Peninsula: From a supporting actor to the best actor in Chungmuro

Chapter 148 "Himalaya" Filming Completed

Kang Jae-hoon's fingers quickly flipped through several documents on his lap.

The paper rustled.

His eyes were fixed on the project names and the labeled roles.

The light in his pupils grew brighter and brighter.

When I turned to the character settings of "Woo Jin," the male protagonist of "The Beauty Inside,"...

There was a pause for a few seconds.

Let's go back to the "Rongguo" synopsis of "Train to Busan".

My breathing became a little heavier.

Finally, the project proposal for "Kang Sun-woo" in tvN's "Oh My Ghost" was settled.

He finally raised his head abruptly.

The voice rose slightly with surprise and excitement:
"Brother! These people are all looking for me!?"

He shook the document in his hand in disbelief.

Jin Dayuan stared directly at the traffic ahead, the subtle, enigmatic smile on his lips deepening slightly.
"That's why I said your Cha Tae-hyun hyung... that recommendation was more like a 'resource exchange' and a 'favor' on the side. Your own value... has already taken off. He sees this trend very clearly."

"Then I..."

"Don't even think about it, you can only take 'The Producers'."

Jin Dayuan interrupted his thoughts:
"Because this is a resource exchange and endorsement within your small circle. Cha Tae-hyun personally promoted you, screenwriter Park Ji-eun gave her approval, and KBS gave the green light."

"At this crucial juncture, if you back out and choose something else... that's not just a loss of face, it's cutting off your future path in the inner circle. Chungmuro values rules, but even more so, it values factional pride. Do you understand?"

His voice was flat.

However, he laid out the cold, unspoken rules within the industry.

This is not a choice between four options.

It is a matter of shared prosperity and shared loss.

"Moreover, these filming schedules all conflict with 'The Producers,' so filming them all at once is definitely not feasible. However..."

“Train to Busan is worth studying.”

"Director Yeon Sang-ho comes from an animation background and is now transitioning to a live-action feature film. Judging from the character description in the script and the billing order you received, the role of 'Rong-guk' doesn't have a particularly heavy workload."

"If things are coordinated well, we can focus on filming your scenes and finish shooting in about half a month, or at most twenty days. In terms of time, we can try to squeeze out some time before the filming of 'The Producers' starts or during breaks in the filming of intensive shoots."

"That's great!"

Kang Jae-hoon immediately chimed in:
"Then I'll trouble you, brother, to help me negotiate and secure this role in 'Train to Busan'!"

His answer was straightforward.

At least I'll get to act in some movies.

Moreover, it offers such diverse opportunities.

Even if it's tiring.

Kang Jae-hoon was genuinely happy.

That pure desire and appreciation for the opportunity to perform.

In Jin Dayuan's view, things remain the same.

"Well, don't worry."

A few minutes of quiet driving.

Kang Jae-hoon put the scripts back into the file bag and placed it in the glove compartment.

The movements were a bit slow.

It seems like they are organizing their thoughts.

after awhile.

He cleared his throat and said:

"elder brother."

"explain."

Kim Dae-won responded decisively.

"I...I need to trouble you with something else."

Kang Jae-hoon tapped his fingers on his knee a few times.

"Ok?"

"Help me... help me drive my car back."

Kang Jae-hoon paused, then added:

"Yoona's car is still in the parking lot near the Ilsan MBC Center."

"Lim Yoona's car?"

"……Um."

"Go find Lee Sung-kyung?"

"……cough."

Kang Jae-hoon just coughed and didn't reply.

But this silent response is tantamount to acquiescence.

There's a brief red light ahead.

Jin Dayuan stepped on the brakes.

The car came to a smooth stop.

He then slowly turned his head and glanced at Jiang Zai Xun, who was sitting in the passenger seat looking very uncomfortable.

There was no expression on his face.

Only the corner of his mouth twitched upwards briefly.

then.

A short, soft laugh rolled out from deep in his throat.

With a hint of understanding.

It had a touch of mockery to it.

It even carries a hint of Jin Dayuan's playful, knowing-it-all attitude.

"Ah."

"..."

Jin Dayuan didn't say anything else.

The green light comes on.

He released the brakes.

The car rejoined the traffic flow.

Kang Jae-hoon turned his face slightly towards the car window.

……

Not long after.

