About The Grand Rescue
The Grand Rescue is a story of a rescue that became legend. In 1967, on the North Face of the Grand Teton, seven rescuers risked their lives to save a severely injured climber and his companion. The rescue took three harrowing days and pushed the team to new abilities. Remarkably, the injured climber was critical of those who risked their lives to save his.
Two climbers became stranded high on a ledge after rock fall caused a serious injury. The rescue team came to their aide relying on innate skill and trust in one another to accomplish the daring rescue.
The rescuers and survivors relive the trial with honesty and unabashed candor. The rescue captured the attention of the Nation and left a lasting impression on all involved.
The Grand Rescue exposes the tenuous relationship between man and the mountain, and recounts an unprecedented rescue in American mountaineering.
In 2011, members of the Alpine Rescue Team and the Rocky Mountain Rescue Group traveled to Jackson, Wyoming to assist Swirl Productions in the filming of the documentary about the 1967 rescue on the Grand Teton. Both Alpine Rescue Team and Rocky Mountain Rescue Group supplied 1960’s vintage equipment and assisted as technical advisors in the rigging and use of the historic rescue gear.
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THE GRAND RESCUE – Key Bios
Jenny Wilson, Director/Producer, THE GRAND RESCUE
Jenny Wilson serves as the lead Director/Producer of THE GRAND RESCUE, and is the operator of the film production company, We Aspired Productions, LLC. Jenny’s career began with the Sundance Institute/Film Festival where she worked in administration and development. After pursuing other work, she later returned as a project director for the Sundance Group which oversees the various entities of the Robert Redford enterprise. Additionally, she served as a Salt Lake County Council Member, as a Chief of Staff to a member of U.S. Congress and Director of Volunteers for the Salt Lake Organizing Committee for the Winter Olympic Games of 2002. She received a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Utah in 1988 and a Masters in Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School in 1998. She resides in Salt Lake City with her husband, Trell Rohovit, a technology professional and their two boys, Zach and Max. Jenny is the daughter of THE GRAND RESCUE subject, Ted Wilson, a 1967 Jenny Lake Ranger.
Meredith Lavitt, Director/Producer, THE GRAND RESCUE
Meredith has over 20 years experience working in the independent film arena and in youth media. Along with Jenny Wilson, she serves as Director/Producer of THE GRAND RESCUE. She has an additional film in production, YOU MUST REMEMBER THIS with Richard Hankin. In 2004 she founded Swirl Productions and produced the critically acclaimed HOME FRONT, which premiered at the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival and on Showtime.
Additionally, she currently directs the Sundance Institute’s FILM FORWARD program, which has reached over 20,000 underserved audience members over the past three years in over 20 locations throughout the US and around the world including China, Columbia, Jordan, Kenya, Morocco, Turkey and Puerto Rico. Meredith was instrumental in establishing the Sundance Institute’s Documentary Film Program in 1999, serving as the Associate Director of the program and lead administrator for the Sundance Documentary Fund, granting over $ 1 million in funds annually. She created and directed the Institute’s youth programs including Reel Studio held annually at the Sundance Film Festival and Reel Stories presented in collaboration with the nationally recognized Utah-based Spy Hop Productions. From 2010 through 2012 she directed the Sundance Film Festival’s student programs and Utah-based community programs.
William A. Kerig, Writer/Director, THE GRAND RESCUE
William A. Kerig is an award-winning writer, producer, director, and former professional skier. He wrote the book, THE EDGE OF NEVER, and was the writer/director/executive producer of the Showtime Networks 2009 documentary feature film THE EDGE OF NEVER. He co-produced and was second-unit director of the 2007 Sony Pictures Classics film STEEP. In addition to producing for CBS, ABC and Fox Sports, he co-produced, wrote, and was second-unit director of NET WORTH, a 1999 Blockbuster Entertainment feature film starring Daniel Baldwin. He is a member of the Director’s Guild of America.
Peter Pilafian, Director of Photography, THE GRAND RESCUE
Peter Pilafian is an Emmy-winning Director of Photography and is President of Horizon Pictures, a motion picture and television production company with offices in Jackson Hole, WY and Los Angeles, CA. Peter has worked as a cinematographer on TV series such as “Survivor” for CBS; The Larry Sanders Show” for HBO; “American Roots Music” for PBS, and many documentaries, commercials, music videos, promotional videos, and both high and low-budget feature films. Pilafian also serves as a DGA Segment Director, and occasionally directs commercials and second units.