Cold Mountain (North Carolina) settlement on the real-life mountain. The peak is accessible only by hiking a spur of the strenuous Art Loeb Trail. A major motion picture based on the novel was distributed by Miramax Films in 2003. The movie was actually filmed in the Carpathian Mountains of Romania. A Miramax Films spokesperson cited higher production costs however director Anthony Minghella had said that the lack of old-growth forests and period buildings as well as the lack of dependable snowfall were the primary reasons he chose not to film in Western North Carolina. A 2015 opera production followed. "Cold Mountain Hunter" a 2004
John Ripley (USMC) with a key to the city and a plaque declaring November 11, 2008, John W Ripley day in Radford, VA. Ripley died suddenly on October 28, 2008 at his home in Annapolis, Maryland of undetermined causes at age 69 and was buried at the United States Naval Academy graveyard. He was survived by his son, Stephen, by his wife of 44 years, the former Moline Blaylock; a sister, Susan Goodykoontz who died in 2015; two other sons, Thomas and John; a daughter, Mary Ripley; nine grandchildren; and one great grandchild. Moline Blaylock Ripley died on September 12, 2009, from complications