Sergeant Hugo Lehner was a Nordic skier who competed for SK Gstaad and later SK Zermatt, but he was even better known as an Alpine skier. In Zermatt he worked as a mountain guide and, after the 1928 Olympics, was involved in numerous mountain films by, or with, Luis Trenker for about 20 years, initially in secondary roles, but later as a production manager. He was also involved in Tiefland, the last film shot by Leni Riefenstahl during World War II. He is said to have recruited the extras from the Sinti, interned in the so-called gypsy camp Maxglan in Salzburg-Leopoldskron.
Switzerland