Alone at the Top: Climbing Denali in the Dead of Winter

What goes through your mind when you're dropped alone in the middle of the Alaska Range, the cold and darkness surrounding you without another human being for miles? Arctic explorer Lonnie Dupre had made a career out of working in teams to survive in extreme conditions and places most humans wouldn't dare to tread. But shortly after Dupre found himself alone after a twenty-year marriage, he decided he needed to summit Denali, the continent's tallest mountain, alone and in the harshest possible conditions to prove something to himself. Dupre was on his fourth attempt in five years in late December 2014 when a surprise storm caught him at 11,200 feet. Forced to live for almost five full days with little food and water, Dupre was in the most dangerous situation of his life. Alone at the Top offers a mountaineer's firsthand perspective during life-and-death decision making on the mountain. Dupre takes readers along with him as he struggles to keep his mind and body in shape while facing incredible hardships. He applies the lessons learned on the mountain to everyday life. Lonnie Dupre has spent most of his adult life either traveling in the Arctic or planning his next trip there. Dupre's significant achievements include the world's first circumnavigation of Greenland and a summer expedition to the North Pole. During his travels over the Arctic's disappearing ice, Dupre has participated in both scientific research and cultural exchanges, working with and gathering data for organizations such as the National Geographic Society, Greenpeace, the Explorers Club, the National Snow and Ice Data Center, and the U.S. Department of Atmospheric Sciences. His findings have been called "the Holy Grail of global warming data." Dupre lives on the shores of Lake Superior in Grand Marais, Minnesota. Pam Louwagie is an award-winning reporter at the Minneapolis Star Tribune. She has covered breaking news, trends, investigations, and in-depth features for more than 20 years, including at the Times-Picayune in New Orleans and the Philadelphia Inquirer. Louwagie is an avid runner, backpacker, and hiker. She has trekked in remote places including under the jagged peaks of the Nepal Himalaya and among the giant tortoises of the Galapagos Islands. Louwagie lives in Minneapolis.