Spirit Of The Peaks

Produced in partnership with REI Co-op Studios, Wondercamp and NativesOutdoors, and co-directed by Hunkpapa Lakota skier Connor Ryan, “Spirit of the Peaks” is a film about the struggle for balance between two worlds.

For Connor, skiing in Ute Territory has always raised questions about being in reciprocity with the land and its people. As a skier who connects with the land through sport, he empathizes with the injustices that have displaced the Utes and ongoing colonization, erasure and extraction impacting the Ute people.

This story connects conflicted pasts to an awakening in cultural awareness that can create an equitable future for Indigenous people and skiers.

Connor's mission with the film is to do his part in restoring balance with all inhabitants of these mountains by illuminating the Utes' culture and traditional knowledge that can benefit everyone in the fight to preserve the land and dissipating snowpack.

Connor Ryan, Tim Kressin

A proud Hunkpapa Lakota and passionate skier, Connor Ryan was born and raised on the Arapaho, Cheyenne and Ute homelands at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. He considers these places among his biggest inspirations and closest relatives. Connor seeks to decolonize, reconnect and learn to better honor all his relations through adventure and activism. Skiing is his dance and prayer, a ceremony of its own. Lakota traditional ecological knowledge helps Connor understand the true value of the sacred land and water we ski on in deeper and more tangible ways.

Tim Kressin is passionate about asking hard questions, calling people into adventure, and diving deep into friendships. He does this mainly through film and tacos. He is the co-founder of Wondercamp, a production company based in Seattle, that shares the stories of everyday world changers, status quo shakers, and adventure takers around the world.