The van slowly drove into the departure area of Terminal 2 at Incheon International Airport.

Jin Dayuan parked his car in a designated parking space on the departure level.

"arrive."

Kang Jae-hoon unbuckled his seatbelt and opened the car door.

Jin Dayuan also got out of the car and went around to the trunk to take out the black suitcase.

"luggage."

Kang Jae-hoon took the lever.

Jin Dayuan stood by the car, looking at the bustling airport entrance, and said:
"Once you get there, just focus on filming; you don't need to worry about anything else."

"I met with writer Park Ji-eun to finalize the release schedule details for 'The Producers'."

"We also need to contact Director Yeon Sang-ho to find out the specific start date and filming schedule for 'Train to Busan'."

"And your film 'For Love or Money'... we also need to coordinate the promotional period for its release in South Korea next month."

Jin Dayuan explained everything clearly and calmly, and finally added:
"I'll return your car... I'll drive it back and park it downstairs at your apartment building?"

"...Okay. Thanks, bro."

"Okay. Let's go in, don't be late."

Jin Dayuan raised his chin from a few steps away and added:
"Oh, and please give my regards to Boss Huang."

"it is good."

Kang Jae-hoon nodded, pulled his suitcase, and turned around.

They quickly blended into the flow of people pushing luggage carts or carrying backpacks.

Heading towards the meeting point for the "Himalaya" film crew.

Jin Dayuan stood there for a while.

It wasn't until I saw Kang Jae-hoon being picked up by the crew's production assistants that I met up with him.

Only then did he turn around, open the car door, and sit back down.

Start the car.

They merged into the traffic leaving the airport.

……

Long flights are always accompanied by fatigue.

The constant hum of the engine in the cabin filled my ears.

Outside the porthole were ever-changing clouds and an endless deep blue.

Kang Jae-hoon mostly leaned back in his chair, eyes closed, occasionally flipping through the script of "Himalaya" that he carried with him. Most of his colleagues in the seats next to him were also taking a nap or reading.

The passage of time becomes blurred in the enclosed space.

The plane finally began to descend.

Through the porthole.

The outline of Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, is gradually becoming clear.

Dense clusters of low-rise buildings spread across the valley, contrasting sharply with the surrounding undulating green hills.

The familiar guide came to greet us with a smile and a white hada (ceremonial scarf).

After a brief welcoming ceremony.

The film crew's convoy immediately drove to a suburban hotel.

There was no rest.

Logistics personnel quickly began unloading equipment, and the directing team directed the loading of materials into trucks, with the warehouse and film set preparing simultaneously.

……

The next day.

Four fifty in the morning.

The alarm clock rang.

Kang Jae-hoon washes his face with cold water and puts on his gear.

Five minutes later, a backstage attendant knocked on the door, and Kang Jae-hoon slung his gear bag over his shoulder and went out.

Several colleagues were already in the hallway.

They exchanged silent nods and greetings.

The hotel lobby was brightly lit.

Insulated boxes and spare oxygen cylinders are being loaded onto the vehicle.

The radio was used to confirm the personnel in each vehicle.

The convoy drove away from the hotel.

When we arrived at the temporary camp at the foot of the mountain, the deep blue sky was fading, and the eastern mountain ridge was turning grayish-white.

Technicians have already set up tracks on the high platform where they arrived earlier. The cableway hums as it continuously transports large equipment.

Kang Jae-hoon got off the car.

A biting, dry mountain wind swept over us.

He looked up at the towering snow slope—

The snow line at the mountaintop was pierced by the first golden rays of sunlight, leaving a dazzling arc.

The scenery is breathtaking.

Kang Jae-hoon stood at the edge of the set-up filming platform.

At my feet was a specially reinforced wall of snow.

The huge blue-green curtain beneath our feet billowed slightly in the wind, simulating a bottomless visual effect.

The massive cableway system extends into the air to a metal safety platform—which will be at the other end of the "canyon".

Ground technicians repeatedly checked the pressure-bearing condition of the high-strength safety ropes fixed to Jiang Zaihun and the cushioning air cushion below.

The walkie-talkie crackled with confirmations that all departments were ready.

It was exactly 9:00 AM.

The equipment has been debugged.

The cableway test passed.

The faces of Kang Jae-hoon and the other actors already bore the marks of time.

Filming of Mount Everest.

