Newest Tanner Hall skiing film shows off Summit streets, backcountry terrain

DILLON — When Pat Goodnough first moved to Colorado in 2005, he found the ledge in Breckenridge that ski legend Simon Dumont had slid. For the skiing diehard, it was like seeing the White House.

“‘No way, that’s right there,’” Goodnough recalled thinking to himself. “‘I saw that in a movie. I’ve got to slide that.’ And then two months later, I tried to slide it. I got 3 feet from the end, and then the cops came. But there was no arrest made or anything like that. … Street skiing is definitely one of the most demanding things you can be doing for skiing on your body. Concrete hurts.”

Concrete might have hurt that day 15 years ago for Goodnough, but the end result of Tanner Hall’s new short film “Eternal” has to make the longtime Summit local feel good. And that includes returning to that Breck street all these years later.

Goodnough is part of the Armada skiing tribe that filmed backcountry and street skiing segments in Summit County and throughout Colorado as part of the six-minute film.

The goal with “Eternal,” Hall said, was to showcase “mind-bending” tricks in the streets and backcountry. And the filmmaking process just so happened to bring the 37-year-old freeski legend to new and old stomping grounds, working with locals like Goodnough and Trent Jones of Frisco.

Some of the new includes Hall hucking a soaring double backflip off a rainbow cement ledge at Burns Park in Denver. More of the new includes Hall executing two tricks on back-to-back backcountry jumps Goodnough built in French Gulch, including a triple backflip.

The old features Hall returning to a site in Minturn where he filmed before. Jones and Goodnough were there with Hall in the spring to build the takeoff and landing on a swing set. Treating it like a rainbow rail of sorts, Hall is seen in the film landing a rodeo on the creative feature. Goodnough said he and Jones took “a couple of diggers” on the day.

Speaking from his home in Olney, Montana, Hall said it’s “rad” that he’s setting and achieving goals despite nearing age 40.

“While your age goes up, while the other kids’ ages go down, it can be really funky to navigate yourself through an industry as you get older,” Hall said. “And for me, what I took away from it is just being able to link up with a dude like Pat. He’s not the youngest of dudes out there, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have the same passion and drive as a kid 13 years old who is figuring out this is what he wants to do with the rest of his life.”

A seven-time X Games gold medalist and four-time silver medalist, Hall said he’s grateful he makes it through each season and prepares for the next one with ideas as strong as ever. Recently, that’s meant taking his skiing to the streets again.

A few short years ago, the man known as “Ski Boss” to so many didn’t think he could do that like he used to.

“The last three years in a row, I have proven (to) myself how I feel about my skiing was wrong,” Hall said. “If you want something bad enough, then you can get it. What I was most proud of with “Eternal” and (ski film) “Forever” is to say, ‘I’m still here,’ and I feel like I can still go out and produce good content and make skiing better.”

Goodnough said he, Hall and the Armada crew took to the streets of Breckenridge — not exactly regarded by most as a street ski destination — to be creative in finding their shots for the film. Despite the variables that come with street ski filming — angry neighbors, police and trespassing — Goodnough said the Breckenridge community was understanding in what the crew’s goals were.

The Summit County shots weren’t limited to Breckenridge’s streets and French Gulch. The crew also hit jumps on Vail Pass that are showcased in the film.

After a pair of knee surgeries ahead of last season, Goodnough is proud of his efforts in “Eternal” and is hoping for bigger and better things this winter.

“I don’t see any slowing down on my part this year,” Goodnough said. “There are a couple tricks in my head I’m going to do for sure.”

Hall said the Armada crew next hopes to execute a film project that reflects the heartbeat of freeskiing that he loves so much.

“I am a ski bum,” Hall said. “I live the culture — eat, sleep and breathe the culture. And if the culture gets erased because of money, that’s just a weird thing. America has a weird vibe, I feel like lately, and I hope as time goes on the stuff doesn’t get more expensive and it gets out of reach for kids getting out into mountains.”

aolivero@summitdaily.com