Elk Traverse FKT // Official Trailer // 55 miles. 23,235' Elevation Gain.

Elk Traverse FKT is a short film directed and produced by Michael Wirth. The film documents Michael’s effort to lower Rickey Gates’ previous FKT by 4 hours and 50 minutes: from 27 hours 25 minutes to 22 hours 30 minutes.

The Elk Traverse route entails traversing the Elk Range of Colorado: moving from the western side to the eastern side and summiting all seven of the 14,000’ mountains in a continuous line. A 55-mile route with 23,235’ elevation gain.

This route is far more than just a run: it’s a trying mountainous traverse with a unique history. Well, of course it’s challenging, the person to pioneer the route was Neal Beidleman in 1996. In the film, Neal shares his perspective of the route, his experience on it, and the close proximity to the infamous 1996 Everest Disaster of which he was a guide for just weeks before the first successful Elk Traverse.

Stay tuned to @michaelcwirth on Instagram for updates on local showings and release times for the film.

A special thanks goes out to Dawson Gillespie for cinematography and editing.

And a special thanks to Julián Dysart among other artists for music.