Mount Baker and Crystal Mountain are opening this week, meaning that winter has officially arrived for Northwest skiers and snowboarders. Down at sea level, meanwhile, snowy scenes from Crystal are tantalizingly close in Dynasty, which includes the area in a short segment. (Resorts typically pay Warren Miller Entertainment to be featured in its annual ski flicks.) Bryce Phillips, Ingrid Backstrom, and other locals are seen hiking into the south backcountry and bombing off Silver King. But using a helicopter? Isn’t that cheating? Snippets of archival footage recall the good old days when Backstrom’s family camped in the parking lot, ski pants were form-fitting, and people drove sensible cars like MGs into the Cascades with bald tires and chains. And helmets? Nobody wore helmets! Today, Dynasty’s best moments are in travelogue visits to Norway and northwestern China. Wry old Warren Miller, his company sold and now retired to the San Juans, is missed as narrator. But it’s entirely possible to ignore ex-Olympian Jonny Moseley—the Matthew McConaughey of hosts—and just concentrate on the scenery. Then go home and check the weather forecast. (NR) BRIAN MILLER

Sat., Nov. 14, 3, 6 & 9 p.m.; Sun., Nov. 15, 2, 5 & 8 p.m.; Fri., Nov. 20, 6:30 & 9:30 p.m.; Sat., Nov. 21, 6 & 9 p.m., 2009