Watch the official trailer for The Mountain Within Me
Ed Jackson suffered a horrific accident in 2017 that left him with a broken spine and the prospect of never walking again, but less than a year later he reached the summit of Mount Snowdon and began looking for a new challenge.
He has since climbed the Himalang in Nepal and the Aiguille d’Ibona in the French Alps, achieving the impossible – something he never thought possible.
Ed, along with his supportive wife Lois, founded the mental health charity Millimeter 2 Mountains, which helps people who have experienced trauma build their communities and achieve impressive goals.
His story is told in director Polly Steele’s moving documentary The Mountain Within, which opens in theaters today, Friday, August 23.
“Natural recovery happens closest to the injury and then it slows down, slows down, slows down,” Ed explained in an exclusive interview with Express.co.uk. “So I spent the first two or three years just working as hard as I could without knowing where I was going to go.”
Ed Jackson: ‘I Never Thought About Mountains’ After Fatal Accident (Photo: DOGWOOF RELEASING)
Ed’s recovery is nothing short of miraculous, and the film shows just how much strain he puts on his body, considering doctors said he would never be able to function at full capacity again.
“I never expected it. If you had asked me two years after the accident what I would be doing in my third year, I would not have believed it,” he said.
“If you asked me four years after my accident what I would be doing in year five, I would not have believed it. And some of the things I’ve done recently are things I never imagined I would be able to do if I hadn’t had a spinal cord injury. That’s what makes it fun.”
Ed remained optimistic about his life experiences, focusing on the present and what he could accomplish in the future rather than on past traumas, even when he had to endure freezing temperatures for nearly 50 hours during his death-defying descent from Nepal.
Ed and his team spent days out on the frozen ice. (Photo: DOGWOOF RELEASING)
“He flips that switch so quickly and comes back up again, it’s unbelievable at times!” coach Foley said. “That’s what sets him apart from the rest of us.
“He’s fighting a lot with his body every day, and he thinks about it all the time, but when you let it overwhelm you, you know it takes you to a very dark place. It’s so easy to get there.”
Ed adds, echoing her thoughts: “I try not to think too far ahead. I’ve made the mistake of hoping or hoping or expecting things to happen in the past, but then they don’t happen and I end up disappointed.
“Focusing on the present moment and what you can do now is the best way to get to a more positive place later. Often times, if you ask yourself, ‘What’s next?’, I don’t really know. None of this was overly planned, because I had to wait and see how my body would recover. I could have stopped at any time and gotten better, so it’s one step at a time.
Ed was told he would never walk again, but reached the summit of Snowdon just months after his accident. (Photo: ED JACKSON)
“Mountains weren’t on my mind until I stood on Snowden Summit and thought, ‘Oh, I can go a little higher than this.’ But arriving in the Himalayas was something I didn’t expect.”
Despite the touching story, Ed candidly admits that his father, the doctor who helped his son in the critical moments following the accident, doesn’t like to relive those traumatic moments and is unlikely to watch the new documentary.
“My dad hasn’t read (my book Lucky) yet,” he shared. “And I don’t think he’ll ever see the movie.
“He was there. He’s a cool, retired doctor, a very cool Yorkshireman who doesn’t show much emotion. But being there, being present, effectively saving my life, obviously took its toll. He doesn’t want to think about it.
“On the other hand, enough good things have happened to me since then, so it wasn’t that shocking.”
Ed miraculously reached the summit of Aiguille d’Ibonnais in the French Alps. (Photo: DOGWOOF RELEASING)
While there are certainly some powerful interview moments with Ed, they are few and far between in this overwhelmingly positive and moving story of survival and overcoming adversity.
Viewers who watch the film ‘The Mountain Within’ this weekend might want to follow in the former rugby player’s footsteps and start climbing their own, but it’s hard to tell exactly where he’s headed next.
“Ed moves quickly in life,” Polly said. “Every time you sit down with him and try to plan something, he’s already done it before you know it!”
The Mountain Within Me is currently showing in UK cinemas.
