Film Work

In a gruelingly hot August of 2020, Jonny Zaugg, a young mountaineer of Swiss heritage from Southwestern Colorado, finally decided it was time to complete the mountain traverse route that had saved his life from suicide, the Sneffels Skyline. With just under 40 miles of loose dangerous ridge lines, a complete lack of water, and serious isolation from anyone, sustaining an injury in the backcountry of the San Juans has life-threatening consequences. Diving into what true passion for our local mountains means, Jonny uses his six years of experience in trying to improve his mental health with climbing this unique landscape to not only navigate the harrowing complexity of one's own mind but also draw attention on how to develop a healthy relationship with our alpine environments. Through deep introspection within himself, Jonny was able to gain the discipline necessary to achieve this athletic feat in a way that he deemed worthy of this life-giving range, in under 24 hours alone with the mountains.

Starring: Jonathan Zaugg

Written, Directed, and Edited by: Kael Van Buskirk

Principal Cinematography: Kael Van Buskirk

Color and Sound: Beau Baxter

Produced by: Dr. Jioanna Carjuzaa

Directed By: Kael Van buskirk and Dr. Lucia Ricciardelli

Written and Edited by: Kael Van Buskirk

The Sidpa Bardo is the last stage of the in-between purgatory state before rebirth, where the soul is pursued by the demonic incarnations of its “karmic propensities.” These propensities are the product of evil and maleficent tasks conducted by the living soul over its many incarnations on earth and the other five worlds of existence. In the Sidpa Bardo, the soul, which can travel to any moment in time and place, undergoes a series of random “ambuscades” where the demons brutalize it. The soul retreats to places that it deems safe locations, eventually retreating to a womb where it is reborn again into one of six worlds. Actively dismissing any notion of fear, attraction, or repulsion and recognizing nothing is separate from the “self” is the only way to make it out of this Bardo with the continuity of consciousness in order to not forget how to behave in accordance with spiritual progression when you are reborn. Even if you don’t believe in the esoteric afterdeath state that is described here, the basic psychology of this behavior is translatable to every day interactions and is helpful for many people in the active pursuit of a meaningful life before guaranteed death.

Experimental Film using animation of still photography completed for Senior Film Production Capstone at Montana State University 2021.

Directed by: Kael Van Buskirk

Cinematography by: Kael Van Buskirk

Edited by: Kael Van Buskirk