In this episode of Skimo Gold, Travis Macy sits down with journalist and author Devon O’Neil to explore the story behind his book The Way Out—a deeply reported account of a backcountry hut trip that ended in tragedy and reshaped an entire community.

The conversation centers on a 2017 trip to a 10th Mountain Division hut in Colorado, where two skiers left for a quick run and never returned. What followed was a chaotic search effort, a powerful survival story, and years of unanswered questions that O’Neil would spend nearly a decade trying to understand.

But this episode goes far beyond the incident itself.

Travis and Devon dig into the deeper themes that sit underneath the story:

• How risk shows up in seemingly “routine” backcountry decisions
• What preparedness really means—and how often we overestimate it
• The emotional weight carried by survivors, families, and communities
• How mountain towns like Salida respond when something goes wrong
• And the question that lingers for anyone who spends time in the mountains: is the adventure worth it?

Devon also shares his writing process, the years it took to earn trust and tell this story, and how reporting the book ultimately changed his own relationship with risk, fatherhood, and the outdoors.

This is a conversation about skiing, but also about perspective, consequence, and what we’re really chasing when we head into the mountains.

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Skimo Gold is produced by Palm Tree Pod Co.