The weather is the absolute conductor.

Today is a clear, cloudless day, making it the perfect time to film Yan Hongji's mountaineering team's first encounter with danger and their simulated "cliff fall."

this play.

This marks Park Moo-taek's first time joining a professional mountaineering team led by Eom Hong-gil as a newcomer.

Challenge goal: To summit Kangchenjunga.

The scene at this moment: The team members need to set up a makeshift metal ladder between the cracks in the canyon.

Park Moo-taek was asked to be the first to go.

"Action!"

"Snapped--"

The clapper fell.

Park Moo-taek, played by Kang Jae-hoon, took a deep breath of the cold air and carefully stepped onto the ladder.

step.

Two steps.

The ladder creaked softly and unsettlingly underfoot.

Walk to the very center.

The widest part of the canyon.

A strong gust of wind suddenly swept by.

Kang Jae-hoon's body swayed violently.

"what--!"

His right foot slipped.

A short, terrified scream escaped his throat, completely distorted.

His face turned pale instantly.

It was a real, intense physical shock caused by the feeling of stepping into the air.

His entire body suddenly plummeted downwards!
He was held in place entirely by the safety rope that tightened instantly around his waist.

The person was suspended in mid-air, swaying.

Kang Jae-hoon turned his head to look at the bottomless "cliff" below, swallowed hard, and shouted:
"Captain! Help me!"

at this time.

"Avalanche!!!"

A deafening roar came from above.

This was followed by the rumbling sound of a simulated avalanche.

"Be careful!!!"

The desperate cries of the team members rose and fell, only to be instantly swallowed up by the enormous roar.

Suspended in mid-air, Kang Jae-hoon suddenly looked up.

The momentary look of terror on his face hadn't even fully formed yet.

It was overwhelmed by another extreme emotion—

It was a mixture of immense fear, a fully unleashed survival instinct, and extreme concern for the situation of his teammates.

"Captain-nim!"

"Captain-nim!!"

"Captain-nim!!!"

The same lines.

Kang Jae-hoon's shout created an effect of progressively building emotion.

From desperately seeking help to a surge of anxiety, and then to self-awakening amidst a backdrop of despair.

Until the end.

The fear was instantly overwhelmed.

Kang Jae-hoon's eyes became unusually firm, even somewhat fierce:

"wait for me--"

"Captain! Hang in there—!"

"I'm coming to save you! Wait for me! Wait for me—!"

Each exertion was accompanied by rapid breathing and choked sobs.

It was a mixture of despair, a sense of responsibility, and a reckless, mad belief.

at last.

He crawled to the edge of the "canyon" in a very disheveled state, using both his hands and feet.

His face was covered with tears, snot, and melted snow.

Breathing heavily.

Looked up.

Prepare for a catastrophic scene.

however.

There was no collapsed snow slope in sight, nor any teammates in distress.

only……

Captain Eom Hong-gil, played by Hwang Jung-min, and several other team members sat leisurely on the snow.

He was grabbing at the snow on the ground.

They threw it down into the "canyon" one by one, laughing as they went.

It is clear.

The "snow blocks" that just fell and the so-called avalanche... were all their doing.

Hwang Jung-min grinned and raised his chin:

"Hey, otaku."

"You're climbing pretty fast!"

The other members of the mountaineering team sitting on the ground also chuckled.

He looked at Kang Jae-hoon with a mocking gaze.

He even mimicked the crying tone he had just heard below the "canyon" as he said, "Save me~".

at that time.

Jiang Zai Xun's anxiety, determination, and tragic disregard for everything seemed to have been deleted.

The muscles in his face twitched stiffly.

After a huge shock.

It's the absurd feeling of surviving a disaster and discovering you've been played. Your tense nerves suddenly relax, followed by intense resentment and lingering fear.

He pursed his lips.

The tears that had been welling up in his eyes because of his belief in saving himself and others had completely changed now.

Large tears rolled down without warning.

Like a child who has been severely teased by an adult.

She burst into tears with a loud "waaaaa".

The voice was loud and aggrieved, carrying a hint of disbelief and accusation:

"Waaaaah...you...you've gone too far! Waaaaah—! I was really...really scared...I thought you...waaaaaah..."

She cried and kicked at the air beneath her feet.

They used all their strength to protest the huge gap caused by this "teasing".

