ertical Limit is a high adrenaline tale of a young climber, Peter Garrett (Chris O'Donnell) who must launch a treacherous and extraordinary rescue effort up K2, the world's second highest peak. Confronting both his own limitations and the awesome power of nature's uncontrollable elements, Peter risks his life to save his sister Annie (Robin Tunney) and her summit team (Bill Paxton and Nicholas Lea) in a race against time.

  Years before, brother and sister were devastated by a horrific climbing accident. In the aftermath, Peter isolated himself as a nature photographer, while Annie chased her father's dream to climb the world's highest peaks.

  Now she is trapped in an icy grave at 26,000 feet - a death zone above the vertical limit of endurance where the
human body cannot survive for long. Every second counts as Peter enlists the help of a crew of fellow climbers, including eccentric reclusive mountain man Montgomery Wick (Scott Glenn), to ascend the chilling might of the world's most feared peak to save her.		 actors
Chris O'Donnell
Robin Tunney
Bill Paxton
Scott Glen
Nicholas Lea

director
Martin Campbell

locations
New Zealand

outtake
Several of the best mountain climbers from around the world, who have scaled the earth's highest peaks, served as consultants and crew members on the film.

  Directed by Martin Campbell (Goldeneye, Mask of Zorro), Vertical Limit promises high voltage action and exhilarating suspense - a riveting dramatic story about the strong bond between a brother and his sister, set in an extreme, inhospitable, yet starkly beautiful environment. It is also a heart-pumping action-adventure fueled by courage, determination and will, culminating in a tense battle for survival motivated by family grief and guilt.

  For Campbell, the mountain environment is the added dimension - not the core - of the film. It is a film about relationships, not a mountain movie or a film about climbing. "Forget the mountain, forget the snow, forget the conditions - Vertical Limit is a drama that could be played out on flat land and it would still be a fantastic story about love, family and courage."

  O'Donnell was attracted to the role and intrigued by the project. He also wanted to work with director Martin Campbell. "There is no doubt in his mind about what he has to do," explains O'Donnell of Garret's mission.

  "There's not a chance that he's not going after her and giving it his all. If it kills him in the process that's fine, because the idea of living without having tried would be harder for him. His only concern is to get her out."

  Like O'Donnell, director Martin Campbell was a major factor in Robin Tunney's decision to accept the role of Annie. "He's amazing. He's incredibly good at the technical aspect of filmmaking, but he really pays attention to the actors, and he'll keep going until you get it right. He knows exactly the film he wants to make in his mind - every single second of it."

  Like many of the other actors, Tunney relished the opportunity to learn to climb, and quickly became adept on the mountain. "Even though we were only at 10,000 ft. and we are supposed to be at 26,000 ft. in the movie, it was challenging. This was a very extreme way to make a movie."

- Gerry Young