Teeth To The Wind

“There’s no Michael Gardner story without first telling the story of Mike and Sam.” Or so it was explained when athlete and writer Michael Gardner first pitched this project a few years back. Documented primarily through self-capture, with visits from fellow climber and filmer Drew Smith along the way, Teeth to the Wind chronicles a season of climbing in Alaska, Wyoming, and Nepal, with Gardner and his long-term partner and friend, Sam Hennessey. As reluctant filmmakers, they question what it all means and unabashedly keep the cameras rolling. In turn, we get a glimpse into their singular, bold, endearing, and mullet-denying approach to life. After Gardner’s death in 2024, while attempting Jannu East with Sam, his friends set out to finish the film as he had originally intended. “It’s not going to be a climbing film,” Michael had insisted. “Maybe it’s a rom-com?”