realskiers

A good friend of mine has been an instructor at Squaw for almost 30 years now (and I believe he has the most tenure of anyone there at this time). In his early years at Squaw he was skiing some exterme stuff for that time and one day Warren Miller came up to him and told him he would like him to ski in one of his films. My friend sat down and met with Warren for an hour or so and they went over exactly what Warren wanted. My friend knew the spots and thought the lines were risky but skiable under the right conditions. So after he had assessed that the risks were somehwat acceptable he then asked WM how much he was going to pay him for essentially risking his life. WM repsonded by saying I pay you nothing but you'll be famous. To which my friend promptly declined!

Now WM never did have a hard time finding someone that would ski those lines for free as 80% of those he was asking at Squaw said yes. And my friend on some level sort of regrets not taking the offer, because others that did went on to have decent skiing contracts over the years (maybe not huge money but more than an instructor at Squaw makes).

So I agree, the money is clearly a factor even if ironically for many their first pro gig they did for free!!