Gritty trails, long distances and steep pitches make it an all-day endeavor that often leaves even those in peak physical condition utterly exhausted when they get back to the trailhead. One intrepid crew took it a step further: lugging a full suite of professional film equipment up the mountains.

Led by Director Blake Cortright, their mission was to create a feature-length documentary capturing the essence of what it is to hike the High Peaks, and what it means to be a 46er — not just from a physical standpoint, but taking into account the emotional transformation in those who have completed the task.

“The 46ers Film” is slated to return to the big screen beginning at 7 p.m. on Saturday, June 14, at the Lake Placid Center for the Arts, located at 17 Algonquin Drive. Doors are set to open at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are on sale at tinyurl.com/ysrd38pz.

Getting the gear up several of the peaks was just one aspect of a much larger array of planning, interviewing, shooting, editing and ultimately telling the story on the big screen. Cortright first got the idea in the summer of 2012, while hiking Mount Marcy, to create a documentary on the subject. He pitched it to his executive producer that fall.

A poster for the film’s 10th anniversary screenings, which kick off on Saturday, June 14 at the Lake Placid Center for the Arts. Several more showings are slated throughout the state this year. (Provided — Blake Cortright)

The Kickstarter campaign was launched in January 2013 and they hit their fundraising goal just one month later. Filming began in March on Cascade and Porter mountains, continuing during all four seasons through the fall of 2014. Extensive interviews took place during that time as well, with the film crew splitting its time between mountain slopes and sit-down interviews.

In addition to Cascade and Porter — to which the crew made multiple trips — footage was shot from Haystack, Big Slide, Gothics, Upper Wolf Jaw, Lower Wolf Jaw, Wright, Algonquin and Iroquois, Marcy and Whiteface, as well as nearby smaller mountains. Cortright said these peaks were chosen to showcase because the crew knew they could get scenic views as well as a diverse perspective on the High Peaks and their trails.

“We got the shots we needed to tell the story,” he said. “As much as it’s a challenge to hike 10 or 20 miles with the things you need for (hiking) … to do that with camera gear and rain gear for the camera gear and batteries and all of that is a whole different level, especially when you only have so much time.”

He added that the crew went to great physical lengths to capture the aura. For example, they spent nights sitting outside in minus 20 degrees Fahrenheit conditions waiting for total darkness in order to capture crystal-clear footage of the winter night’s star-filled sky. Other hikes began at 2 a.m. so that the crew could arrive at the summit in time for the sunrise.

It wasn’t without incident. Cortright said one of his knees dislocated three times during the production.

“The 46ers Film” Director Blake Cortright interviews Julia Goren, left, as part of the film’s production in the summer of 2013. Goren spent nearly 20 years with the Adirondack Mountain Club and currently serves as the Adirondack Rail Trail Association’s executive director. (Provided photo — Blake Cortright)

“It was certainly a very grueling and painful experience in that way,” he said. “Those hikes will definitely stay with me.”

Cortright, who juggled all of this while in college in Virginia at the time, said the film was in post-production editing — distilling more than 120 hours of High Peaks and surrounding mountain footage and interviews into a 65-minute final product — and corresponding musical scoring and audio editing work right up until its premiere in August 2015. In 2017, the film was aired on PBS stations across the country.

“A film is very rarely a one-person undertaking, and this was no exception,” he said. “There are many, many people who are involved in the production process.”

Cortright said the years that went into the film reflect a story told with the reverence it deserves.

“I think the Adirondacks deserve something of this scale,” he said. “Something told with as much care, and not the flippancy of a 15 or 30-second TikTok video. I think people are ready for something a little more substantive and slower paced, that’s a little more immersive where they can really settle into an experience. The Adirondacks aren’t just content — they’re an experience.”

“The 46ers Film” Director Blake Cortright smiles near Lake Placid on April 7, 2024. (Provided photo — Jordan Craig)

Lake Placid is the first screening location in the film’s 10-year anniversary screenings. Cortright said he chose the location and the date to match up with the 100-year anniversary of when Herbert Clark and brothers George and Robert Marshall became the first 46ers on June 10, 1925.

“I thought proximity to that centennial anniversary and our 10th anniversary would be really special, plus we just had a great time at the Lake Placid Center for the Arts back in 2015.”

In addition to the screening, there will also be a question-and-answer session with Cortright and some of the film’s interviewees, as well as a trailer for some of Cortright’s latest work.

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‘The story was unfolding before us’

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In making the documentary, Cortright set out to answer a series of questions about 46ers, whose ranks now exceed 16,000. What drives people to want to be 46ers in the first place? What keeps them going throughout that journey — which can take years and in some cases, decades, to complete — and how are they transformed by it?

“As an 18-year-old filmmaker, that was a very exciting adventure to dive into and try to understand and get my head around,” he said. “I was amazed by the wide range of answers and how disparate some of them were. … It was quite an unruly thing in editing to try to pull all of those elements together but, at the end of the day, there are some really beautiful through lines that I think shine through greatly in the film.”

Cortright said when the film was originally shown in 2015, he sold out theaters for several months. He said it’s often a struggle for emerging filmmakers to find a subject that is not only meaningful to them, but sparks a widespread interest and audience. In other words, to find something that people will show up in droves to see. Cortright said he had a hunch “The 46ers Film” would achieve that, given how popular these mountains are throughout the state and a broad swath of the eastern U.S. and Canada, with people often traveling vast distances to hike them.

In the decade since the film premiered, the number of registered 46ers has roughly doubled — indicating an explosion in the challenge’s popularity. Cortright felt there was more than enough interest from a new audience since the film was first released to warrant a series of screenings to celebrate its 10th anniversary.

While Lake Placid has the honor of being the first venue, there are more upcoming screenings. It is slated to be shown in Syracuse on July 19, Plattsburgh on August 16, Albany and Rome at dates yet to be determined, and more locations are expected to be announced in the coming weeks. For more information, visit the46ersfilm.com.

Cortright said the film is meant to be enjoyed by more than just those who have summited the 46 High Peaks.

“Obviously people who are 46ers or hikers will love this subject matter directly and have a very personal connection to the experience,” he said. “But for those who aren’t — I think anyone who loves the Adirondacks or the outdoors more broadly will enjoy the film. There’s enough there visually to give you the experience of hiking the 46 … and to give you that taste of the wild side of the Adirondacks and you can experience that on the big screen in a really immersive way.”

Cortright added that, while he likes streaming films from the comfort of home as much as anyone else, there’s just something special and unique to seeing it on the big screen in a theater. He said that when the film premiered, it was powerful for him to watch audience members share the emotional experience together. He said it was palpable to see a room burst out laughing together, or see it become somber when serious or sad parts of the film played.

“That’s always a great part of the movie-going experience, regardless of the subject matter — the kind of communal experience of going through this emotional arc together in a dark room of 300 strangers,” he said.

After each screening ended, Cortright said audience members would often reminisce with each other and share their own trials and tribulations in the High Peaks, or just about experiencing the Adirondacks in general. Friendships were formed, and community was built. As the film’s director, Cortright said witnessing that was affirming.

“That, to me, is what really told me I had something special and that it was something people wanted to see,” he said.

A trailer specific to the film’s June 14 screening in Lake Placid is available at tinyurl.com/6zfbsvv7.