The film starts out when Johnny Kapahala is living in Hawaii. He has good friends, a great family, and a grandpa who is a surf legend. But then his dad gets a job transfer and makes his family move to Vermont. While at his new school, Johnny meets a girl named Emily, with whom he becomes good friends. However, a skier named Brett likes Emily as well. During one incident in the mountain, the Urchins (the students from the public school) decide to ride the side of the mountain that belongs to the skiers and are confronted by the Skies (the private school students).