ABOUT 52/13: A Film & Conversation With Michael Wirth & Neal Beidleman

Genre: Film

52/13 is a 25-minute short film that documents this ski mountaineering journey in the Elk Range.

The film screening will be followed by a live Q&A with the athlete/filmmaker, Michael Wirth, and Neal Beidleman, Aspen local, and infamous mountaineer and guide.

Film Description:

In the spring of 2021, Michael Wirth became the first person to climb and ski from the summits of all 59 mountains above 13,000’ in the Elk Range of Colorado. He did so in 61 days: traveling over 300 miles, accumulating more than 250,000’ of elevation gain, and climbing peaks in the winter where no one

had stepped or skied before.

In the mountains, especially untraveled ones, minimizing the unknowns equates to minimizing risks. The philosophy Michael followed in his journey through the Elks was centered around incrementalism. That is, incrementally building a base of knowledge about the range to continuously fill the void of uncertainty that surrounded the project’s possibility at large. 52/13 is a film that dives intimately into the journey of climbing and skiing these mountains. It exposes the challenges, beauty, and appreciation for the magical Elk Range of Colorado.

Michael Wirth Bio:

Michael Wirth is a young professional mountain athlete specializing in big-mountain backcountry skiing and ultra/mountain running. His priorities are efficiency in the mountains, linking complex routes, and discovering undiscovered objectives. Furthermore, Michael is an up-and-coming filmmaker who strives to intimately share the stories of his journeys with the community to inspire a new lens of viewing mountain travel.

Michael’s recent accomplishments as an athlete include:

2021:

• Climbing and skiing all 59 peaks above 13,000’ in the Elk Range in 61 days

2022:

• Skied 31 of the 50 Classic Ski Descents of North America in a single season
• Elks Traverse Fastest Known Time (a 50 mile 24,000’ elevation gain mountain running traverse to summit the 7 Elk 14ers continuously done in 22 hours and 30 minutes)
• Telluride Mountain Run 40-mile Course Record

 

52/13 Teaser: YOUTUBE

DETAILS

• Doors open @ 6:30pm // Show @ 7:30pm
• Seated Show
• Location: TACAW, 400 Robinson St, Basalt, CO 81621