The story of Warren Miller’s life is one worth listening to. Image: Warren Miller Entertainment
Yesterday I went running up a very steep trail. It was raining, I hated every minute of it, and I got a tick in the side of my butt, but my dog loved it. I almost never like running up hills. No matter how good the view, I just can’t seem to care enough about a panoramic vista when all I want to do is lie down in an oxygen tent. But there was a jewel in the rough on my run, aside from my dog’s happiness: the podcast I listened to on the way up. It’s called The Moth—it’s a series of stories told by people of all walks of life in front of a live audience—and this particular installment is just… wonderful. It features the legendary Warren Miller, who died in late January of 2018 after a life devoted to telling stories.
Much like Bruce Brown of Endless Summer fame, Miller’s films were a mix of home-movie and Hollywood. His voiceovers felt paternal. The advice he doled out in his one-of-a-kind voice didn’t just translate to ski-related things, it translated to much of life. In The Moth podcast, recorded live on Feb 15, 2014, but only released on June 7, Miller tells the story of how he came to be who he was. And, like most everything else Miller was involved with, his story is one worth listening to. Although it’s an old cliché, Miller simply followed his passion: telling stories.
Running up that hill yesterday, the taste of copper in my mouth, my dog sprinting ahead then waiting patiently for me as I chugged up towards him, it was strangely comforting to hear Miller’s voice in my ears again. If you’ve got 20 minutes in between other things today, Miller’s story is worth a listen.
