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.”
SCREENINGS
Canton, NY - Wednesday, December 3rd, 2025
St. Lawrence University
Campus Sullivan Student Center, Winston Room
4:00pm Doors, 5:00pm ADK Avy Speakers, 6:00pm Films:
Reviving the Legend + Variable
Rosendale, NY - Thursday, January 28th, 2026
Rosendale Theatre
Double feature with Queen of the Catskills
Ticket details coming soon.
FILM + SPEAKING INQUIRIES
Interested in hosting a screening / talk?
Please reach out to Jamie Kennard.
— PAST SCREENINGS 2025 —
10/16 - Lexington, NY - Van Dusen’s
09/27 - Lake Placid, NY - Adirondack 46er Fall Dinner
08/02 - Woodstock, VT - Vermont Film Festival
03/26 - Lake Placid, NY - US Ski & Snowboard Hall of Fame /
ISHA Film Festival , Olympic Center
03/15 - Montreal, Canada - Alpine Club of Canada
02/28 - North Creek, NY - Tannery Pond Center
02/21 - Bartlett, NH - Mt. Washington Backcountry Ski Festival
02/20 - Ludlow, VT - Friends of Ludlow Auditorium (FOLA), presented by Catamount Trail Association
02/15 - Livingston Manor, NY - Old Souls
02/06 - Montpelier, VT - Onion River Outdoors, presented by Catamount Trail Association
02/02 - Saratoga Springs, NY - Skidmore College, presented by Skidmore Outing Club
01/23 - Hunter, NY - Doctorow Center for the Arts, Mountain Cinema
01/15 - Boulder, CO - Zeal Optics
01/11 - New Paltz, NY - Rock & Snow
— PAST SCREENINGS 2024 —
12/19 - Brooklyn, NY - NY(SKI) - An Evening of Short Films and Ski Docs, Nighthawk Cinema, Williamsburg
12/14 - Woodstock, NY - Tinker Street Cinema
12/13 - North Adams, MA - Bright Ideas Brewing @ Mass MoCA, presented by Western Mass Backcountry Alliance and Thunderbolt Ski Runners
12/12 - Burlington, VT - J Skis Intergalactic Headquarters
12/07 - Lake Placid, NY - Walter Breeman Performing Arts Center, presented by The Mountaineer and Barkeater Trails Alliance
11/13 - Rochester, NY - ADK-GVC “Outside Voices”, Rochester Museum & Science Center
PRESS
NCPR
“Despite injury, loss, and tough conditions,
two brothers ski 46 High Peaks” (story, audio)
Adirondack Explorer
”Brothers make history skiing 81 mountains
in Adirondacks, Catskills”
The High Route
”Variable: A film about perseverance
and heads up Adirondack skiing”
Hudson Valley One
Life has its ups and downs: Rock & Snow screens doc
on ten-year backcountry ski odyssey
46 of 46 Podcast
Summit Sessions #63:
Skiing the 46 High Peaks with Jamie and Doug Kennard
Times Union
”Skier brothers conquer all Adirondacks
and Catskills high peaks”
support
“Rocks & Stumps & Ice & Snow” t-shirt
VARIABLE is a 100% self-supported film. If you’d like to support this project and future screenings you can purchase a shirt here.
A portion of sale proceeds will be donated to Protect Our Winters.
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
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 ‘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.