As a child, Lou Dawson pored over his father's mountaineering books. So, after his troubled parents uprooted the family to live among Colorado's 1960s hippie counterculture, the obsessed teen seized the chance to explore the magnificent peaks.

When he discovered the addictive rush of powder snow and the mountains' dizzying heights, Dawson's lifelong affair with the all-consuming thrills of extreme sports began. While longing for a soulmate and the close-knit family he'd always desired, Dawson struggled to reach beyond the mountains' siren call-to find the true courage and forgiveness required of lasting relationships.

In this deeply moving tale, Dawson takes readers along as he navigates from near-fatal choices to a fulfilling and joyous existence. And with the dramatic backdrop of his career as an alpinist and extreme skier, he explores his metamorphosis from a reckless, adrenaline-seeking youth, to a dedicated father crafting a solid foundation for his family.

Avalanche Dreams is not only a coming-of-age story, not only a radical telling of Dawson's athletic triumphs and failures, it's about the struggle for meaning in the world of extreme alpinism -- a world where nothing succeeds like excess. It is a tale of triumph and a journey from the broken bones of youthful compulsion to a sweet balance of body, soul, and spirit.

(Jacketed hardcover, 82 black & white illustrations. ).