On a sweltering August day in 2003, on a construction site in Bozeman Montana, the lust for cooler temps and maybe even a faceshot or two, got a few amateur filmmakers brainstorming on how they might screen local films from the past winter to a home town audience. The Cold Smoke Awards was born. The founders of the Cold Smoke Awards are Jeremy Mistretta, Jonas Grenz, Anjin Herndon, and Brad Van Wert. Recently Jeremy and Brad have taken a bit more of a back seat role and gone on to peruse other business ventures, while Jonas and Anjin have continued to drive the Cold Smoke train.
Anjin Herndon
Film & Tech Director
Photo: Travis Anderson
Growing up in San Juan mountains of Colorado on a 5th generation sheep and cattle ranch has given Anjin a very strong connection to the land. Attending high school in Telluride, he witnessed rampant resort growth of the 90’s, and the transformation of a tiny mountain town into a bustling destination resort. Preserving and enhancing mountain culture is an imperative for Anjin. Film photography and theater, are his channels for accomplishing this.
Memorable moment:
“I once spent 9 hrs standing ice axe in hand, over a huge pile of ski and camera gear out side a bus stop in Santiago, making sure none of my gear wandered off without me”
Assets: camera gear worth many times the value of his old Subaru, big lungs, and small guns.
Specialties: The ability to convert any bar’s janky media system into a function theater venue while it is serving beer.
Weaknesses: Extremely low tolerance for fast-food, tobacco and unreasonable BS.
Jonas Grenz
Executive Director
At the age of 10 Jonas knew he wanted to be a ski bum and move to Bozeman, Montana. Life in the mountains inspired him to obtain a degree in Civil Engineering and dedicate his life to making the world a better place. After a 3 year stint as a desk jockey he decided a 9-5 is not his scene. He partnered with some good friends to start Gradient Systems an enterprise carbon accounting company. Now, life is truly an adventure doing whatever he can to pay the bills while growing two promising companies. The Cold Smoke Awards is his way of giving back to the winter culture in return for the inspiration it gave him to pursue a life dedicated to adventure and the planet.
“Even if I am scraping a living, at least it is a living worth scraping. Even if there is no future in it, at least it makes the present worth remembering” -Mickey Smith
Memorable Moment: Getting pulled over in Mexico at 5am headed for a surf when the jail wagon pulled up. Didn’t go to jail, went surfing with no money, and something smelled like taint!
Assets: A 125 month ski streak, Eastern Montana, Thick Skin, and Pink Baskets
Specialties: Logistics, Public Speaking, the ability to polish terds, and a free heal.
Weakness: Ambition outweighs number of hours available. Dilly Dallying. Heals come off skis.
Todd Heath
Designer
Todd grew up skiing Mt. Brighton, a tiny pile of dirt just forty miles west of Detroit. The hill was made famous thanks to the classic ski film, Aspen Extreme. He prides himself on not only having a job as a lifty growing up, but also a ropy!
( A rope-tow lifty.)
After High-school and a couple years of college in the woods of Northern Michigan, Heath transplanted to Bozeman to finish his Graphic Design degree and has been an active member in the outdoor community ever since.
When Heath is not in front of the computer screen, or hiking at B-Bowl, you can find him running alongside the Gallatin River, chasing his waterlogged kayak or riding his bicycle in the rain.
Favorite acronym: “The seven P’s”
Prior, Proper, Planning, Prevents, Piss, Poor, Performance.
Personal Mantra: “Un-plug Corporate Media Malarkey.”
Alex Buecking
Marketing Manager
Alex grew up in a small town in the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains in upstate New York. As a lad, he spent his weeknights skiing on piles of manmade snow at the tiny hill in his hometown. Determined to make a better life for her child, his long-suffering mother would religiously drive Alex and his friends to bigger ski hills throughout New England on the weekends. It was this combination of impoverished ski conditions, undying family support, and reoccurring dreams of making slash turns in cold smoke powder snow that drove Alex to the mountains. He now resides in Bozeman, MT, where the snow is certainly deeper.
Assets: A mini-van with a ski rack and no stickers, Canadian Golden Retriever that loves winter.
Strengths: Words, Given’r.
Weaknesses: Lack of filter, Mayonnaise.
Pete Jessen
Tour Manager
Petey’s ski-bummin’ career didn’t start until he put his college days behind him. After getting a degree in Environmental Studies from The University of Nebraska he headed out Montucky way in search of whiter and steeper pastures than the Midwest could offer. Working most any job he could find from painting houses to promoting concerts has enabled him to spend his winter days on the hill and summer days on his bike. He currently owns a painting business called Big Sky Brushworks and is working on his EMT through MSU-Bozeman in the hopes of working his way in to a patrolling job.
Assets: red hair, brown dog
Strengths: talking, coercing
Weaknesses: Sunday Fundays, foreign women, bikes
Favorite Quote: “Life’s a mountain, not a beach”
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