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.