Gary Hemming was a rebel mountain climber in 1960’s Yosemite Valley. After a harsh betrayal on Half Dome he escapes to the French Alps where, rejected by the French guiding establishment he develops a mysterious loner reputation and is nicknamed, “The Beatnick of the Alps”. He puts up the most impressive and pure ascent in the valley with his former California rival, which they name, “The American Direct”. When the 3 Italians are trapped on his famous route in a storm, the European media goes wild as the guides of the area cannot rescue them. It isn’t until Gary steals a radio, assembles a rag -tag team of locals and climbs through the storm the route he made famous that they are rescued. His team brings them down themselves and he is instantly famous. He is on the cover of every magazine in Europe, asked to star in TV shows and finally gets all the recognition he yearned for his whole life. Three years later, he commits suicide.
