High Ground (2012 film)

In October 2010, ten years after blind adventurer Erik Weihenmayer made his historic ascent of Everest, the same team of mountain guides who assisted Erik reunited to lead a group of veterans on a climb that was all about shattering barriers and misperceptions. With the help of World T.E.A.M. Sports, a veterans support organization, they created an expedition to Nepal for 11 combat veterans suffering from physical and emotional injuries sustained during service in Iraq and Afghanistan. These soldiers, representing four branches of the United States military, set out to climb the 20,075ft peak of Lobuche East, just 8.7 miles from Mount Everest. The expedition is known as "Soldiers to the Summit".

Emmy-winning director Michael Brown, who filmed Weihenmayer's historic summit ten years earlier, joined the group to film this daunting climb. What followed was a year of interviews and editing that revealed the true story of the soldiers' difficult road to recovery as they faced a return to civilian life.

After days of trekking in Nepal's Khumbu Valley, the climbing route started from Lobuche High Camp with steep rock and transitioned to snow and ice for the final 2,000 feet. To ensure they summited in the best conditions, the team started climbing shortly after midnight, and on October 14, 2010, they reached the summit of Lobuche. Physical and emotional issues proved too much for some of the team. However, some of the most challenged soldiers were able to reach the summit.

Brown and cinematographers Rex Pemberton and Didrik Johnck (all Everest summiteers) climbed alongside the team. The most promising graduates from Brown's Outside Adventure Film School made up the remainder of the film crew. Digital SLRs, including the Canon EOS 7D, were used for their lightweight portability and image quality. Each cameraperson also carried digital field recorders and flip cameras to capture the drama on the climb. Cold and altitude were the two environmental factors that presented the biggest challenges. Filmmakers charged batteries at teahouses along the trek, which was an expensive process that required cash-only payments in Nepalese currency to pay for electricity.

Having had experience on previous expeditions for the IMAX films Return to Everest, and The Alps, director Brown and his crew understood that fascinating storylines often formulate from base camp.

Composer Chris Bacon's scores for films like Source Code inspired Don and Michael to ask him to join the project. "We wanted the music to underline the journey, and asked Chris to start with very conventional American guitars and instrumentation," said Don, "and then as the journey progressed, let the music become more exotic and spiritual to reflect the inward journey of the soldiers." "Sometimes in the process of composing for a film I see the individual scenes so many times that writing the music can become a technical exercise, with the repetition numbing a film's emotional effect on me," shared Chris Bacon. "Upon viewing the finished version of High Ground, however, I was stunned at its emotional impact, and the tremendous pride I felt towards the men and women featured in the film and what they have sacrificed and accomplished."

By Thanksgiving of 2011, New York director and editor Ryan Fenson-Hood came on board to do a fine cut of the film and Oscar-winning sound designer Gary Rizzo (The Incredibles, Inception) mixed the film at the venerable Skywalker Ranch in Marin, California.

• Boulder Film Festival Review
• * High Ground at IMDb