Read the original article in the Telluride Daily Planet.
If you find tales of living life on the edge enchanting — even if it’s a brand of adventure well beyond your comfort zone — tonight’s talk by extreme skiing pioneer, Dan Egan, at Between the Covers (BTC) will be a vicarious thrill. Egan, who is also hosting a daytime ski clinic today, will be at the bookstore and coffee shop from 5-6:30 p.m. presenting and signing his new book, “Thirty Years in a White Haze.”
This is his only appearance in the Southwest, according to BTC co-owner Jennifer Ball. Hearing his first-hand accounts, Ball said, will be thrilling.
“Nothing beats the excitement of meeting someone in person who you’ve seen in countless movies,” she said. “You’ll hear firsthand, behind the scenes stories of Dan’s extreme sports adventures. What a great opportunity to live vicariously as an extreme skier for an hour and a half.”
Ball added that since taking the reins of the beloved indie bookshop in December, this marks the first, in-store author talk the new owners have hosted. The coffee shop will remain open for the signing, too.
Egan comes to Telluride with a massive reputation for not only pushing himself to the limits, but also his articulate introspection of the shift in perspective that can happen when the human mind, body and spirit is challenged to the extreme. His tales are carved by his perseverance.
“Sheltered in a snow cave on Mount Elbrus, Dan Egan stares into the mouth of a storm on the tallest mountain on the European continent, a merciless mountain which claims more lives per year than Everest,” a recent news release tantalizes. “In the belly of the beast, Egan takes stock of every moment that brought him here — the life of a Boston boy enthralled with self-determination and adventure.
“Egan emerges from the white haze of the storm to summit a climactic arc of perseverance we see repeated across decades on skis, on sailboats, in personal relationships, in entrepreneurial endeavors, and in examination of self.”
Fans of Warren Miller ski films will know Egan as a featured athlete in titles such as “To the Extreme,” “Born to Ski,” “Vertical Reality” and 2020’s “Future Retro,” along with a host of others.
Egan’s book begins at the beginning, in Boston, where he and his brother John — a partner in many an adventure — were raised. The Egan Brothers, as they are known, traveled to some of the world’s most remote regions following the geopolitical events of the 1980s and 1990s. They made first descents on the Berlin Wall, skied beside the Persian Gulf War and organized the 1993 Middle East Peace Ski in Lebanon. The brothers were willing to ski wherever the world would watch and listen, according to the book’s news release.
“Thirty Years in a White Haze: Dan Egan’s Story of Worldwide Adventure and the Evolution of Extreme Skiing,” written with Eric Wilbur, tells in an engaging manner, not only the challenges, successes and mishaps of his career, but is a keen observation of the technological advances and growth of the outdoor industry.
Ski journalist and best-selling author Michael Finkel wrote this glowing review of Egan’s book: “From humble Massachusetts hills to the jagged peaks of the Alps, from the looniness of skiing the Berlin Wall to a near-death disaster on Russia’s Mount Elbrus, from the rise of hot-dogging to the heights of cliff-jumping, Dan Egan has been at forefront of the wild world of skiing. ‘White Haze’ is a fascinating, rollicking, roller-coaster ride of a book, swinging from joy to heartbreak and back, with danger at every turn.”
Egan’s family history, which is artfully tied into the narrative, includes the ever-present mortality of his namesake, his grandfather’s involvement in desegregating Boston’s schools, and the rise of extreme skiing and technology into the new millennium. The author credits his upbringing for forging his life’s path.
“I make my living by doing all the things my parents taught me to do by the age of 10,” Egan said. “Skiing, sailing and soccer have been the mainstays in my life. My parents focused on teamwork, independent thinking and self-responsibility with a clear message of building foundational skills that have carried me through my life.”
Egan has created his own media production and distribution company, and further fills his winters hosting ski clinics in the world’s most renowned resorts, such as Big Sky in Montana and Val D’Isere in the French Alps.
Copies of his book will be available for purchase, Ball said. Grab a cup of coffee and settle in for Egan’s fascinating story from 5-6:30 p.m. tonight. For more information, call Between the Covers at 970-728-4504.
