project.

“We all just got along super well. We had a lot of fun. The camaraderie was at an all-time high,” Hinchliffe said.

As much as Hinchliffe gets to travel the world, he added that Aspen is unmatched — “in terms of the community, the size of the town, and then the great skiing.” 

He is particularly attuned to appreciating how few days of bad conditions Aspen gets, compared to other ski areas.

Kelly Hilleke

Outstanding skier Kai Jones was someone Hilleke knew from ski competitions. After learning that Hilleke was focused full-time on skiing, Jones recommended that he record a segment.

“That was like a dream come true. I’d always wanted to be in a ski movie after growing up watching those movies,” said Hilleke, who is a 2024 Aspen High School graduate and Aspen Valley Ski and Snowboard Club coach. “My whole season was based around competing because that’s been my goal forever, so I was filming on the side and couldn’t spend all the time filming that I would have liked.”

Jones’ first trip to film took place in early January, when Hilleke was driving to Canada for a contest.

“I left a couple weeks early and made it up to Jackson Hole, where I filmed for a bunch of days on snowmobiles. I had never ridden a snowmobile before — that was a huge learning experience, just trying to get from the parking lot to the skiing zone,” Hilleke said. “We would go up to the bottom of the zone — usually a rock face or bowl — and take a picture of it.”

From there, they drew different colored lines on it for things they wanted to ski, then air-dropped that photo to the filmmakers and safety officers so everyone was on the same page. Then, they went to the top and started with the more mellow ones.

“You get on the radio and say you’re ready to drop on whatever colored line, get confirmation from the filmer and safety person, then countdown and drop,” Hilleke said.

Part of their equipment was a drone called the Inspire Three and the Red Raptor cameras, which the filmers would carry in their backpacks on snowmobiles.

“The first couple days were pretty gray, but the snow was dream conditions,” Hilleke said. “We skied two lines that I really liked.”

The fourth day turned out as a total bluebird day. For those first four days, Hilleke noted it was just him, a filmer, and a person ensuring safety.

“We went to a different zone that was insane, and I had the best day ever. That footage made it into the movie,” Hilleke said of the fourth day. 

That day, freeride skier Parkin Costain joined the project as well.

After filming, Hilleke went to Canada and competed at the Kicking Horse Freeride contest in Golden, British Columbia, where he won. Hilleke has also qualified for the Freeride World Tour — the biggest stage in freeride. He will also represent the USA at the Freeride World Championships. 

“This has been something I’ve been working toward my whole life. I’ve always dreamed about being where I’m at right now,” Hilleke said.

That is not to say it’s been easy. Last June, Hilleke broke his neck, fracturing his C5 and C6 vertebrae. He just got out of his neck brace a couple of weeks ago and is starting to train again.

“I think I’m back, and I feel good,” Hilleke said. 

He began skiing at age 2 and skied every day of the season last year except two. 

The screening

The film has an impressive roster, including Sage Cattabriga-Alosa, Ian McIntosh, Nick McNutt, Jones, Costain, McRae Williams, Maggie Voisin, Hinchliffe, Jim Ryan, Armanino, Kirsty Muir, Grace Henderson, Troy Podmilsak, Teal Harle, Hilleke, Madison Rose Ostergren, Simon Hillis, Jeremy Jones, Cass Jones, and Mia Jones.

“Both Kelly and I will be there,” Hinchliffe said, “and we’re looking forward to spending the night with all the rest of our skier friends in town.”

For more information and tickets, go to https://wheeleroperahouse.com/event/teton-gravity-research-presents-pressure-drop/.