In Detroit, Michigan, automobile factory assemblyman T. J. Burke completes his shift at the Ford Motor Company. He returns home to find a letter from Esquire magazine, rejecting his writing submissions. Frustrated with life, T. J. convinces his best friend, David “Dexter” Rutecki, to leave Michigan with him. Quitting their jobs, the two drive to the Rocky Mountain resort town of Aspen, Colorado, and apply for work as ski instructors. Dexter does not get hired, but T. J. pleads with ski school director, Karl Stall, to reconsider. Early one morning, the friends’ van runs out of propane and they seek temporary shelter with the local radio deejay, Robin Hand, who urges them to find a place to live. As T. J. uses his finesse to charm the tourists on the slopes, Dexter is stuck teaching children on the “bunny hill.” However, his methods earn him a large tip from one of his students’ parents, which he uses to treat T. J. to dinner at an upscale restaurant. As the friends scoff at the overpriced menu, a wealthy British woman named Bryce Kellogg sends a $600 bottle of champagne to their table. Smitten with T. J., Bryce invites them both to a party later that evening. At the event, she introduces T. J. to her jealous suitor, an accomplished German skier named Franz Hauser. Sometime later, the boys run out of places to park their van and move into a vacant train caboose on the edge of town. One day, T. J. and Dexter watch Franz Hauser and his ski partner, Rudy Zucker, practice for the annual “Powder Eight” competition, which requires the athletes to ski down the mountain in perfect figure eight formations. Later that night, Bryce invites T. J. to her house and seduces him in her indoor swimming pool. Over breakfast the next morning, he reveals his failed attempts to become a writer. Eager to support him, Bryce loans him a stack of informational books on the subject. Back at the caboose, Dexter becomes annoyed that T. J. put his attraction to Bryce before their plans to practice for next year’s Powder Eight. After making amends, they attempt to ski down a dangerous mountainside beyond the resort’s permitted boundaries. Suddenly, T. J. falls through a hole in the ground and plummets into a secret spring. His skis hook onto rocks, leaving him suspended underwater until Dexter rappels into the cave to save him. T. J. refuses to jeopardize their jobs by going to the hospital, prompting Dexter to seek medical treatment from Robin. Once recovered from his head injury, T. J. returns to the slopes and is asked to fill in for Franz, who has taken ill. Preferring T. J.’s personable manner, the clients book him as their instructor, causing Franz to grow angry. After finding out that Bryce has left for the season, T. J. asks Robin to dinner. Breaking her rule against dating ski instructors, Robin accepts, and they kiss. As they date through the summer, T. J. resumes his passion for writing and has one of his stories published in a popular skiing magazine. With the arrival of the next winter snow, Dexter is assigned to private lessons with a seemingly hopeless student, and is ultimately suspended for failing to teach him. T. J. gives Robin a rough draft of his latest story, “Lady on the Radio.” Bryce returns to Aspen and attempts to rekindle her friendship with T. J. by hiring him for a day of lessons. Afterward, she invites him out for a drink and they make love. He regrets the decision when he finds his story pinned to his door with a bitter note from Robin. Apologizing, he insists that the Englishwoman was only encouraging his writing career. Meanwhile, Dexter begins using cocaine and agrees to deliver a $10,000 supply for a friend named Jake Neil, but suddenly grows nervous and dumps the drugs down a toilet. That night, T. J. finds Dexter crawling naked through the snow in a panic about the money he now owes the dealers. Frustrated with Dexter’s irresponsible behavior, T. J. repays the debt by borrowing money from Bryce before moving his belongings into her house. Saddened by the dissolution of the boys’ friendship, Robin barges into the caboose, discards Dexter’s drugs and alcohol, and drags him back to the ski slopes. Eventually, Dexter announces his intention to return to Detroit, but asks if T. J. will first help him win the Powder Eight. During one of their practices, however, an avalanche carries Dexter down the side of the mountain and kills him. T. J. returns to work, where Franz blames him for Dexter’s death. Back at the caboose, T. J. is packing his friend’s belongings when Robin stops by to assure him that the accident was not his fault. Depressed, he becomes intoxicated and breaks up with Bryce. On the slopes, he meets Dexter’s replacement, an Olympic hopeful named Todd Pounds, who eagerly offers to be T. J.’s partner in the next Powder Eight. T. J. refuses before putting on Dexter’s old baseball cap and skiing through a restricted avalanche zone, causing two mountain patrolmen to give chase. He evades their pursuit by slaloming down an icy cliff, but the incident is reported to Karl Stall. The ski school director urges him to get over Dexter’s death, and T. J. submits his autobiographical story, “Aspen Extreme,” to the skiing magazine. After its publication, T. J. reconsiders Todd’s proposal and joins him in the Powder Eight competition. In order to beat Franz and Rudy’s perfect score, T. J. leads Todd off-course as they continue to ski flawlessly down the backside of the mountain. While revelling in their victory, T. J. spots Robin on the sidelines. Apologizing for his past mistakes, he professes his love and kisses her.