"Crack——!"

Director Lee Seok-hoon stared intently at the monitor screen.

Let's replay that thrilling and dramatic scene of falling off the cliff and climbing.

in the screen.

From the genuine shock of Kang Jae-hoon stepping off the ladder, to his explosive struggle upwards when he mistakenly believes it's an avalanche and his teammates are in danger, to the dramatic emotional reversal after discovering he's been tricked—

That feeling of shock, grievance, and wailing as a tragic hero instantly falls into the position of a bullied child.

Every subtle emotional shift is precise, natural, and incredibly impactful.

There was no sense of awkwardness whatsoever.

Especially the final crying scene where she completely broke down emotionally and lost all semblance of composure.

Kang Jae-hoon perfectly portrayed Park Moo-kook's "newcomer" qualities and his inner sincerity.

"Perfect."

Lee Seok-hoon stroked his chin.

I've already started thinking about whether there are any more scenes in the script where I can squeeze out more of Kang Jae-hoon's nuanced crying scenes.

"Cut! Proceed to the next shot!"

……

The subsequent filming proceeded as planned.

After adapting to the high altitude and harsh environment, the crew's pace actually became smoother.

The movement of the clouds high above and the changes in sunlight were perfectly coordinated.

In the blink of an eye.

It is already New Year's Day.

Considering the festive atmosphere, everyone's homesickness, and the fatigue from days of intense work, the crew wrapped up early in the afternoon.

The logistics team brought in some simple but warm food supplies, and even managed to get some local Korean snacks and small bottles of soju.

In the simple but clean mess hall of the camp.

Everyone sat together in a circle.

The aroma of food and festive greetings from a foreign land somewhat alleviated the chilly loneliness of the high altitude.

Kang Jae-hoon found a relatively quiet corner power outlet to charge his phone.

The network signal is intermittent.

He waited patiently.

The connection prompt finally appeared on the screen.

His fingers flew across the keyboard as he quickly opened KakaoTalk.

Jin Dayuan's chat message popped up instantly:

[The producers' release date is set for April 2nd. Director Yeon Sang-ho of Train to Busan has also confirmed that filming will begin on March 10th. I've coordinated with both sides, and the schedules can be staggered, so there shouldn't be any problems.]

There's also good news—

[Ode to My Father has just surpassed 1000 million viewers! In just fourteen days, Ed Sheeran has secured another victory! His "South Town" character has also made a strong impression, generating much discussion within the industry.]

[Furthermore, "For Love or Money" was released in South Korea after "Ode to My Father" finished its run, so you should be able to catch the promotional period.]

Finally, Happy New Year!

Looking at the series of messages.

Before Kang Jae-hoon could even finish typing "Thank you for your hard work, hyung. Please take care of me in the new year as well,"

The signal was lost.

He held his phone very high.

However, it still didn't work...

Ugh.

Jiang Zai Xun looked out the window at the deep blue sky divided by the outline of snow-capped peaks and sighed silently.

I wonder if Yoona's trip to China went smoothly?
Could the Bible's body withstand such intense filming?

In the distance, I could hear my colleagues shouting and clinking glasses.

The crisp, cold air of a winter night in Nepal.

The food smelled of the heater.

a new Year.

And so it started.

……

Days push forward amidst wind, snow, and camera lenses.

The lines of the snow-capped mountains became both more familiar and more austere.

In a blink of an eye.

Kang Jae-hoon's final scene is coming.

This is the last scene.

This is also the end for Park Moo-kwan.

Park Moo-taek is no longer the rookie who would break down in tears after falling off a cliff.

He has taken over from Yan Hongji and is leading the mountaineering team to attempt new heights.

The filming location was chosen on a steep slope below a huge icicle that had been blown out by the wind.

The ice gleamed with a blinding, cold light under the midday sun.

Several cameras were suspended by cableways at different angles and heights.

"Action!"

"Snapped--"

The clapper fell.

The camera focused on Kang Jae-hoon.

He had just completed a difficult position, and with a powerful push, he drove his ice axe deeper into the ice, turning back to shout:
"Hold on tight! Watch where you're landing!"

The new team members below nodded vigorously, mimicking Park Moo-taek's movements as they struggled to move their crampons.

Just as he shifted his weight and forcefully stepped on the next slightly protruding frozen rock with his crampons—

A chilling "crack" sound of ice shattering came from beneath my feet!

