Pikes Peak Region Trail Finder

By Nancy Loflholm, The Denver Post

Anson Fogel of Carbondale has never climbed any of the world's tallest peaks. But his film, "Cold," about a man who did, recently took top honors at the Banff Mountain Film Festival, along with garnering other prestigious awards along the way.

Fogel, 38, created his 19-minute documentary by using footage shot by climber and photographer Cory Richards as he and two colleagues made the first successful winter ascent of Gasherbrum II​, a 26,362-foot peak in Pakistan.

Fogel, who grew up in Silt and makes commercials for a living from his Carbondale Forge Motion Pictures studio, said his film breaks out of the mold of adventure and mountaineering films.

"It's not so much the story of a guy climbing a mountain. It's the story of why do we choose to do things that hurt," Fogel explained.

Read more about the film and see photos.

PHOTO: 16 expeditions had tried and failed to climb one of Pakistan's 8,000-meter peaks in winter. On Feb. 2, 2011, Simone Moro, Denis Urubko and Cory Richards became the first. The movie "Cold" looks at why they push themselves to the limit.  Courtesy of Cory Richards and The Denver Post