The crew needed a mountain with sharp peaks, steep inclines, perilous crevasses, and killer avalanches that resembled the mighty granite massif K2. Only Viesturs is a professional climber. Filming would be dangerous enough for climbing and action scenes. Mt. Cook, in the "Southern Alps" of New Zealand, was chosen.

Instead of filming at K2's actual base camp, the production team selected "The Remarkables," a mountain range near Queensland. Some of the film’s non-mountain scenes were also set in this incredibly beautiful New Zealand resort town.

Why make a film that takes place on such treacherous terrain? Why tell a fictional story of sibling struggles between Peter Garrett and Annie Garrett against the backdrop of the most savage mountain on earth? Because K2, the commanding tower of terror in the Kharakoram, demands the best a human being is capable of giving. Its very existence reminds us that stripped down, unvarnished courage is needed to even THINK of tackling its spires. And if a human being can give that kind of response to a mountain, how much more could we give to each other?