THE FILM
VARIABLE chronicles the 10 year journey of two brothers as they attempt to backcountry ski the Adirondack 46ers - a rugged collection of 46 mountains rising to 4,000ft and higher - in a quest to become the first to ski all 81 of the classic high peaks of the Catskill and Adirondack Mountains. The duo face an uphill battle skiing to the summits, navigating through complex terrain of ice, rock, thick trees, and a seesaw of harsh and unpredictable winter conditions.
Physical injury in the mountains, a midnight rescue across thin lake ice, and the tragic loss of a spouse, all test the brothers’ commitment. In a landscape where climate change now has the final say on what form winter takes, the two find themselves racing against the clock, and a disappearing snowpack, to finish skiing the last peaks before the decade-long goal melts beneath their skis.
Mountain Gazette called their accomplishment “a New York skiing achievement like no other.”
Cast
Doug Kennard, skier
Jamie Kennard, skier
David Goodman
Journalist, Author “Best Backcountry Skiing in the Northeast”
Caitlin Kelly
Writer, Co-Founder Adirondack Community Avalanche Project
Ron Konowitz
Local Legend, First ADK 46er Skier
Laurie Rankin
President, Adirondack Forty Sixers
Andrew Weibrecht
Two-time Olympic Medalist, U.S. Ski Team
Charlie Wise
Owner, The Mountaineer, Keene Valley, NY
SCREENINGS
Rochester, NY - Wednesday, November 13
ADK-GVC “Outside Voices”
Rochester Museum & Science Center
7pm screening with Q+A after
More Info
Lake Placid, NY - Saturday, December 7
ADK Backcountry Ski Season Kickoff
North Country School, Walter Breeman Performing Arts Center
Presented by The Mountaineer
More Info
Burlington, VT - Thursday, December 12
J Skis Headquarters
247 Main Street
6-8pm, 7pm screening with Q+A after
More Info
North Adams, MA - December 13
Bright Ideas Brewing @ Mass MoCA
7pm screening with Q+A after
Presented by Western Mass Backcountry Alliance and Thunderbolt Ski Runners
Woodstock, NY - Saturday, December 14
Tinker Street Cinema
5pm screening with Q+A after
Bartlett, NH - Friday, February 21
Mt. Washington Backcountry Ski Festival
Ledge Brewing
More DATES COMING SOON
Media inquiries or film screenings, contact Jamie Kennard.
About the Director
Jamie Kennard purchased a camera in 2022 after losing his wife, and partner of 31 years, to cancer (having spent the prior two years as her full-time caregiver). He immediately began a self-taught journey into filmmaking. A month later he made his first vignette film ‘The Ski Guy’. He followed up with vignettes ‘The Needle Felter’ (2022) and ‘The Ciderist’ (2023).
In 2023 he completed his 500th consecutive “5k a day”, a self-imposed challenge to counterbalance a period of personal loss and grief, following three simple rules: 1. Move outdoors every day (on foot, bike, or skis). 2. Five kilometers (and up to 100+ miles). 3. Rain or shine, no excuses.
He lives in Woodstock, NY, in the heart of the Catskill Mountains.
