A plane hits the ice

In December 1976, a twin-engine Howard 500 loaded with about 6,000 pounds of Mexican marijuana crashed into a frozen lake deep in Yosemite's backcountry. Both men aboard died.

Weeks before anyone knew

Park employees only stumbled on the wreck weeks later. Rangers pulled out some of the cargo, but thousands of pounds stayed locked under the ice. Then Camp 4 heard about it.

An 18-year-old hikes in

Ken Yager was one of the climbers who made the trek through three feet of snow to the scattered wreckage. He remembers the site as grim, not thrilling.

“There was a spooky feeling, you know? You could just feel death.”

Hacking bales from the ice

Climbers chopped holes through the frozen lake and hauled soaked bales back toward the valley. The cargo reeked of water and aviation fuel.

“It's cold, windy, you could smell airplane fuel.”

Drying it out in LA

Some of the haul went to a Los Angeles motel room, spread across the floor to dry. Yager called it off before the whole thing collapsed on them.

“I just said, 'Hey, we're going to get busted if we stay here. We need to get out of here.'”

Fifty years on

Scuba divers followed, until authorities shut the site down. Now the documentary High Ground reunites climbers, rangers, investigators and families to sort out what really happened.

“We underestimated the entrepreneurial spirit of certain members of the community.”