That frozen rock was actually a loose, hollow shell!
"what--!"

The new player suddenly lost his balance.

The body leaned backward uncontrollably.

The immense inertia carried him as he slid down the steep, slippery snow slope!
Jiang Zai Xun felt a tremendous force pulling hard at his waist.

He didn't even have time to react before he was dragged backward!

My vision spun instantly.

The icy snowflakes poured into my mouth, nose, and ears.

The two of them tumbled and slid down the near-vertical snow slope like out-of-control sacks!
Each impact brought excruciating pain, as if bones were dislocated.

finally.

It was thanks to the resistance generated by Kang Jae-hoon's last-minute scraping of the ice with his ice axe.

The two of them came to a stop, looking disheveled and desperate, less than half a meter from the edge of a cliff below.

His dangling legs were pushing against the slippery mountain wall.

Ice shards fell down with a soft thud.

The safety rope was taut like a bowstring about to snap.

The close-up shot is from below.

The newlyweds were terrified, suspended in mid-air. Their faces were ashen, their bodies trembling violently, and tears of fear mixed with snot froze on their faces.

"Quick! Find... find a fulcrum!"

Park Moo-taek, played by Kang Jae-hoon, blushed.

He felt his hand gripping the ice axe rapidly losing temperature and becoming numb.

"No...we can't get through..."

The new recruit's voice was completely drowned out by fear, and he was incoherent:

"Captain! Cut...cut the rope! If this continues...we'll both die! We'll both die!"

Jiang Zai Xun gritted his teeth, lowered his head with difficulty, looked at the newcomer's face, which was completely distorted with fear, and felt his fingers being torn apart and his body suspended in mid-air.

He struggled to free his other hand and slowly, tremblingly, reached for the scabbard at his waist.

The camera was fixed on his face.

Kang Jae-hoon's goggles had long since disappeared during the tumbling.

There was a cut on his forehead that was slowly oozing blood, which froze almost instantly in the low temperature.

The brow bone was swollen high due to the impact.

But his eyes were fixed on the newcomer who was stuck in the ice crevice, crying and screaming in despair.

The cold knife he pulled out was held in his trembling hand.

Cut the rope to survive?

"bass--!"

The huge backpack slid off with a crash.

It tumbled and plunged into the abyss below.

Disappeared in an instant.

"Captain! You..."

The newlyweds below were stunned, their cries stuck in their throats.

"Coward!"

Park Moo-taek repeated the words that Eom Hong-gil had used to "praise" him verbatim to the newlyweds.

"Stop crying! Hold on tight to the rope! Climb up here—!!"

His eyes were like a blade that had been tempered by fire.

It instantly pierced through the newcomer's mind, which was shrouded in fear.

The newcomer was jolted awake; his survival instinct overcame his fear. He gripped the rope tightly and began to climb upwards, bit by bit, with all his might.

With Kang Jae-hoon pulling and guiding him with all his might.

Using their last bit of strength, the two finally managed to scramble and crawl onto the relatively safe cliff top platform in a very disheveled state.

"Huh...huh...huh..."

Just as Kang Jae-hoon was trying to sit up and look up at the sky...

A blindingly bright reflected light.

Without any warning.

It pierced his eyes hard.

"Well!"

He suddenly lowered his head and closed his eyes.

A sudden, sharp burning pain erupted deep within my eyes!

Tears welled up reflexively.

Close-up shot.

He instinctively raised a hand to shield his eyes.

But it's too late.

The intense ultraviolet rays were reflected and gathered by the snow millions of times.

It penetrated the unobstructed view.

The world before his eyes instantly...

It was dyed into a blurry, violently fluctuating...

White!
Snow blindness!
At this altitude, snow-capped mountains are one of the deadliest places to attack after losing the protection of goggles!

The mountain wind seemed to be getting colder.

The newcomer next to him caught his breath and was about to struggle to get up to help Park Moo-jae when he saw the captain groping and waving his hand in front of his eyes in vain, his face showing an unprecedented blankness and a trace of barely perceptible panic.

"...Captain-nim?"

The newcomer's voice trembled.

Kang Jae-hoon blinked hard.

But in the shimmering white light, one could only barely make out the swaying outline of the figure in front of them.

He fumbled around.

