This “mesmerizing tale of human courage and heroism” (Nando Parrado, author of Miracle in the Andes ) follows the astonishing ordeal of survival during an avalanche in California. In 1982, at the Alpine Meadows ski resort near Lake Tahoe, an unforeseeable confluence of natural events created the conditions for an unimaginable disaster. Millions of tons of snow flowed into the ski area and parking lot beyond, engulfing unsuspecting vacationers out for a walk as well as resort employees working in spite of the danger, killing seven and leaving one victim buried alive under the snow. At the center of this wrenching tale of human versus nature is ski patrolman Larry Heywood and his team, who heroically searched for a young woman trapped for five days underneath the suffocating snow—a tale of survival that is itself an exploration of the capacity of courage. A Wall of White is the quintessential American story—a testament to the unwavering dedication of a band of rebel rescuers, driven only by a commitment to saving lives, battling not just extreme conditions but seemingly impossible odds. "Whenever you are faced by something that seems impossible to conquer, remember A Wall of White. It's a mesmerizing tale of human courage and heroism. Having been buried by an avalanche, I can confirm that this story will be unforgettable to readers -- adventurers and couch adventurers alike. Read it, be inspired, and keep on looking ahead!" -- Nando Parrado, bestselling author of Miracle in the Andes "Fiercely compelling and at times heartbreaking, Jennifer Woodlief's A Wall of White builds with the power of an oncoming avalanche until the last, and final, redeeming moment. A powerhouse inside-look at mountain rescuers' lives, A Wall of White deserves to fit on bookshelves alongside Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air and Sebastian Junger's A Perfect Storm . Required reading for adventure fans." -- Wayne Johnson, author of White Heat: The Extreme Skiing Life "A mesmerizing tale of human courage and heroism." -- Nando Parrado, bestselling author of Miracle in the Andes Jennifer Woodlief is a former reporter for Sports Illustrated. Her first book Ski to Die: The Bill Johnson Story (2005) was optioned by Warner Brothers with Matthew McConaughey to play Bill. A graduate of Stanford University and UCLA School of Law, her past jobs included prosecuting first-degree murder cases as a district attorney and working as a case officer with top secret clearance for the CIA. A Wall of White ONE It was snowing as hard as it could possibly snow. Larry Heywood, assistant patrol director at Alpine Meadows in 1982 It was around 5 a.m., just before daybreak, when Larry Heywood pulled into the Alpine Meadows parking lot on March 31, 1982. The multi-day snowstorm would finally force the ski area to shut down entirely that day, but open or not, as assistant patrol director at the resort, Larry was one of the few employees who still had to report to work. The blizzard had hit the Sierra Nevada the previous Saturday evening, and it had been snowing steadily—and hard—for the past four days. With two to three feet of new snow falling daily, by that Wednesday morning the storm had dumped nearly seven and a half feet of new snow on top of an existing 89-inch base. Most of the roads were impassable because snowplows were unable to keep ahead of the snowfall, and the tourists up for ski vacations were more or less trapped in their rental houses and condos. Larry’s big old turquoise Jeep Wagoneer, nicknamed Gus because that’s what the random letters in the license plate happened to spell, had made it, barely, from his home on Lake Tahoe’s West Shore to Highway 89 and then down the three miles of Alpine Meadows Road that dead-ended at the ski area. Between the road conditions and the fury of the blizzard, Larry had been creeping along at maybe six mph. He spent much of the drive with his door open, craning around it to try to see where the road was and if anyone else was on it. On his way to work Larry had picked up Thom Orsi, a member of the ski area’s trail crew. Thom, who had spied crocus bulbs beginning to bloom in his yard the previous Saturday, trudged down to the street that morning on top of the snowdrifts in his driveway, with his car, unseen, buried somewhere beneath him. As they headed toward the ski resort, the drive was oppressive, almost claustrophobic. Maneuvering his Jeep in a virtual elevator shaft of snow, Larry asked Thom to keep an eye out for avalanche activity on the slopes above them. “You see anything moving,” Larry told Thom, “you scream.” Thom spent the remainder of the trip—in the dark, in a near whiteout—clearing off his foggy window and gaping up at the snow-drenched mountains. Two days earlier, Alpine Meadows had closed the upper part of the ski area, and the previous day, it was running only the three lowest chairlifts for the benefit of a dozen or so skiers. The lifts high up on the mounta