MOUNTAINEERING --  Spokane Mountaineer John Roskelley is mentioned in a new climbing novel and serves as an inspiration for one of the characters, says author/climber Nick O’Connell of Seattle.

The Storms of Denali, is a disaster epic that O'Connell ranks in the tradition of Into Thin Air and The Perfect Storm. Four young men set out to climb a new route on the 20,320-foot peak, the highest and coldest summit in North America. They battle avalanches, fierce winds, and mind-numbing cold to ascend a classic new line up the south face. In confronting these obstacles, the group splinters, leading inexorably to tragedy.

O'Connell will be reading from the novel Thursday (Aug. 9) at 7 p.m. at Auntie's Bookstore in Spokane.

See a video trailer of the novel featuring the author and scenes from Denali.

An extraordinary novel. Through verisimilitude and candor rarely found in the nonfiction literature of North America's highest peak, O'Connell plumbs the motivations, risk, and nuances of an ordinary climber's life.  The mounting tension, deft characterizations, and sun-burnt realism of The Storms of Denali transport the reader more vividly than any other book about the mountain.

--Jonathan Waterman, author of In the Shadow of Denali and Running Dry.