Darkest White

<p><strong>Eric Blehm offers an insightful perspective on how Craig Kelly became the effortless icon that we all revered as well as sobering details of how his heroic journey tragically ended. <em>The Darkest White</em> is a must read not just for fans of snowboarding but for anyone looking for inspiration from an unlikely hero.--Tony Hawk</strong></p><p><strong>From Eric Blehm the bestselling author of <em>The Last Season and Fearless</em> comes an extraordinary new book in the vein of <em>Into the Wild </em> 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.</strong></p><p>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.</p><p><em>The Darkest White</em> tells the story of Craig Kelly's life an extraordinary and inspiring odyssey of a latchkey kid whose athletic prowess and innovations revolutionized winter sports carried him around the globe and pushed him into increasingly extreme backcountry environments. It is also a definitive immersive account of how snowboarding 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.</p><p><strong>The most unremittingly exciting book of nonfiction I have come across in recent years. I found myself reading late into recent nights wholly transfixed by every paragraph every word.--Simon Winchester <em>New York Times Book Review</em></strong></p>