Mount St. Elias

A dramatic and awe-inspiring feature documentary following three of the world’s greatest ski mountaineers to Mount St. Elias in their attempt to realize the longest ski descent of the world.  Stunningly shot and set against the backdrop of Alaska’s brilliant beauty, Mount St. Elias traces the journey of Austrian ski mountaineers Axel Naglich and Peter Ressmann, and American freeski mountaineer Jon Johnston who risk their lives in order to achieve an inspired, dangerous, potentially reckless dream.

Mount St. Elias is the second-highest mountain in North America which reaches its peak at over 18,000 feet.  It sits on border of the US and Canada is a part of National Parks in each country.  First climbed in 1897, it has been infrequently climbed ever since due to the extreme weather conditions explorers face.  Our intrepid travelers chose to not only climb the mountain, but to ski its highest peak.  They find themselves in intense situations in which heroism cannot easily be distinguished from folly.  Situations which can only be mastered if reason is supposedly abandoned and in which courage as well as trust in their own abilities, and a lot of luck, are used as guidelines.

Breathtaking aerial photography of Mount St. Elias’ desolate, moonlike landscape, and incredible ski footage, combined with our heroes’ struggles to endure under the harshest conditions, blend to create a surreal, fascinating and stirring experience. 

In the end, Mount St. Elias is more than an extreme sports adventure.  It is an epic story of survival, daring, courage, friendship and, most importantly, the magnificence of our planet Earth and our relationship with it.