Touching the cold, metallic texture of the snow beside me—it was an ice axe.

He used an ice axe for support.

He took a few deep breaths of the frigid air, still carrying icy shards, and said:
"you listen to me……"

He turned his face toward the new team members, and although his vision was blurry, the composure that belonged to a captain was still etched on his face.

"I have snow blindness, and now... I can't see."

The newlyweds instantly turned ashen-faced.

He looked around—

They had just escaped danger, but they were still at an extremely high altitude, with a long and arduous descent to safety. It was a miracle he himself had survived, let alone carrying someone who was almost completely blind and had limited mobility.
Despair descended once again.

"Captain...I..."

The newcomer's voice was choked with sobs, filled with helplessness.

"Go down by yourself."

"No! I can't..."

"This is an order!"

Kang Jae-hoon interrupted him sternly.

"If you stay here, we'll both die! You immediately follow the marks we made up here and go back the way we came! Retreat as fast as you can! Go to the camp and call for rescue!"

"Don't be afraid... I can handle it."

He groped his way to a relatively sheltered, stable rock nearby, moved with difficulty, and sat down against it. He tilted his head slightly, and although all he could see was a scorching light and shadow, he seemed to be "looking" at the majestic outline of the snow-capped peaks in the distance.

finally.

With tears in their eyes and immense fear, the new team member gritted their teeth and began to move downhill, staggering step by step.

"Cut!"

behind the monitor.

Director Lee Seok-hoon repeatedly replayed Kang Jae-hoon's performance after confirming his "snow blindness" diagnosis.

Those eyes.

No longer targeting specific objects or people.

It no longer conveys clear emotions or intentions.

The surface seems to reflect the snow and the sky, but deep inside is a vast emptiness.

My sense of direction has completely disappeared.

His eyes were unfocused.

Then came the actions of fumbling for the ice axe and looking up into the distance.

All of these were completed while out of focus.

This performance involves precisely controlling the state of the pupils, causing the gaze to instantly lose focus and direction.

It is an extremely demanding test of an actor's ability to understand and recreate the character's physical blindness.

"Director...do you need another take?"

The voice of the on-site director came through the walkie-talkie.

Lee Seok-hoon's gaze swept over the playback footage from several different camera angles.

"No need. That's enough."

He shouted into the walkie-talkie:
"Kang Jae-hoon and Park Moo-hoon have finished filming all their scenes at Park Moo-hoon's house."

"Thanks for your hard work."

moment.

The once quiet and cold high-altitude film set erupted in enthusiastic cheers, whistles, and applause, mingling with the whistling wind and echoing among the snow-capped mountains.

Whether it was the technicians, the action crew, or the makeup artists, everyone put down what they were doing and applauded enthusiastically.

The hard work of shooting at high altitudes for several months has turned into the most sincere congratulations to the person who completed the project.

The logistics guy did it like magic.

In the freezing cold of tens of degrees below zero, he pulled out a small bunch of obviously plastic-looking artificial flowers that had been purchased in Kathmandu and stored in an insulated box, and handed them to Jiang Zai Xun.

"Congratulations on wrapping up filming! Jae-hoon!"

The golden plastic flowers stood stubbornly upright in the cold wind and snow.

It's quite comical.

The assistant director, action director, Everest guide, Hwang Jung-min, Ra Mi-ran, and other main actors all came over.

People wrapped in thick down jackets couldn't hug each other.

The only thing I could do was slap his shoulders and back hard through his thick clothes, making muffled thuds.

"well done!"

"I'm free!"

"Let's go back and have a drink together!"

Holding the bouquet of artificial flowers, Kang Jae-hoon bowed to each of the staff members who approached him with a slightly silly smile on his face.

"Thank you for your care during this time!"

Until the end.

Director Lee Seok-hoon handed an envelope to Kang Jae-hoon.

"Give."

According to industry practice, actors who play dead characters should receive a red envelope (cash gift) to bring good luck.

"Thank you, Director!"

Kang Jae-hoon looked a little embarrassed.

But his hand obediently stuffed the red envelope into the thick inner pocket of his down jacket.

The flash comes on.

Despite his hands and feet being frozen stiff, the photography assistant still dutifully captured the final group photo amidst the wind and snow.

A group of people were huddled together.

The backdrop is a magnificent and austere snow-capped mountain.