Granite Peak Climb, Montana, August 2010
Randy Wimberg, Director of Photography

One of my more interesting jobs this summer involved a climb to the highest peak in the Beartooth range of Montana, 12,799 foot Granite Peak.   Our main character, Brandi Roman, a 29 year old critical care nurse with early-onset Parkinson's disease made it her goal to summit the peak. She wanted to show people that “you don’t have to go around your problems, your mountains. Go straight up them.”  

Parkinson’s disease is a neurological illness characterized by rigidity, imbalance and uncontrollable shaking.  Teva Neuroscience, the sponsor of the event, makes a drug called Azilect that enables Parkinson’s patients to live an active life.  Brandi is a spokesperson for the company.

Twelve people would attempt the climb - seven for Brandi’s party, five for the production team.   Dave Collins was Brandi’s guide and responsible for strategy of the group. I formed my own production support team.  My guides were Aaron Hjelt and Jonathan Scott. Aaron had been to the peak previously and assisted me on the summit bid.  Jonathan is a very experienced climber and can shoulder an eighty + pound load like it’s a day pack. My soundman and second cameraman was Bill Heiselman who is tested in adventure production and had previously worked in the Beartooth Range. Our producer from BicMedia, Austin Bickford, was out of Kansas City.  When he first approached me about the project and said he wanted to go to the summit, I was immediately suspect. He had never done anything like it before and I saw him as possible liability on the mountain. But he did a great job of preparing himself physically in a short time and he was a pleasure to work with during the climb.

We gave ourselves five days to accomplish Brandi’s goal and we used all of them.

The first day we left the trail head late afternoon and camped the first night at Mystic Lake. Not a hard hike but long enough to get everyone used to heavy packs and test Brandi’s stamina. The following morning we ascended a difficult series of steep switchbacks appropriately named the Switchbacks From Hell that led to our next camp on Froze to Death Plateau at 11,500 ft. As we approached the featureless plain the clouds came in and a cold, foggy rain took over that soon turned to snow. Visibility was limited and finding our camp location in a white out required vigilant navigation. Setting up tents in a snowstorm with wet hands and driving wind was not good for moral. We spent the entire next day confined to our tents as the storm pulsated throughout the day, leaving inches of snow that abated, then picked up and hammered us again.

Dave decided to call it quits if conditions did not change by 4:30 the following morning.  I think we all thought we would be going home early. But we awoke to a broad canopy of intense stars. Energized and hopeful, we took off across a snowfield towards Granite peak, headlamps blazing.

It was a long haul, 16 hours round trip to be exact, but, man, was it a beautiful day. My filming strategy all along had been to get ahead of the group, find a place to make several shots and after the group went by, pack it up and move as fast as possible to catch up and get ahead to do it again. Fortunately, a group that size stops frequently so I was able to leap frog my way along without slowing down the overall progress. It was arduous hiking over uneven scree, boulders, patches of snow and marshy run-off but the beauty of the day, and the peak as a beacon to guide us, kept spirits high. 

The first hurdle was crossing the snow bridge, the remnants of a cornice in a small saddle that signify the beginning of the real climb. In frozen conditions, the snow crossing can be treacherous.  A slip and fall can result in a slide-for-life down a thousand foot steep couloir into ugly rocks. We experienced above freezing conditions which meant there were steps to follow across soft snow. Some of our people used ice axes for peace of mind.   

Much of the climb is class five from there to the summit. Experienced climbers often do it with no ropes but our group, although physically in shape, needed the security of ropes.  One misstep could create major consequences.

Several pitches below the summit our progress began to bog down. It became clear that we needed to change strategy if we were going to get to the top of Granite Peak and back down to Froze to death Plateau before dark.  We had to get Brandi to the peak and film her success; not everyone could go to the top.

During this discussion, people were slowly taking turns climbing up our only rope.  A large rock accidentally dislodged and came close to clobbering one of our members below.  After that, Dave agreed to trim down the team.  Aaron, myself, Ryan Glibbery and Brandi would make a break for the summit, while Dave and Jonathan followed at a slower pace with the rest of the group.

We made the 12,799 ft. summit.  Brandi’s emotion swept over me as I hid behind the camera’s viewfinder and kept rolling.  She accomplished her goal: to prove that people with Parkinson’s disease can get active.  

The rest of the group, lead by Jonathon, started their descent but Dave continued on to celebrate with Brandi and Ryan. Then it took four rappels to descend the mountain.  A fog set in at sunset, obscuring the cairns that marked the way to our tents. Good thing we had not attempted the summit any later in the day.