We’re all guilty of it: firing up our combustion-engine-driven cars as we head for the hills, idling in parking lots waiting for the car to warm, traveling for hours in one direction for powdery turns, and sitting on diesel-powered ski lifts. Our sport burns a ton of fossil fuel and as we revel in the joys of what our planet offers, we are also helping deteriorate it. This is exactly what Teton Gravity Research explores in their latest film, The Hypocrite. 

Through the eyes of professional skier, snowmobiler and climate advocate, Amie Engerbretson, the film explores how outdoor recreation contributes to the problem we are trying to fix. 

Flipping the narrative and placing the blame on the fossil fuel industry, Engerbretson calls outdoor enthusiasts to action, stressing the importance of getting involved in politics at any level and advocating for the individual’s power in the policy process. And at the same time, she also acknowledges her own carbon footprint and how she contributes to global warming through snowmobiling, traveling, and heliskiing. So what does it look like for a professional freeride skier to fight climate change without giving up this seemingly harmful sport?

Climate advocacy is often met with arguments that those in nature are responsible for destroying it. The Hypocrite not only explores these ideas by looking inward at the individual but by looking outward at entire industries. The film highlights the power those who go outdoors hold in changing the narrative. Offering hope, explanation and solutions to our changing world, you’ll know there’s more to it than just feeling hypocritical the next time you go skiing. 

“You tune your skis and you care about the environment by knowing what’s going on in your system,” Engerbretson says in the video. “Find your power lever and pull it.”