March 12, 2010
'The Mountain Report' more than just a ski show
'The Mountain Report' co-creator and producer Kevin Friend heads a four-person team that brings viewers to the mountains.
"The Mountain Report” is a weekly cable show aimed at skiers. But you’ll notice the word “ski” is conspicuously absent in the title. According to show co-creator and producer Kevin Friend, that is entirely on purpose.
A lot of ski programs and movies rely on gorgeous slow-motion shots with a stirring soundtrack, a format Friend calls “ski porn.” As an avid skier himself, Friend has nothing against ski porn, but he and his crew would rather give you a bit of that imagery and a whole lot more information.
“I could watch that, too, but our show is really a departure from that,” he says. ”It’s more your average Joe who’s going on a ski trip, and you might have some kids, you might want to head out with your buddies. We’re basically trying to paint the true picture of what’s happening in New England at different ski hills, either big resorts or smaller mountains.”
Friend and a crew of three other people, including host Earle Pitts, shoot the show (in HD) in December and January, covering New England with a road trip or two (this year to Quebec City). The show started its first year on Comcast SportsNet New England in January, after formerly airing on the New England Sports Network.
The four-person crew is small but enthusiastic — Friend notes that Pitts has to do his share to help lug the cameras up the mountains and hills. Everyone enjoys being outdoors, and much of the same crew shoots a show called “Golfing the World” after ski season for the parent company, BCN Productions.
Everyone just enjoys showing off the region on local and national TV (the show also airs on different networks around the country). “I think we have a certain pride about being from New England and skiing in New England,” says Friend. “Because if you can ski here, you can ski anywhere.”
“The Mountain Report” features some of the best slopes around New England, but it’s also a travel show, spotlighting everything else you might do on a ski trip, as well. That gives them a lot more ground to cover and allows them to revisit some of the same places almost every season and discover something new.
“I’ll use Wildcat for an example,” says Friend. “We go back there year after year and we always discover a new trail, a new hotel, a new pub. There’s always something to discover at all of these mountains no matter how many times you go back to them.”
Covering the same region every year also means mingling with the locals, some of whom become “friends of the show,” and help give “The Mountain Report” more local flavor. According to Friend, some of the people he and his crew have gotten to know over eight years producing the show have revealed some hard-to-find gems on the slopes.
“These are trails that are not on the map, and you might have to hike up a little gully or hike up a little slope to get to these trails,” he said. “But once you do that, that moment of discovery is awesome. You see that this person has taken you to a little piece of land that’s very personal to them and only their friends get to see. It’s a great moment when that happens.”
“The Mountain Report” also gets into non-skiing outdoor winter activities in what Friend calls “out of bounds” segments. Not everyone skis, but that’s not the only way to get out and get a little exercise in the snow.
“Last year we went dogsledding for the first time and I never even thought of going dogsledding,” says Friend. “And we were going through trails in the woods, and it was snowing out. The dogs were mushing through the snow. It was just something I never thought I’d do in my life, and once you do it, you never forget it.”
Despite the show’s variety, Friend notes the core of the show is still about skiing and riding in New England, which Friend considers “the most beautiful place on the planet.” He clearly treasures the opportunity to exhort people to get out in the snow and have some fun.
“There’s nothing like that first ride up in the chairlift with your friend, talking, laughing, getting ready for that little rocket ride down the slope,” he says. “That gets the blood going. That, really, is what we’re in it for.”
