It happens every year, right about that time when the air gets crisp and the smell of snow lingers on the doorstep. For some, it's almost like a holiday, a day signifying the yearly beginning of a lifestyle that comes in the form of fiberglass, gortex and a lift ticket.

Warren Miller's Off the Grid Showings

Dates:

Thursday, Nov. 16, 8 p.m.

Friday, Nov. 17, 8 p.m.

Saturday, Nov. 18, 6 p.m. and 9 p.m.

Where: McCaw Hall, 321 Mercer Street

Price: $18.50-$20.50

Freebies: With purchase of tickets comes all sorts of ski goodies, including coupons that can be redeemed for lift tickets at resorts like Whistler/Blackcomb and White Pass. If you're able to get around, this is an incredible deal.

That's right, it's ski season. And it's rung in every year by an undying entrepreneurial film from Warren Miller. The films are a tradition that has been taking place since 1959. This year's film, by Miller's son Kurt, who now directs the films, follows suit to the documentary-style, two-hour long montage of an extreme and endless pursuit for the perfect run.

The film, entitled Off the Grid, takes a look into the lives of ski bums, perusing backwoods resorts and communities found off the beaten path in an attempt to hype up fanatics for the first day lift motors lurch back into gear and they can feel alive again.

Exploring terrain from Utah to India, Off the Grid captures the passion of X-Games participants to the triumphs of handicapped skiers, exalting a culture where words like "gnarly" are still widely acceptable.

The selection of clips showing insane pro skiers, awesome downhill runs and everything in between is a well-chosen mix and match that will give chills to anyone with the bug.

The crew's visit to Japan this year, which usually results in a visit to Mt. Fuji, took an unexpected turn when they featured a look into the Japanese sport of snowball fighting, which has a popularity that parallels baseball in the United States. Snowball competitions in Japan come complete with regulation-size snowballs, protective gear and barracks.

Beyond what a Warren Miller film can show the viewer about the reason for the season, the event itself is a sheer adrenaline rush for anyone who feeds off winter snowfalls. Being surrounded by a few hundred ski fanatics who whoop and holler at the obscene tricks and risks attempted in the film will get you moving in your seat.

The film also stays true to its well-intended delivery of satisfying morals and motivational metaphors, dripping in the questionably sarcastic language known to Warren Miller, which is easily recognizable by anyone who follows this tradition.

Though not the best of the collection, this year's Warren Miller and his fans.

In the words Miller himself, "If you don't do it this year, you'll be one year older when you do."

Reach Intermission reporter Jen Ludington at jenludington@thedaily.washington.edu.