Cynthia Hunt lives on the edge, which is hardly a surprise given that so many protagonists in mountain-themed films are risk takers fuelled by a passion for something greater than themselves. What differentiates Hunt from your garden variety BASE jumper or extreme kayaker is the subject of her obsession. Born, raised and educated in North America, Hunt has spent the last 17 years in the remote Indian region of Ladakh, one of the poorest and least developed areas on Earth.

“The Magic Mountain” follows Hunt as she travels through the high passes and valleys of the Himalayan and Karakoram ranges to reach the most isolated settlements in the region. This is Hunt’s life — working with the women and children of the areas passed over by other providers of outside assistance. The small NGO Hunt founded in 1992, HEALTH Inc. (Health, Environment and Literacy in the Himalayas), busies itself with empowering the village dwellers to make crucial steps towards sustaining and improving their lives.

The written word falls short of being able to explain the life and energy Hunt brings to each and every encounter witnessed during the course of Pat and Baiba Morrow’s film. A laughing, dancing force of nature, Hunt seems capable of existing within Ladakhi culture even as she discusses topics that are foreign and unknown to those who listen to her.

The remarkable isolation and dramatic surroundings are not the focus of the film, but provide a stunning backdrop for documenting the        efforts of HEALTH Inc 

For anyone to refer to a multi-day hike along a frozen river as “my commute to work” is incredible and Hunt’s status as an inspirational figure is only enhanced by the fact that she battles with liver disease and has suffered through meningitis and typhus during her time in Ladakh.

A lesser filmmaking team might have produced an over-earnest, preaching documentary, but the Morrows simply allow their subjects and the work being done to speak for themselves. Not every aspect of the story ends in success by the closing frames of the 50 minute film, but one is left with the lasting impression that HEALTH Inc.’s grassroots approach is working. By providing Ladakhis with the skills and equipment to develop according to their own priorities, Hunt and her colleagues are also providing an example for small-scale assistance projects the world over.

Given the success of “The Magic Mountain” at the Banff Film Festival, where it captured the People’s Choice Award, the Morrows are looking for a broadcaster interested in bringing this story to the small screen. Otherwise, DVD copies are available through the Morrow Productions website at www.patmorrow.com.

HEALTH Inc. also has a web address (www.health-inc.org) where you can find more information on their work in Ladakh and a link to the Seva Service Society in Vancouver. That’s where to go to find out more about donations and support.

This winter, Sonam Norboo and Phuntsog Stanzin, the two interns featured in the film, are spending two months in Canmore to learn new teaching techniques and expose Alberta schoolchildren to the Ladakhi culture.