'The Edge of Never' book review

January 5, 10:36 AMSalt Lake City Outdoor Recreation ExaminerJared Hargrave

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Courtesy of Stone Creek Publishing 

In 2005, Author Bill Kerig set out to do what no ski filmmaker has done in recent years: make a ski movie that is actually about something. The film would focus on Kye Peterson, the 15-year-old son of famous big-mountain skier Trevor Peterson, who was killed in 1996 by an avalanche while skiing the Exit Coulior in Chamonix, France. Kerig's plan was to take Kye to the Glacier Rond and document his attempt at skiing the 50-degree slope that took his father. Ultimately that movie was never finished after the production company changed directions and instead made the successful ski documentary “Steep.” Although Kerig was disappointed, it gave him the opportunity to write “The Edge of Never,” a book about Kye, Trevor and the protective brotherhood of skiers that circle around the boy.

“The Edge of Never” is one of the most well written books about skiing I've ever read. Kerig's style draws the reader into a scene, like when he is in Kye's bedroom and the teenager shows him pictures of his father. There is an intimacy in the book, as if we are listening to conversations too private to hear. A similar, touching scene occurs when legendary ski mountaineer Anselme Baud takes Kye aside atop a glacier in Chamonix and shows him the mountain where his son was killed in a serac collapse. He reveals to Kye that it is very near where Trevor was killed and this confession connects Kye to Chamonix in a way that wasn't there before. These small, human moments elevate the book above most ski literature. Kerig also excels at creating tension during the moments leading up to Kye's decent of the Exit Coulior where he memorializes his father.

I also enjoyed “The Edge of Never” because it gives the reader a different look at famous skiers like Glen Plake. Everyone is familiar with the mohawked, soundbite-machine that is Plake, but the book shows the real person as he takes Kye under his wing and becomes a sort of father figure. Here we see big-mountain skiers as themselves, rather than the crazy “extreme” dudes they are when cameras are rolling.

The book also works as a behind-the-scenes look at the inner workings of a major documentary production. Though Kerig never bores us with details, the politics and power struggles between the producers and crew are compelling. These scenes, intertwined with the story of a son coming to terms with the death of his father, add up to a book that is about much more than skiing. It is about family, taking risks, and an appreciation of life in the mountains.