I just finished reading the book "The Edge of Never" by Bill Kerig, the most inspiring page turner I’ve read in a long time. It’s the story of how Kerig took Kye Peterson to ski the Chamonix, France, run where his father Trevor Peterson died in an avalanche.

Trevor was one of my skiing idols growing up. I emulated his jump turning style as I explored the steeps in the early to mid 1990s. I watched him in movies like Into the Snow Zone and Carving the White ski big Alaskan shower curtains before it was de rigueur. Trevor died in an avalanche while skiing the Exit Couloir near Chamonix in 1996, when Kye was five.

In the book, Kerig does an excellent job of recounting his quest to make a documentary about the soul of big mountain skiing. The idea builds around taking 15-year old Kye to Chamonix, getting him the best training from legendary skiers, his father’s accomplices and professional mountain guides and then climaxes with the ski down the Exit Couloir in less than ideal conditions. The story and action is gripping and Kerig’s prose heightens the tension. In the end it’s a story of why skiers will risk their lives to ski, but it’s also about why anyone would want to push their boundaries and the freedom they find when they do.

After polishing the quick read in less than a week, I’m looking forward to watching the movie... kind of like the Laird Hamilton quest/movie, but the water is frozen?  In the meantime all I want to do is to find something steep and rocky to ski.

This is what they say on the website:

The Edge of Never is a nonfiction book that follows the story of a young man, Kye Petersen, who travels to Chamonix, France, to ski the route that killed his famous, big-mountain skiing father, Trevor Petersen. It’s told by a has-been pro skier who joins forces with the late ABC News anchorman, Peter Jennings, to make a documentary film about the event. I set out to write a book that would stay true to mountain culture while offering non-skiers a timeless, human tale.

Here’s what a few reviewers have said about the book:

Transcending the boundaries of sport, the book tells a deeply interpersonal and moving human story. Yet Kerig stays true to the roots and core values that define the culture of skiing. — Powder magazine

While the potential for clichéd ‘So there I was…’ adventure writing is great, Kerig avoids that pitfall with clear prose that delves into why skiers take such risks. — Skiing magazine

The Edge of Never takes the reader beyond mountains, beyond snow and ice and danger and into the heart of family. — The Wasatch Journal

[Kerig is] a careful observer capable of balance and fine distinction, able to celebrate a richness of life. — The Tattered Cover Book Store

too cool for old school !

just figured out how to embed the video of the trailer in my blog - snoman - v cool !