Snowbound - by Ladd Hamilton (Paperback)

About the Book

In 1893, three New Yorkers, their guide, and a camp cook were caught by an early winter in the Bitterroot Mountains, and forced by their own ill luck and bad judgment to a decision that shocked the nation. Snowbound is the scandalous, true tale of the Carlin party, whose adventure of a lifetime became an unthinkable tragedy.

Book Synopsis

Riding five horses and leading five more, three young New York men, their guide, and a camp cook entered the untamed vastness of the Bitteroot Mountains. They expected the trip to be the adventure of a lifetime, but it was already September. As the hunters made their way up the Lolo Trail in 1893, they were unaware of the coming record snows that would trigger a cruel, controversial decision.

Snowbound is the true story of the Carlin party, whose ill luck and bad judgment drove decent men to an ethical dilemma that intrigued the nation and can still raise an argument wherever people rub shoulders with wilderness. This gripping narrative is the story of a desperate struggle to get out of the mountains with a sick man and of the heroic efforts of various army units to rescue them.

Ladd Hamilton has brought rich narrative detail and crackling tension to an intriguing episode in Northwest history. Hamilton gives flesh and bone to his characters, setting the reader down among them as they battle the elements and their own failures, caught between the imprisoning mountains and an unforgiving river.

From the Back Cover

Into the untamed vastness of the Bitterroot mountains go three young New York men, their guide, and a camp cook. This is to be the adventure of a lifetime, but it is already September. Ahead of the hunters, as they make their way up the Lolo Trail, are the record snows of 1893 and a cruel, controversial decision. Snowbound is the true story of the Carlin party, whose ill luck and bad judgment drove decent men to an ethical dilemma that intrigued the nation and still can raise an argument wherever people rub shoulders with wilderness.

Review Quotes

"A detailed, well-paced re-creation...[Hamilton's] yarn-spinning reconstruction is a pleasure."

--Kirkus Reviews

"A powerful recreation of a Northwest wilderness saga that outraged the nation in 1893."

--Seattle Post-Intelligencer

"Even if you know the story and its tragic outcome, Ladd Hamilton handles it with such finesse that the book is difficult to put down."

--Montana Magazine

"Hamilton weaves the documented facts into a captivating re-creation of the harrowing story."

--Spokesman Review

"Hamilton's descriptions of the Lolo Trail and the Lochsa River make it seem as if he were there."

--Associated Press