Colorado has some of the most beautiful scenery in the world and has a rich population of people who love spending time in the backcountry. Getting away from civilization is alluring to many but what happens if you get lost or injured while exploring the vastness of the Colorado outdoors? This is where the Alpine Rescue Team comes into play. The Alpine Rescue Team is a volunteer based non-profit whose mission is to help people who have become lost or injured while exploring the Colorado backcountry. This short documentary showcases what it's like to be part of this amazing group of people and illustrates how valuable they are to anyone who has found themselves in a less than ideal situation while enjoying the beauty of what Colorado has to offer.
Director’s Statement: Brian Chambliss
My father died unexpectedly in a mountaineering accident on Torrey’s Peak in July of 2019 and the Alpine Rescue Team put on the search and rescue effort to find him. I had never heard of the Alpine Rescue Team before my late father’s death but have since learned they are an incredible volunteer-based, non-profit whose mission is to help people who are lost or injured while exploring Colorado’s backcountry. The most amazing part of their mission is that they don’t charge for their rescue efforts. In the case of my late father’s rescue, they had a team of 20-30 people and two helicopters searching for three days straight. During those three days I had two things on my mind. One, is my father still alive and two, how much is all of this going to cost? Four days after he went missing, the local Sheriff approached my family and I and told us they had found our father but that he was no longer alive. While he was talking to us, I asked him how much this rescue effort was going to cost. To my surprise he said it would not cost us anything. Neither the Sheriff nor the Alpine Rescue Team would send us a bill. The most amazing part of this revelation was that my family and I could grieve and deal with the emotional impact of losing such an amazing person without being saddled with the burden of coming up with hundreds of thousands of dollars to pay for the rescue effort. In that moment I promised myself that I was going to make a short film about the Alpine Rescue Team and a year and a half later I have fulfilled that promise. Over the last five months I’ve been working with them to create the following film and I am very proud of what we’ve created. They are such an incredible group of volunteers who spend their time and resources rescuing complete strangers and I want the world to know how truly special they are.
- Runtime7 minutes
- FilmmakerBrian Chambliss
Colorado has some of the most beautiful scenery in the world and has a rich population of people who love spending time in the backcountry. Getting away from civilization is alluring to many but what happens if you get lost or injured while exploring the vastness of the Colorado outdoors? This is where the Alpine Rescue Team comes into play. The Alpine Rescue Team is a volunteer based non-profit whose mission is to help people who have become lost or injured while exploring the Colorado backcountry. This short documentary showcases what it's like to be part of this amazing group of people and illustrates how valuable they are to anyone who has found themselves in a less than ideal situation while enjoying the beauty of what Colorado has to offer.
Director’s Statement: Brian Chambliss
My father died unexpectedly in a mountaineering accident on Torrey’s Peak in July of 2019 and the Alpine Rescue Team put on the search and rescue effort to find him. I had never heard of the Alpine Rescue Team before my late father’s death but have since learned they are an incredible volunteer-based, non-profit whose mission is to help people who are lost or injured while exploring Colorado’s backcountry. The most amazing part of their mission is that they don’t charge for their rescue efforts. In the case of my late father’s rescue, they had a team of 20-30 people and two helicopters searching for three days straight. During those three days I had two things on my mind. One, is my father still alive and two, how much is all of this going to cost? Four days after he went missing, the local Sheriff approached my family and I and told us they had found our father but that he was no longer alive. While he was talking to us, I asked him how much this rescue effort was going to cost. To my surprise he said it would not cost us anything. Neither the Sheriff nor the Alpine Rescue Team would send us a bill. The most amazing part of this revelation was that my family and I could grieve and deal with the emotional impact of losing such an amazing person without being saddled with the burden of coming up with hundreds of thousands of dollars to pay for the rescue effort. In that moment I promised myself that I was going to make a short film about the Alpine Rescue Team and a year and a half later I have fulfilled that promise. Over the last five months I’ve been working with them to create the following film and I am very proud of what we’ve created. They are such an incredible group of volunteers who spend their time and resources rescuing complete strangers and I want the world to know how truly special they are.
- Runtime7 minutes
- FilmmakerBrian Chambliss