Downhill Racer (In-person)
Winter (4 - 8.5 hours) | Registration opens 11/23/2026 12:00 AM EDT
Downhill Racer is one of the best sports films ever made! It will put you in the boots of a ski racer going 70 miles an hour at classic European venues like Wengen, Megeve, Kitzbuhel and St. Anton. It is an evocation of the speed, sound, and tension of competition skiing. It stars a young Robert Redford as David Chappellet, an arrogant, self-centered, total hard-ass. (He's not hard to look at, either.) Its themes are the nature of competition and the cost of success.
We will view and discuss the entire film in two sessions, with additional material on the U.S. Ski Team, past and present. This is a film about winning. One of Chappellet's teammates says: "He's not for the team and he never will be." To which the coach responds: "Well, it's not exactly a team sport, is it?"
- There are no required books for this course.
Judith Dixon
I didn't start alpine skiing until I was in my forties, but once I started, I got hooked. I became a ski teacher and joined PSIA (the Professional Ski Instructors of America). Last year I got my thirty-year pin. Skiing is one of the joys of my life, and I appreciate the opportunity to share the joy of all things skiing with others.