Buried: The 1982 Alpine Meadows Avalanche
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A feature length documentary based on the events and circumstances surrounding the 1982 avalanche in Alpine Meadows, CA.
We have been working on this project for nearly four years, shooting between work, new kids (Jared has had two children since starting this film), and pulling every favor we can. As full-time residents of Alpine Meadows, our heart and soul is in this movie and our commitment to telling this story comes from a place of love and compassion.
The film is in post-production and is scheduled to have a limited theatrical release in September 2021, along with a nation-wide roadshow and VOD/streaming to follow. But to get us there, we need funding. Until now, this project has been homegrown and financed solely through our production company, Realization Films. To ensure we maintain control and the integrity of this film through post and distribution/marketing, we need every penny we can get our hands on.
Any amount you can spare will be spent thoughtfully and judiciously.
Thank you for listening, your support means the world to us, but as we've said all throughout production: this isn't about us. This isn't our story. This story belongs to those that lived it and belongs to Alpine Meadows. Your donation will capture a piece of history that will live on, and inform, future generations.
Sincerely,
Jared & Siig
Directors
THE STORY
In the early 1980’s, the Alpine Meadows Ski Patrol were the undisputed gods of winter in the mountain hamlet of Lake Tahoe, California, a sun-drenched wonderland of endless powder and parties. This sundry crew full of youthful hubris and a zest for explosives were guided by a newly minted avalanche forecaster named Jim Plehn. More thoughtful and strategic than the others, Jim was a stickler for safety and protocol; he had to be at this avalanche-prone resort. The responsibility to keep the skiing public safe was an all-consuming obsession of the patrol crew, which made the day of March 31, 1982 all the more devastating.
With the mountain closed due to high avalanche danger, an avalanche of unforeseeable magnitude broke free. Millions of pounds of snow hurtled down the side of the mountain demolishing the resort’s base area and burying the parking lot. The wreckage was unimaginable and for the shell-shocked patrol team there was no time to dwell, eight missing victims were buried in the slide - co-workers, friends, family - and every passing second was precious.
Over the next five days, through an unrelenting storm and unimaginable tragedy, the rescue team persevered. Innocence was lost, mortality faced, Mother Nature reckoned with, but through it all they never gave up hope for a miracle.
MEET SOME OF OUR CHARACTERS
MEET THE DIRECTORS
VFX ROUGH WIREFRAME RENDER
BEHIND-THE-SCENES WITH DP TOM DAY
A feature length documentary based on the events and circumstances surrounding the 1982 avalanche in Alpine Meadows, CA.
We have been working on this project for nearly four years, shooting between work, new kids (Jared has had two children since starting this film), and pulling every favor we can. As full-time residents of Alpine Meadows, our heart and soul is in this movie and our commitment to telling this story comes from a place of love and compassion.
The film is in post-production and is scheduled to have a limited theatrical release in September 2021, along with a nation-wide roadshow and VOD/streaming to follow. But to get us there, we need funding. Until now, this project has been homegrown and financed solely through our production company, Realization Films. To ensure we maintain control and the integrity of this film through post and distribution/marketing, we need every penny we can get our hands on.
Any amount you can spare will be spent thoughtfully and judiciously.
Thank you for listening, your support means the world to us, but as we've said all throughout production: this isn't about us. This isn't our story. This story belongs to those that lived it and belongs to Alpine Meadows. Your donation will capture a piece of history that will live on, and inform, future generations.
Sincerely,
Jared & Siig
Directors
THE STORY
In the early 1980’s, the Alpine Meadows Ski Patrol were the undisputed gods of winter in the mountain hamlet of Lake Tahoe, California, a sun-drenched wonderland of endless powder and parties. This sundry crew full of youthful hubris and a zest for explosives were guided by a newly minted avalanche forecaster named Jim Plehn. More thoughtful and strategic than the others, Jim was a stickler for safety and protocol; he had to be at this avalanche-prone resort. The responsibility to keep the skiing public safe was an all-consuming obsession of the patrol crew, which made the day of March 31, 1982 all the more devastating.
With the mountain closed due to high avalanche danger, an avalanche of unforeseeable magnitude broke free. Millions of pounds of snow hurtled down the side of the mountain demolishing the resort’s base area and burying the parking lot. The wreckage was unimaginable and for the shell-shocked patrol team there was no time to dwell, eight missing victims were buried in the slide - co-workers, friends, family - and every passing second was precious.
Over the next five days, through an unrelenting storm and unimaginable tragedy, the rescue team persevered. Innocence was lost, mortality faced, Mother Nature reckoned with, but through it all they never gave up hope for a miracle.
MEET SOME OF OUR CHARACTERS
MEET THE DIRECTORS
VFX ROUGH WIREFRAME RENDER
BEHIND-THE-SCENES WITH DP TOM DAY
Organizer
Jared Drake
Organizer
Alpine Meadows, CA
