'The Sled Hill'

SANDPOINT — Gary Pietsch wanted to ask a favor.

While many were able to attend the Feb. 20 premiere of "The Sled Hill," a documentary about the history of the historic sledding; many were not. Among them, his friends and fellow residents at Alpine Vista Senior Apartments.

Could the Kaniksu Land Trust, the longtime area resident asked, help make a showing possible. Since they couldn't attend were unable to make the premiere at the Panida and he wanted to bring the film to them and give them a special premiere-like experience of their own.

Marcy Timblin, KLT director of communications, said KLT staff immediately went to work.

They reached out to Brittany Sateren, Alpine Vista's activities director, who suggested the film be shown during a regular movie event. She arranged for treats including, of course, candy and popcorn and, along with Pietsch's family, arranged for printed copies of the movie poster that fans could have autographed for a special memento.

"It's another opportunity for the community to see it together," Timblin said as she watched Pietsch sign the posters after the Monday afternoon showing. "While anyone can watch it on our website — it's right there on the main page — and on Tanner French Films' YouTube channel, there's something about being able to watch it together as a community."

As the film showed archived photos and films of the then-teenaged skiers charged their way down the hill, several residents could be heard quietly applauding when they learned the sled hill's story. Many said after the showing they had taken their children to the hill to go sledding and were pleased the land trust and supporters had saved the property for the community in perpetuity.

"This film, this story, is really the history of our community," Timblin told the several dozen people gathered to watch the film. "Before Schweitzer Mountain started the big ski hill, there was the ski hill up on Pine Street where there's this epic hill and the teenagers back then used to go skiing on it and Gary was one of them."

The film shares both the history of the sled hill as well as its present, both of which set the stage for the hill to be around for the community for generations to come.

The sled hill property, which came available in 2021, was purchased by a KLT supporter shortly afterward to give the land trust time to raise the funds to buy the property on their own. By August 2023, KLT had raised $2.1 million — enough to buy the 48-acre property, pay for a master plan and build needed infrastructure to make its long-term goals a reality. In October 2024, the news was official — KLT owned the sled hill and the rest of the former homestead adjacent to the Pine Street Woods.

While not the official premiere of "The Sled Hill," the showing is the first time the documentary about the hill's origins, present and future has gone on the road. It likely won't be the last time, Timblin said.

The KLT director of communication said she'd love to show the 12-minute film at other local senior and assisted living facilities. In addition, Timblin is working on a showing at the Sandpoint Library.

"I'm just so excited to be here with Gary, our latest film star," Timblin said in introducing the film and Pietsch, sitting quietly by the window as he watched friends make their way into the apartments' movie room.

After the showing, eager audience members wanted to know how Pietsch had learned to ski, what it was like to ski on the site and how the teens were able to ski on the hill. Pietsch told them how he initially used his father's 11-foot-3-inch wooden skis to learn the sports and how the teens first used an old Model T motor and connected it to a rope tow to make their way to the top of the hill.

"The Sled Hill" is Tanner French's second film, the first being an almost 6-minute film on 85-year-old marathon runner, Carol Wright. The Sandpoint area resident, who didn't start running until she was 69, has competed in the Boston Marathon seven times and winning the 80-plus age division for females in 2024.

The film can also be viewed online on the Kaniksu Land Trust website, kaniksu.org; or on YouTube at @tannerfrenchfilms.

    Fritz Holz and Gary Pietsch are pictured from a scene in "The Sled Hill", a short film that was a collaboration between Tanner French Films and the Kaniksu Land Trust about the history of the historic property and efforts to preserve it for the community and future generations.
  

    Gary Pietsch holds a Kaniksu Land Trust T-shirt presented to him at a special showing of "The Sled Hill" on Monday, March 3.