num_pages: 272
description: Ollestad 41 was thrust into the world of surfing and competitive downhill skiing at a very young age by the father he idolized. Resentful of a childhood lost to his fathers reckless and demanding adventures young Ollestad was often paralyzed by fear. Set in Malibu and Mexico in the late 1970s the book captures the earthy surf culture of Southern California; the boys conflicted feelings for his magnetic father; and the exhilarating tests of skill in the surf and snow that prepared young Norman to become a fearless surfer and ski champion--which ultimately saved his life.In February 1979 just as he was reaping the rewards of his training a chartered Cessna carrying Norman his father his fathers girlfriend and the pilot crashed into the San Gabriel Mountains in Southern California and was suspended at eight thousand feet engulfed in a blizzard. Normans father his coach and hero was dead and the 11-year old Ollestad had to descend the mountain alone and grief-stricken through snow and ice without any gear.Stunningly the boy defied the elements and put his fathers passionate lessons to work. As he told the LA Times after his ordeal My dad told me never to give up. 
language: English
title: Crazy for the Storm: A Memoir of Survival
publisher: Ecco