The Darkest White: A Mountain Legend and the Avalanche That Took Him

“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. The Darkest White is a must read, not just for fans of snowboarding, but for anyone looking for inspiration from an unlikely hero.”—Tony Hawk

From Eric Blehm, the bestselling author of The Last Season and Fearless, comes an extraordinary new work of adventure nonfiction 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 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 winter sports history, detailing 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 survival story is a cautionary portrait of the mountains, of the allure and the glory they offer, and of the avalanches they unleash with unforgiving fury.

"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, New York Times Book Review

Go beyond the headlines of the tragedy and discover the man who changed a sport forever.

• Sports Biography: The incredible life of Craig Kelly, the ‘Michael Jordan of snowboarding,’ who turned a cult hobby into a global phenomenon before tragically dying at the peak of his powers.
• Backcountry Snowboarding: A vivid look into the untamed alpine wilds that Kelly was drawn to after walking away from the competition circuit, seeking a purer connection to the mountains.
• Avalanche Survival: A minute-by-minute account of the controversial 2003 Durrand Glacier Avalanche, a disaster that claimed seven lives and sent shockwaves through the world of extreme sports.
• Inspirational Story: The journey of a latchkey kid who revolutionized winter sports through sheer talent and innovation, inspiring a generation of riders along the way.