In Search of the Mount Cleveland Five

Two days after Christmas in 1969, five young, forward-thinking mountaineers set out to climb Mount Cleveland, the highest peak in Glacier National Park. They were never seen alive again.

The Mount Cleveland tragedy will remain one of the most enigmatic mountaineering accidents in the United States.

The author fast-tracks himself into mountaineering at age 15. His quest is to vindicate the Mount Cleveland Five by climbing the north face with the brother of one of the missing.

In Search of the Mount Cleveland Five is a true story about the coming-of-age, racing through 22 years of climbing endeavors with colorful Montana climbers and their close calls, antics and tears. The grief and inspiration of the Mount Cleveland avalanche never leaves the rear view mirror.

The story ends on a peak in the Alaska Range as the author attempts a new route with the son of his longtime climbing partner. The slope they are ascending threatens to avalanche-and history is on the verge of repeating itself.