Two champion climbers, young Martin and experienced Roger, compete to be the first to conquer a daunting snow-covered peak.

[1][2] The film is based on the history of the supposed first conquest of the summit of Cerro Torre in 1959, by the Italian climber Cesare Maestri and his partner, the Austrian Toni Egger, who died during the descent.

Maestri's claim was later challenged as he failed to give substantial proofs on reaching the summit.

[3] The script was written principally by longtime Herzog production manager Walter Saxer, based on an idea from mountaineer Reinhold Messner, whom Herzog had worked with in his documentary The Dark Glow of the Mountains.

Still, he praised some mountain climbing sequences of the film as "the most impressive thing you can see on screen, much more <...> than anything in a Hollywood blockbuster", because Stefan Glowacz climbed the mountain in single takes without safety lines.