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A Mountain Legend and the Avalanche That Took Him – An Inspiring Biography of World Champion Snowboarder Craig Kelly and the 2003 Durrand Glacier Tragedy
by Eric Blehm
From Eric Blehm, the bestselling author of The Last Season and Fearless, comes an extraordinary new sports biography in the vein of Into the Wild, the story of the legendary snowboarder Craig Kelly and his death in the 2003 Durrand Glacier Avalanche—a devastating and controversial tragedy that claimed the lives of seven people.
On January 20, 2003, a thunderous crack rang out and a violent tide of snow barreled down the northern Selkirk Mountains in British Columbia, Canada, burying thirteen skiers and snowboarders. Among them was Craig Kelly—"the Michael Jordan of snowboarding"—a world champion who had propelled the sport into the mainstream before walking away from competitions to rekindle his passion in the untamed alpine wilds of North America.
The Darkest White tells the story of Craig Kelly's life, an extraordinary and inspiring true story of a latchkey kid whose athletic prowess and innovations revolutionized winter sports, carried him around the globe, and pushed him into the increasingly extreme world of backcountry snowboarding. It is also a definitive, immersive account of snowboarding history, showing how the sport grew from a minor Gen X cult hobby to Olympic centerpiece and a billion-dollar business full of feuds and rivalries. This mesmerizing tribute is a cautionary portrait of the mountains, of the allure and the glory they offer, and of the avalanches they unleash with unforgiving fury.
"Impressive reporting offers new insight into [Craig] Kelly's final hours, and the author's empathetic portrayal of Kelly as a purist who 'turned his back on business deals, high-dollar sponsorship contracts, and ... prize money' to return to the 'powdery backcountry that had first drawn him to his calling' will resonate even with those unfamiliar with his legacy. It's a stirring tribute to a talent gone too soon." ―Publishers Weekly
"Blehm recounts in gripping detail the terrifying disaster, the desperate rescue efforts, and the ensuing investigations into the cause. A stirring adventure narrative and sports bio." ―Kirkus Reviews
"Mr. Blehm's description of Kelly's meticulous training ... and his minute-by-minute account of the fateful day leading up to Kelly's demise, make this book as riveting as any thriller." ―Wall Street Journal
This information about The Darkest White was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Eric Blehm is the award-winning author of the New York Times bestsellers Fearless (soon to be a major motion picture) and The Only Thing Worth Dying For. His book The Last Season won the 2007 National Outdoor Book Award and was named by Outside magazine as one of the "greatest adventure biographies ever written."
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