Can we take you higher?

With two theaters at full capacity, the exclusive world premiere of the documentary “High Ground” was a big hit at Yosemite Cinema as hundreds came out to see the show Sept. 5.

The movie is described as “The true story of Yosemite, climbers, smugglers and three tons of weed. Fifty years later, the legend finally gets told.”

Some of the cast of characters were in attendance as was the film’s director and executive producer, four-time Emmy-nominated filmmaker Daniel Sharp of independent British production company Dash Pictures, hot off a plane from the UK.

And we do mean characters. High Ground is carried by the captivating narrative of those who were there and — fortunately for all of us — are still here.

Myth vs. memory

The highly anticipated film explores the intersection of myth and memory surrounding the famous and tragic 1976 plane crash in Yosemite National Park and the daring Camp 4 climbers who became the center of a local legend.

Yosemite Cinema in Oakhurst is the first theatre in the world to show the feature film. Visit Yosemite Madera County was instrumental in the process.

“Daniel said we could do it anywhere and we decided to do it here,” said Ken Yager, founder of the Yosemite Climbing Museum.

“High Ground” delves into the local legend of a drug-smuggling plane that crashed into the frozen Lower Merced Pass Lake deep in Yosemite’s high country in 1976.

Park rangers believed the cargo was safely hidden under the ice until spring but the athletic climbers of Yosemite’s Camp 4 heard the rumors, ventured into the winter wilderness and emerged with stories and wealth that would grow for 50 years.

The hour and 36 minute film features Yager, founder of the Yosemite Climbing Association and a participant in the original recovery mission, as he and others confront the gap between the truth and the myths that defined a generation.

“We were all lost,” said Yager of their younger days in the park.

And they had no idea what they would find.

Just 430 weeks later

When filmmaker Sharp moved from the UK to California eight years ago, he was introduced to Dean Paschall, a former park ranger known for his climbing and hang gliding skills. What was intended to be a short meeting instead turned into a three-hour conversation.

The two began trying to find other climbers and rangers to piece the true story of the plane crash and its aftermath together. That wasn’t easy but about four years in they’d assembled a good team including Yager and journalist Tom Devries and were making progress.

But securing financing for the film wasn’t easy because “we didn’t know how it would end.”

While Sharp said he initially began chasing an adventure, he found “something far more human” in the “last voices of a disappearing generation.” He felt a responsibility to “honor the complexity of what they lived through, not just the legend they left behind.”

As Sharp put it, “Four hundred and thirty weeks later,” High Ground is heading to film festivals.

“The biggest challenge was getting the rangers talking,” said Sharp. “And the best was finishing it and all the fun people we met along the way.”

Young, broke and hungry

In the winter of 1976 a small plane carrying tons of Mexican marijuana worth millions of dollars crashed into Lower Merced Pass Lake, killing both pilots.

When the wreck was discovered weeks later, rangers assumed the winter conditions would keep the cargo until spring.

They underestimated Yosemite’s climbers. Young, broke and hungry for adventure, climbers from Camp 4 made the punishing journey to the lake, hacked through the ice and began hauling out bales of fuel-soaked weed.

“Exactly 50 years later the story has taken on a life of its own. Climbers, rangers, investigators and the families of the two pilots each carry a different version of events shaped by loyalty, self-preservation and the passage of time. What began as a real and reckless tragedy has become one of climbing’s most enduring legends.”

High Ground brings those voices together with many speaking publicly about the story for the first time to “untangle fact from folklore and ask what happens when a community is allowed to write its own history.”

It’s a story of freedom, obsession, loss and one of Yosemite’s wildest myths.

The premiere

With two theaters sold out at Yosemite Cinema and filled with psyched up movie-goers, the lights came down and the film opened dramatically — the audience was quickly hooked.

High Ground is artfully told with extensive interviews, exhaustive research and liberal use of historical archives. The film transitions seamlessly from its real-life elements to well-cast, recreated scenes.

Important parts of the story take place on the frozen lake where the plane crashed and, unsurprisingly, no permits would be issued for filming this in Yosemite.

Sharp said they needed a frozen lake where they could get permission to film at a specific time of year. The ice had to be penetrable but also hold the heavy equipment and extras they’d need for filming.

They ended up in Finland for those portions of the movie. Some of the forest scenes were shot in England, Sharp said.

But the heart of High Ground comes straight from Yosemite and is held by many of the participants in the film.

This is a documentary that feels like a fictional feature film but it’s a case of real life was stranger than anything. Many times throughout the story viewers were on the edge of their seats.

The often funny film has its darker aspects: it’s a mix of adventure and a big romp but at its core is a tragedy that was — until now — shrouded in mystery.

“It’s been a long time coming,” said Dean Paschall.

Directed by Daniel Sharp with executive producer Rob Drake, the cast of High Ground includes Ken Yager, Kevin Worrall, Tim Setnicka, Butch Farabee, Dean Paschall, Dale Bard, Dean Fidelman, Vern Clevenger, Rick Cashner, Lenny Davis, Pam Glitsky, Peggy and Tina and Mark Bright.

Watch the official trailer at www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bx9cP36UDy4.

High Ground will return to Yosemite Cinema on Wednesday, Sept. 23 for five nights. Yosemite Cinema is located at 40015 Highway 49 in Oakhurst. Tickets are available at www.yosemitecinema.com/movie/high-ground/.