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High Ground

Play trailer Poster for High Ground Oct 2026 1h 38m Documentary Play Trailer Watchlist
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In December 1976 a small plane carrying two pilots and several tons of Mexican marijuana lost height over Yosemite. It clipped the trees above Lower Merced Pass Lake, deep in the backcountry, and went through the ice. Rangers recovered what they could from the surface before winter drove them out. With the wreck frozen in, the site looked safe until spring. They hadn't counted on Camp 4. The young climbers living on next to nothing beneath the valley's granite walls made dangerous treks through deep snow to reach the lake, then hid, moved and sold what they brought back. A search for a missing plane became a drug investigation, a public scandal and a piece of folklore nobody could control. High Ground brings together the climbers, rangers, investigators and the pilots' families, many speaking on camera for the first time, to separate what happened from the legend Yosemite chose to remember.
High Ground

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Cast & Crew

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Daniel Sharp

Director

Barbara Carlson

Self

Charles Butch Farabee

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Dale Bard

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Dean Fidelman

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Dean Paschall

Self
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High Ground

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Movie Info

Synopsis In December 1976 a small plane carrying two pilots and several tons of Mexican marijuana lost height over Yosemite. It clipped the trees above Lower Merced Pass Lake, deep in the backcountry, and went through the ice. Rangers recovered what they could from the surface before winter drove them out. With the wreck frozen in, the site looked safe until spring. They hadn't counted on Camp 4. The young climbers living on next to nothing beneath the valley's granite walls made dangerous treks through deep snow to reach the lake, then hid, moved and sold what they brought back. A search for a missing plane became a drug investigation, a public scandal and a piece of folklore nobody could control. High Ground brings together the climbers, rangers, investigators and the pilots' families, many speaking on camera for the first time, to separate what happened from the legend Yosemite chose to remember.
Director
Daniel Sharp
Producer
Daniel Sharp, Rob Drake, Paula Wright, Yasmine Weber
Screenwriter
Daniel Sharp
Distributor
RBL Films / Dash Pictures
Production Co
Dash Pictures
Genre
Documentary
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Oct 23, 2026, Limited
Runtime
1h 38m
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