Vertical Limit

"Take It To The Limit"?

Artist and year?

Very funny.

That's not a song. It's ridiculous.

You made it up.

That is definitely a song.

It's a good song, and a winning song.

You give up?

On belay.

"MacArthur Park." Richard Harris.

recorded music back then.

Excuse me. I have a signed album

by Mr. Harris.

It was cutting-edge stuff back then.

Peter, check your sister's belay.

Want to tell him we're not 15?

Why bother? We'll always be 15.

Dad, she needs a second cam.

That won't hold in a fall.

Screw you.

Listen, Annie.

No matter how experienced...

...a smart climber always wears a belt

and suspenders.

Two cams are safe, three's better.

I'm not kidding. We're not moving

until you put another cam in the wall.

I have three cams.

He's yanking your chain.

Watch out!

Amateurs at twelve o'clock!

Check your safety!

Too much weight!

It's not gonna hold!

Hold it together, you two!

Now get a grip.

We're getting out of this.

Annie, how close to the wall are we?

Keep still, goddamn it!

Stop moving around! Stop!

Dad!

Both of you...

...keep very still.

Try and stay calm.

Annie.

Is the other cam moving?

No.

Try and reach the wall.

See if you can anchor us back in.

Try it.

It's moving!

Peter, get your knife.

What?

Just do as I say.

Get it!

You don't have much time here.

You have to do something for me.

Cut me loose.

One cam can't hold us all.

You have to cut me loose...

...or else I'll pull everybody down.

Everybody will die!

Shut up, Annie!

It's one dead or three, Peter.

Don't make him do this.

You're gonna kill your sister.

Annie will die if you don't.

- I won't do it!

- Cut the rope!

- I can't!

- Stop it!

That cam is gonna come out

and Annie and you will die!

- You'll kill your sister!

- Stop it!

Cut the damn rope!

It doesn't matter about me. Cut it.

We're out of time!

Don't do it!

No one will blame you for it!

Just cut it!

Annie and you are gonna die!

Just cut it, Peter!

We're cleared for the Siachen glacier.

A doctor's on standby.

I was heading there anyway.

Mail and supplies.

I can drop you on my way back

to K2 base camp.

Sounds good.

I tried to visit you a few days ago.

But the weather closed in.

Annie's at base camp.

Arrived last week.

Would you like a tea?

No, I'm fine.

You must try the tea. It's very good.

Indian, of course.

We may be at war with them,

but their tea's the best.

- Forgive me. Mr. Garrett, isn't it?

- Yes.

National Geographic is always welcome.

The only Westerners who come to

Pakistan without conquering something.

The colonel's angry. Only 25% of his

medical supplies are onboard.

And three days late.

Look at this place.

In six years, I've lost 800 men.

Not one to the enemy.

But the chopper was full of stuff.

Not for my men.

For Americans who can pay $3 million for

climbing permits.

Elliot Vaughn, the entrepreneur.

He's got 40 people with him to try K2.

I've been seconded to his team.

Seconded or sold?

That's a question only a general

in Islamabad can answer.

Three o'clock.

Time to wake up the Indians.

So Annie's coming in

with Vaughn's team?

She's leading a WNN documentary crew.

They're going up the mountain

with him.

Have you seen her?

Not yet. One of the guides told me.

What about Vaughn?

What's he all about?

Pretty much what you'd expect.

Sensitive, kind, modest.

Your typical billionaire.

Four years ago his team took

on the south face.

Was 800 feet from the top

when weather closed in.

Twenty-four hours in the death zone.

Next morning, he walked down.

He's a bloody good climber.

- Got your update, Annie.

- What's up?

That cyclone's tracking fast

from southeast.

Let me know if anything changes.

What are you..?

I just happened to be in the area.

I heard WNN hired you. And you're

hosting it. Congrats.

They needed someone who could climb K2

and look presentable.

Not much of a rush.

That's not true. They wanted the best.

I read about you on the Eiger.

Fastest female ascent.

Dad would be proud.

When you leaving?

Early tomorrow morning. We want to

be summiting by 2:00 Wednesday.

What does the mountain say about that?

I thought you laid siege to it.

I didn't know it could be scheduled.

It's a plan, Peter, that's all.

Vaughn's aggressive. He knows what he

wants and goes for it.

I admire him.

How long have you known him?

Wherever you're going with this,

you're wrong.

Nobody ever affects my climbing.

Was that two of them, Cyril?

Or has this stuff just gotten

better than we thought?

- Frank.

- Good to see you.

- Tommy McLaren. Colorado Kid.

- You ready to go?

You lead, I'll follow.

There's my leading lady. Hi, Annie.

- How was your trip?

- My stomach's still up there.

Luckily I passed on the eggs Benedict.

Excuse me for a minute.

Ed Viesturs.

It's an honor to meet you.

- Elliot Vaughn.

- Nice to meet you.

This guy has been up Everest five times.

He's climbed 12 of the world's

All without oxygen.

Rock on. By comparison, all of us

are merely amateurs.

- It's a real honor, Ed.

- Welcome to base camp.

Thank you.

Outdoors magazine wants

to interview you.

"Bankruptcy at High Altitude."

How much can we...

Yes?

I could go and come back, or...

Looking for Skip?

Yeah.

Try the command tent.

Thanks.

Skip?

I'm Peter Garrett.

- Good to meet you.

- Good to meet you.

I got your message.

Bad luck about your porter.

I've got four you can meet tomorrow.

Supplies you need are no problem.

The Swedish hooker's taking longer

than I thought.

There's no shortage of entertainment.

You saw Mr. Vaughn fly in?

He's hard to miss. What's this

about his climbing to a deadline?

- Friend of yours?

- My sister's climbing with him.

Annie Garrett.

Vaughn's got this publicity stunt

for his new airline, Majestic Air.

He stands on the top of K2 waving

as the inaugural flight goes overhead.

Are you serious?

I'm deadly serious.

Your sister's safe. No one knows

these hills better than Tommy McLaren.

He told Vaughn they'd get up there.

I know I did.

I'd have told him anything

for $1 million.

Is that what he's spending?

That's just for Tom. Bought his

company out for the entire season.

Not that I'm pissed off.

Look what I get to drag to the top.

with dysfunctional bowel syndrome.

He's got the runs, mate. Permanently.

The Bench brothers bet

he won't make it past 18,000.

- What do you think?

- What do I think?

It depends. I'm so broke I might have

to shove him in a crevasse myself.

This is Monique, our base camp manager

and medic. Monique, Peter.

We've met. You should look at these.

Don't mind her. She's French-Canadian.

Some days she's Canadian

and can be quite pleasant.

Today, she's obviously French.

How about some Spanish mackerel

for the bow?

My name's Cyril. I'm not much,

but I'm all I think about.

Watch out for him, he's like a dog.

If he sees something...

...he tries to shag it. If he can't

shag it, he tries to eat it.

If he can't eat it, he pisses on it.

It's easy to tell us apart,

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes