Pro Skier Stars in Music Video for Grammy Nominated Band’s New Single

The lead single off of Yonder Mountain String Band's upcoming album, Nowhere Next , dances between two emotional poles. “Am I growing or failing?” asks one refrain of the song, Here I Go , featuring 16-time Grammy Award Winner and dobro player Jerry Douglas. “Which narrative will win?”

Watch as professional skier Chris Benchetler stars in the newly-released music video below.

Skiers who’ve ever perched atop a spooky line or cliff can relate—improving on the slopes requires putting ourselves in uncomfortable but rewarding situations. Professionals like Chris Benchetler presumably face that wobbly sensation, too, but as the star of Here I Go’s music video, he makes it look easy. With bluegrassy tunes as a sonic backdrop, Benchetler spins and flips down the mountain, marrying the improvisational natures of music and skiing.

The impetus for the music video collaboration between Benchetler and the Yonder Mountain String Band originated years ago. The skier and band met at the GoPro Games in 2021, where Benchetler was live painting guitars with fellow artist Skye Walker during a set break. Benchetler must have liked what he'd heard of the Yonder Mountain String Band because he invited them back on stage to play while they painted.

The band and Benchetler already had common ground. Both share a creative muse, the Grateful Dead, and there was another point of congruency: snowsports. Adam Aijala of the Yonder Mountain String Band started skiing in third grade, eventually switching to snowboarding in 1998. For a time, he worked as a liftie and snowmaker in the ski resort dense Lake Tahoe, California, area.

The Yonder Mountain String Band’s members knew of Benchetler’s stature as a skier and filmmaker, and most of the group had seen his video project, Fire On The Mountain , which featured music from the Grateful Dead. In-person, Benchetler lived up to his kindhearted reputation.

“Chris is one of the coolest and most supportive people we’ve met through the band. The dude is a legend in so many mediums, but what stands out the most is how genuine he is,” said Aijala. “Chris and Yonder share and hold a deep appreciation for the Grateful Dead. If not for Jerry Garcia, maybe I’d be in a metal band now.”

Since then, the band and the skier have discussed working together more formally, and when Benchetler joined Arc’Teryx, he used Yonder Mountain String Band’s track, Fall Outta Line , for the announcement video.

As Yonder Mountain String Band’s album Nowhere Next was coming together, the band wasn’t sure what they wanted to do for their music videos, so they hit up Benchetler on a whim to see if he had any archival footage available. Benchetler, alongside his regular film collaborator Flagship Independent, created something special with the video accompaniment for Here I Go in response .

“We were expecting a ‘video,’ but what they delivered was so much more,” the band explained. “They created a visually dynamic, cinematic experience that enhances the song’s energy and vision, perfectly capturing the essence of the song and Chris’s dynamic style.”

The results are an ode to skiing and music, a pairing that’s existed perennially in varying formats. Rap and park skiing. Nu metal and big mountain lines. Soft alternative and graceful switch powder turns. Yonder Mountain String Band’s twangy riffs, hooky bridges, and soulful lyrics feel like an extension of Benchetler’s skiing. While Here I Go might confront ambiguity, there’s nothing questionable about the interdisciplinary mashup that produced its music video—some things, like peanut butter and jelly, go better together.

Yonder Mountain String Band’s Here I Go is out on streaming platforms tomorrow, and Nowhere Next releases November 8th.

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