Crazy for the Storm: A Memoir of Survival

Crazy for the Storm: A Memoir of Survival
Norman Ollestad

Set in the aftermath of a harrowing plane crash, this is the true story of one young boy’s fight for survival in nature’s most treacherous conditions.Eleven-year-old Norman Ollestad was a gifted skier. After winning the 1979 Southern California Slalom Skiing Championship, his father chartered a small plane to fly Norman home, so that his son could collect his trophy and train with his team.Moments later the Cessna, engulfed in a blizzard, crashed into the San Gabriel Mountains and was left suspended at 8,000 feet. Norman's father, his coach and his hero, was dead.Climbing out of the wreckage, young Norman begins a gruelling descent, thousands of feet down an icy mountain. Blinded by heavy snow and faced with a raging wind and below-freezing temperatures, he attempts to guide his father's injured girlfriend to safety. Kept alive by sheer will, Norman summons everything his father taught him about determination and courage to save his own life.Powerful, inspiring and utterly compelling, this is a unique and unforgettable memoir.

This memoir tells the true story of my childhood, based on my memories, my interviews with family and friends, and my research. Some names have been changed.

CRAZY FOR THE STORM

NORMAN OLLESTAD

My father craved the weightless glide. He chased hurricanes and blizzards to touch the bliss of riding mighty waves and deep powder snow. An insatiable spirit, he was crazy for the storm. And it saved my life. This book is for my father and for my son.

I am harnessed in a canvas papoose strapped to my dad’s back. It’s my first birthday. I peer over his shoulder as we glide the sea. Sun glare and blue ripple together. The surfboard rail engraves the arcing wave and spits of sunflecked ocean tumble over his toes. I can fly.

Table of Contents

Cover Page (#u7998cee5-a26a-520f-8c7f-e4b212622779)

Author Note (#u90ffc141-4160-5541-b37b-36294d25cb2f)

Title Page (#uf4240601-afef-503c-b6cf-84f684c3856e)

Dedication (#u2bbf5a66-7550-567a-aff8-5f8a2e3c5ee0)

Map (#ulink_6a192552-e473-5826-b2a5-0be32292a339)

CHAPTER 1 (#u70e786b7-da1c-5850-9149-02469a0bfe2b)

CHAPTER 2 (#ub266d770-9cd3-54fd-a2b2-696f51f82362)

CHAPTER 3 (#u744ad86e-6b86-5686-8924-8dfb4e6b78fd)

CHAPTER 4 (#u84a803a2-1b9d-50e8-9a8f-d07ebbaaca74)

CHAPTER 5 (#u8cc45bf4-d186-5d58-a2a1-b398d140c77d)

CHAPTER 6 (#u60329630-d854-5575-99b8-fc13b8d643c9)

CHAPTER 7 (#u31299aa7-89f0-573e-898d-a2845b86db4d)

CHAPTER 8 (#u2ebfbb87-a22d-5dc1-9a00-5f0d7378989d)

CHAPTER 9 (#uec2b1f54-db7c-5e6a-a00e-4b0b0cdea0bc)

CHAPTER 10 (#u05501760-655e-5582-9a4e-e1e40252f039)

CHAPTER 11 (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER 12 (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER 13 (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER 14 (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER 15 (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER 16 (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER 17 (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER 18 (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER 19 (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER 20 (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER 21 (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER 22 (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER 23 (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER 24 (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER 25 (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER 26 (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER 27 (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER 28 (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER 29 (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER 30 (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER 31 (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER 32 (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER 33 (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER 34 (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER 35 (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER 36 (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER 37 (#litres_trial_promo)