The Other Side of the Mountain

The Other Side of the Mountain is a drama released in 1975 that focuses on and is based upon the true life story of Jill Kinmont, a real life skiing champion. The film was so successful upon release from its parent company, Universal Pictures, that it single handedly helped them survive bankruptcy and insolvency. Jill Kinmont was a master of slalom, a type of downhill alpine skiing wherein the athlete must dodge rapidly between tall poles set into the ground around them. She was also the expected to do very well and get one of the top slots in the 1956 Winter Olympics. In the film Jill Kinmont is portrayed by Marilyn Hasset. Only weeks before her ninetheenth birthday Kinmont was entangled in a horrible downhill skiing accident at the Snow Cup in Utah in 1955, one year before the Olympics. She survived but was almost completely paralyzed for the rest of her life. In the midst of this torturous situation she meets John Booth, a dapper, charming daredevil who sweeps her off her feet and teaches her that there is more to life than just winning a medal.