Close to home
New book details tragic, real-life tale of survival and loss in Sawatch Range

It was just supposed to be a quick lap; an innocent little ski run through the trees right outside the hut. Then, like the raging, blowing snow, things went sideways.

So begins the premise for Breckenridge author Devon O’Neil’s new book, “The Way Out.” A true story about a group of Salida friends and a 2017 10th Mountain Hut trip gone horribly awry, the book – which came out in hardback Nov. 11 – may hit close to home for many mountain dwellers.

Devon O'Neil

Maybe a little too close. Yet, it is probably those of us who shy away from the “what ifs” of outdoor adventuring who need to read this book the most.

Without being too much of a spoiler – since, like a long uphill skin, the gripping story takes time to unfold – the book centers on 47-year-old Brett Beasley, a longtime Salida resident and avid outdoorsman, and his newfound ski buddy, 15-year-old Cole Walters-Schaler. The two are part of a father-daughter/son January hut trip to Uncle Bud’s Cabin, outside of Leadville.  

It was supposed to be a time for family bonding, but instead of waiting for the group on that first fateful morning, Brett and Cole – lured by several inches of fresh powder – duck out for a quick run. This is the last time either of them will be seen for the next 30 hours, setting off an epic and harrowing search during a storm that dropped as much as 3 feet on the Sawatch Range.

And while the search and rescue mission is arguably the most gripping part of the story, it is not the only part that will have you furiously flipping pages. With painstaking research and hundreds of interviews, O’Neil deftly paints a detailed portrait of Brett and his family (wife, Cari, and teen-age daughters, Bari and Brooke); Cole and the others on the hut trip; and the small, tight-knit Salida community rocked by the events. 

Brett Beasley is a character many of us know well, a mountain dude archetype; a “legend” and “Grateful Dead-loving free spirit who keeps a keg in his garage.” A Kansas boy who makes his way to Colorado in the ’90s, he and Cari settle in the small town of Salida, which he considers paradise on Earth. In his nearly 30 years there, he learns to do all the things – from fly fishing and rafting to mountain biking, moto-ing and skiing – becoming a fixture and beloved adventure buddy among the outdoors set. In addition, he is a respected recreation manager for the Forest Service, doing the work of two people, uniting disparate user groups and preaching safety to his staff.

In other words, he should have known better. However, it is this wealth of experience – the expert paradox if you will – that makes the story all the more intriguing. On the day Brett and Cole venture out, mistakes were made, perhaps the biggest one being complacency. Weather reports weren’t thoroughly evaluated, and phones and maps were left behind, as were warm layers, survival gear and a game plan – all in the name of “a quickie.”

Of course, these are faux pas any of us could be guilty of, which makes the story all the more compelling. In the end, there is plenty of blame to go around – justified or not – and lessons to be learned. O’Neil, a 10th Mountain hutmaster and avid backcountry skier himself, takes a sober, honest and deeply personal look at our insatiable attraction to a natural world that is beautiful but ultimately indifferent toward our human foibles.

Yes, at its core, “The Way Out” is a cautionary tale about being underprepared and overcommitted in the backcountry. But, O’Neil does an exemplary job of putting an immensely relatable and human face on those decisions that put ourselves and others at risk, their aftermath and the long path toward healing that follows.

Before you head out to the backcountry this winter, do yourself a favor and read “The Way Out.” It will stay with you long after you’ve devoured the last of its 288 pages. And it just might help you get out of a sketchy situation and may even be the difference between life and death.