Pro Skiers Rachael Burks + Jessica Baker Take On Big Lines, Climate Change In New Film

What happens when you combine a renewable energy sailboat with an arctic ski expedition in Greenland for the first time ever? Athletes Rachael Burks and Jessica Baker put the idea to the test, and endure a both harrowing and inspiring journey along Greenland’s West coast fjords and towering mountains.

• Former World Tour Freeskiing champion, professional mountain guide, and mother, Jessica Baker, has a knack for seeking out remote adventures. From a young age Jessica developed a love for wild and mountainous landscapes while growing up on a small farm in North Idaho. From the Arctic to the southernmost Andes, Jessica has spanned the globe with her ski and alpine endeavors. Jessica lives in Jackson, WY with her husband, a fellow mountain guide, and her two young daughters.
• Rachael is a professional skier based out of Utah. She competed on the Freeskiing World Tour internationally (where she met Jessica Baker 20 years ago) and has since appeared in several Warren Miller and Teton Gravity Research Films. Rachael sits on the board of a non-profit called The Billy Poole Foundation designed to inspire youth to spend time outside. She can be found at either Alta or Snowbird most winter days at the top of Little Cottonwood Canyon .

Their new film, Going Greenland, is a documentary about our connection to wild spaces and the juxtaposition of having an impact on our environment. How do we follow our dreams and passions while still living in a way that is more in harmony with our environment? Find out how Rachael and Jessica work through some of these challenges while still managing to tick off big ski lines in the remote and wild landscapes and seascapes of Western Greenland and the Greenland Ice Sheet.

In May of 2019 professional skiers Jessica Baker, Rachael Burks, photographer Joey Schusler, and sailboat captain Benjamin Ruffieux embarked on a journey to the West Coast of Greenland to explore uncharted waters and un-skied lines from a 50-ft sailboat. What they didn't realize was 2019 was to become the second hottest year on record and the very first-time in history that temperatures hovered consecutively above freezing at the top of the Greenland ice sheet. And while the corn cycle provided weeks of amazing skiing, the warmth was alarming. Over a three-week period, the team witnessed massive melting events and unprecedented warm temperatures atop the world's second largest ice cap. The ramifications of which were being closely monitored by scientists

Fast forward three years…the world has been shut down from the pandemic, borders are just beginning to open, and the past two years have once again seen some of the hottest temperatures on record, with 2022 slated to be the hottest ever. Scientists studying climate change have seen exponential rates of melting of the Greenland ice sheet.

In May of 2022 Jessica and Rachael returned to Greenland's West Coast, this time with a film production team; to observe and document the changes that have occurred over the past three years and to attempt some of the ski lines that were left untouched from the previous trip in 2019. But this trip they have returned with one key modification: the sailboat has now been transformed into a renewable energy boat, running fully off of sun and wind power. Along with this modification comes new challenges.

What ensues is both an inspiring and formidable journey as compromise and progress go hand in hand for an experimental expedition attempting to ski and sail from a renewable energy sailboat for the first time along Greenland’s Coast and fjords. This day in age, existing in harmony with our planet is not always an easy task. Which begs the question, to what extent do we as the human race need to change our habits and compromise in order to stop global warming and the effects of climate change to preserve our planet?

Going Greenland is a film about our connection to wild spaces and the juxtaposition of having an impact on our environment. How do we follow our dreams and passions while still living in a way that is more in harmony with our environment? Find out how Rachael and Jessica work through some of these challenges while still managing to tick off big ski lines in the remote and wild landscapes and seascapes of Western Greenland and the Greenland Ice Sheet.

Going Greenland is set to premiere on January 5, 2023 in Jackson, WY at the Center For the Arts, with additional film tour dates to be added