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

Bestseller Blehm (Fearless) charts in this comprehensive biography how snowboarding pioneer Craig Kelly (1966–2003) became the sport’s “first true professional.” Kelly grew up “a latchkey kid of divorced parents from small-town Mount Vernon, Washington,” and began snowboarding in the early 1980s. His skill led to sponsorships, fans, and four world champion titles, but he stopped competing before snowboarding became an Olympic sport in 1998, preferring to board just “for the experience.” In 2003, Kelly and six others died on Canada’s Durrand Glacier during an avalanche, and Blehm goes to great lengths to recreate what happened. He hired Ruedi Beglinger, Kelly’s guide on that fateful day, to take him on the mountains where Kelly died and persuaded the tight-lipped Beglinger and another guide to divulge details that shed new light on the tragedy. Such impressive reporting offers fresh insight into 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. (Feb.)

This review has been updated to remove a spoiler.