THE FILM

Dr. Jane Zelikova is a tropical ecologist living in the mountains of Wyoming and Colorado. She dreams of snow in the summer and tropical forests in the dead of winter. But her snow-capped Fourteeners are changing – no longer bringing the deep winter snowpack once promised.

This is a future from which she and the people of the West can’t run. What’s a wildly curious, adventurous girl to do? Embark on a journey into the mountains to find the tales of the past, present and future of snow.

There will be adventure. Friendships will form. She will dig holes, and fall down those holes. But like any good story, the characters she meets will help show her the way, a map for living in a world beyond the end of snow.

*This film will also be narrated by Morgan Freeman*

#notactuallynarratedbymorganfreeman
#unlessmorganfreemaniswilling

THE CHARACTERS

OUR HERO
JANE ZELIKOVA

Jane is a scientist, producer, biker, skier, chaser of frisbees, climber of rocks, adventurer, budding filmmaker, avid reader, bad surfer, and obsessive consumer of gummy bears. Jane is interested in how the world works. She is a tropical ecologist working in the mountains of Wyoming and Colorado, dreaming of snow in the summer and tropical forests in the dead of winter. 

CHAPTER 1: THE ORACLE
BRYAN SHUMAN

Bryan is a geology professor at the University of Wyoming. In his research, he documents and maps changes in  North American lakes to decipher the paleoclimate hydrology, ecology, vegetation over the last 15,000 years. Bryan's reconstructions of past climates help test hypotheses about how ecological processes, water resources, and landscapes have changed, using that information to think about how things will look under similar climates projected into the future.

CHAPTER 2: THE SNOW GUARDIAN
BILLY BARR

billy is a lover of cricket, chocolate, and Bollywood films. He is also a steward of the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory in Gothic, CO. Living alone in his solar-powered backcountry cabin, billy has kept a more than 40-year record of snow. His faithful observations have become one of the most detailed records of modern snowpack in the US. Through these, billy holds a key to understanding how very recent changes in climate have impacted snow. 

CHAPTER 3: THE VISIONARY
FREDDIE BOTUR

Freddie operates Cottonwood Ranch in the upper Green River Valley near Big Piney, WY. His family moved to the ranch from New York City when Freddie was a kid, and they haven't looked back. Freddie grew up on the ranch learning from traditional ranchers before taking over 12 years ago. With over 4,500 head of cattle under his care, Freddie uses holistic grazing practices and strategic land management to reduce climate change vulnerability and foster resiliency for the future of his rangeland.