Q: Do you have any filming information on the Snowball Express movie? We are going to visit Crested Butte, Colorado, and would like to stop and see some buildings and areas they filmed at; via the Internet we see some of the buildings are still there. As for the hotel, did they actually build one or part of one, and do you know where they filmed the hotel and ski scenes? Any help would really make the trip fun.
Paul, Rochester, Minnesota
A: The Archives’ production records for Snowball Express do not give much detail of the filming in Crested Butte—just notations such as bank, garage, gas station, etc. The hotel exterior was indeed a set built at the location. It included rooms built behind the false front where the crew could warm up between takes in the frigid weather. The ski area was about two miles from town, and filming was done at Washington Gulch, Keystone Slope, and “ski slope near fish hatchery.” Most of the interiors were filmed at the Disney Studio in Burbank, California. One item of interest: During production, the name of the film was Chateau Bon Vivant.
Dave Smith