Stuntman who did the ski base jump from TSWLM posts on Reddit

SpectreBlofeld

Thought you guys might find this interesting. The man who performed the iconic ski base jump from the pre-credits opener in The Spy Who Loved Me has posted about the story on Reddit, and cleared up some myths/rumors:

https://www.reddit.com/r/movies/comments/4iuxrc/the_opening_scene_of_the_spy_who_loved_mein_which/d31zzrh

superado

Thanks for posting! That's Rick Sylvester I'm guessing who posted that. Very interesting to read his raw recollection of those Bond sequences and it's funny how some other poster in that thread who had a lot of time on his hand, even attempted to paraphrase Rick's vernacular post.

Curious thing that Rick said about leaving ski tracks on the supposedly pristine slope; he said it was sorely visible on screen but I haven't noticed so I'll go check it out, but does anyone know what ski tracks he was talking about?

VesperMelograno

I watched TSWLM last night. In preparation I re-watched the documentary "McConkey" it is on Netlix. I would highly recommend watching it. The documentary is about the life of the ski legend Shane McConkey. He discusses his obsession with TSWLM and how he grew up wanting to recreate the stunt in the movie. The documentary interviews the stunt man from the actual film and shows how Shane went about recreating it and untimely expanded on the stunt. It added a good deal to me re-watching TSWLM. I cannot recommend the "McConkey" more.

Number24

Interesting :007)
I had to Google "sideslipping" because I didn't know that English term. If you're going down a very steep hill, you can use sideslipping. Place both skis paralell to each other and your skis are at a 90 degree angle to the direction you want to go (downhill). At first you are using the edges of your skis not to slide downhill, but to start you have to put down on the ground the bortom sides of the skis and not use the egen at all. Then you will start sliding downwards, always with the skis at a 90 degree angle to the direction you're going. You'll go slowly, but sometimes that's the point.

superado

Number24 wrote:

Interesting :007)
I had to Google "sideslipping" because I didn't know that English term. If you're going down a very steep hill, you can use sideslipping. Place both skis paralell to each other and your skis are at a 90 degree angle to the direction you want to go (downhill). At first you are using the edges of your skis not to slide downhill, but to start you have to put down on the ground the bortom sides of the skis and not use the egen at all. Then you will start sliding downwards, always with the skis at a 90 degree angle to the direction you're going. You'll go slowly, but sometimes that's the point.

I get the impression that skiing is the first thing Norwegian babies learn after walking, or perhaps before, lol! I'm reminded of that great underrated WWII classic, The Heroes of Telemark, esp. that fantastic ski chase sequence by the agile Norwegian hero...played by Kirk Douglas

Number24

We actually say "Norwegians are born with skis on their feet". )
Yes, skiing is very common in Norway. Personally I haven't skied for a couple of years and I think it's embarrasing to admit it to my countrymen. Almost everyone skis during their military service. I'm not sure about Finland, but we might be the only army where most soldiers can ski. I remember being on a three-picture ski march, and I wasn't even in the infantry.

superado

Number24 wrote:

We actually say "Norwegians are born with skis on their feet". )
Yes, skiing is very common in Norway. Personally I haven't skied for a couple of years and I think it's embarrasing to admit it to my countrymen. Almost everyone skis during their military service. I'm wsure about Finland, but we might be the only army where most soldiers can ski. I remember being on a three-picture ski march, and I wasn't even in the infantry.

That sounds like an awesome privilege and a wonderful way to do your part in defending your homeland! It's been 30 years for me The drive to the snow had gotten to be a daunting prospect, as I can't stand a trip that normally takes 3 to 4 hours to have more than double because of traffic. My son recently got to ski down the Schilthorn from Piz Gloria and it's my dream to do the same...if Roger Moore did it well past his prime, then hope springs eternal!

VesperMelograno

Number24 wrote:

We actually say "Norwegians are born with skis on their feet". )
Yes, skiing is very common in Norway. Personally I haven't skied for a couple of years and I think it's embarrasing to admit it to my countrymen. Almost everyone skis during their military service. I'm not sure about Finland, but we might be the only army where most soldiers can ski. I remember being on a three-picture ski march, and I wasn't even in the infantry.

My envy level is high. I ski but not as much as I would like. My silly job gets in the way.

I really think you would love the documentary I mentioned.

Thunderpussy

 "Norwegians are born with skis on their feet"

I just feel so sorry for all those Norwegian mothers !

Number24

Yes, that's not an unusual comment.

I feel a bit of ski envy myself myself, since I'm a below average skier and some om my friends are very good at it.

Number24

I understand Craig doesn't want to ski, so I hope we'll get a fantastic ski sequence with the next Bond.

Thunderpussy

I'm just reading the chalter on TSWLM in "Some kind of hero" and Sylvester points out
that the longer it took to get the correct weather conditions, the more scared he got.
Then after a couple of weeks waiting the call came it was a go, and he just did it.
20 minutes later the weather changed again, so it was very lucky to get filmed at all.

The Domino Effect

I was lucky enough to go to Mount Asgard a few years ago and just stood at the base staring up thrilled to bits that I was actually there and more than ever in awe of the stunt. To give you an idea of how remote Asgard is, it's a three hour flight due north of Ottawa - about 2,000 kilometres - to get to Baffin Island's main community, Iqaluit. Then you have to overnight there and get the next day's flight north a further 300 kilometres (about one hour) to the town of Pangnirtung. That's if the weather is good. Pangnirtung is one of the most difficult airports to land in and is easily closed because of winds, fog or snow. Once in Pangnirtung - population about 1,500 people - where there's one hotel - you have to take a one-hour boat trip about 30 kilometres further up the fjord to the entrance of Auyuittuq National Park (and that trip is dependent on the very high tides they have there, amongst the highest in the world). From there, it's a further few hours' hike to get to the base of Mount Asgard which is just above the Arctic Circle. I know that Eon had at least one helicopter but even so, you can't overstate just how difficult logistically it was to film that scene, never mind how difficult the stunt was. Of course, in my opinion, it's worth every penny!

Number24

Very interesting. Did you go there simply for location hunting (if it was - cudos to you!) or was it just on your way to something?

The Domino Effect

I was there for work (it's a tough life!) and although all of the Arctic was very exciting for me, the Bond connection kicked it up a few extra notches. I would have liked to have seen if anyone remembered the TSWLM crew being there, but it's 40 years ago so they would have to be mid-50s at least now, and I didn't have too much time in the town to ask around.