Teton Gravity Research is back with its 31st annual ski film, Actually, It Is Rocket Science, bringing together some of the world’s best skiers in some of the world’s most consequential terrain.
Among them are Obermeyer athletes Tim Durtschi, Colter Hinchliffe, and Anna Tedesco, who link up in Haines, Alaska, for big mountain skiing in the Obermeyer Off Grid Collection.
Set against the massive peaks and iconic terrain of Southeast Alaska, the trio puts Off Grid to work in exactly the kind of environment it was designed for: big lines, deep snow, unpredictable conditions, and days spent exploring beyond the familiar.
TGR’s Actually, It Is Rocket Science
For more than three decades, Teton Gravity Research has documented the progression of skiing and snowboarding around the world. For its 31st annual ski film, TGR is taking a closer look at what actually goes into pushing the limits of what’s possible in the mountains.
Actually, It Is Rocket Science turns the mountain into a laboratory and every descent into an experiment.
The film follows some of the world’s best skiers across Haines, Alaska; Bute Inlet, British Columbia; Japan; Finland; Andorra; Montana; Jay Peak, Vermont; and Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Every destination presents a different set of variables—terrain, snowpack, weather, and approach—but the same forces are always at work: speed, gravity, instinct, and consequence.
With a tongue-in-cheek look at the seemingly reckless abandon of elite skiers, the film explores the physics and decision-making behind the sport. From dissecting a big mountain line and calculating transitions to understanding the speed and force required for a massive gap, every line becomes its own experiment.
Big Mountain Skiing in Haines, Alaska
For Tim Durtschi, Colter Hinchliffe, and Anna Tedesco, that experiment leads to Haines.
Haines has long held a special place in big mountain skiing. Its steep faces, exposed spines, couloirs, and seemingly endless terrain have made Southeast Alaska a proving ground for generations of freeride skiers.
It’s the kind of place where preparation and instinct have to work together. You can study the terrain, watch the snow, calculate your speed, and plan every turn—but eventually, you have to drop in.
Together in Alaska, Durtschi, Hinchliffe, and Tedesco bring their own styles and approaches to the mountains while sharing the same goal: find the line, understand what the mountain is giving them, and commit when the moment is right.
Putting the Obermeyer Off Grid Collection to the Test
They’re doing it in the Obermeyer Off Grid Collection, our freeride outerwear built for big mountains and the skiers who seek them out.
From the beginning, Off Grid was designed with the explorer in mind. The collection was developed for big-mountain skiers and powder-chasing riders who move between inbounds laps, backcountry missions, and wherever the search for snow takes them next.
Haines provides a fitting testing ground.
In consequential mountain terrain, outerwear needs to do more than look the part. Protection from changing weather, freedom of movement, durability, and dependable performance all matter when the days get longer and the terrain gets bigger.
It’s what Off Grid was built for.
Three Obermeyer Athletes, One TGR Film
The Haines segment also brings together three members of the Obermeyer athlete team on one of skiing’s biggest stages.
Colter Hinchliffe has helped shape Off Grid from the beginning, working directly with the Obermeyer team to focus the collection on the needs of skiers and adventurers who spend their winters chasing big terrain.
Alongside Tim Durtschi and Anna Tedesco, the three represent exactly what Off Grid is about: exploration, progression, and the desire to see what’s on the other side of the next ridge.
In Actually, It Is Rocket Science, we get to see where that approach takes them.
See Actually, It Is Rocket Science on Tour
Directed by Todd and Steve Jones, Actually, It Is Rocket Science features a roster of some of skiing’s top athletes and was filmed across North America, Europe, and Japan.
The film premiered in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, on September 19 before hitting the road for the Teton Gravity Research World Tour, with more than 200 stops planned around the world.
Find a showing near you and see Tim, Colter, Anna, and the Obermeyer Off Grid Collection on the big screen.
