Inaccessible

Taut with suspense and life-or-death action, Inaccessible follows author Richard Layne on four solo treks into Glacier's backcountry in near-lethal winter conditions. Layne is irresistibly drawn to a traverse of the remote high cirque named Hole in the Wall despite the risks sheer cliffs, howling storms, hungry grizzly bears, and raging avalanches. Park rangers warn that Hole in the Wall is inaccessible in winter, only fueling Layne's determination to go there. Staggering under a 90-pound backpack through rotten snowpack, facing isolation, disastrous weather, and utter exhaustion, the 59-year-old Layne rises to the challenge one step at a time in a tale that celebrates grit and courage as their own reward. His clear, direct prose and full-color photographs will carry hardy mountaineers and armchair adventurers alike right to the edge.