Cowboy Now: Life and Death in the Dim Light of a Patagonian Snow Cave

In January of 1996, nine men from separate parts of the world—America, Canada, Chile, and Britain—ventured into the Patagonian mountains. Their goal was the second west-to-east crossing of the Northern Patagonia Ice Field, the fourth largest ice field in the world. Patagonia is world-renowned for some of the worst weather on planet earth. Three weeks into a scheduled five-week expedition, and directly in the middle of the ice field, the team was attacked by a massive, unrelenting blizzard. Their tents were destroyed and supplies were dwindling as they clung to life in snow caves for two agonizing weeks, slowly starving while they battled for their lives.

Carlson describes core survival, drastic change, and self-examination, all while trapped in a man made snow cave for two weeks in a horrendous South American blizzard. The resulting novel is a fast moving, stripped raw, symbolic mountain journey about survival, struggle and change. Numerous climbers in the region died during the blizzard.

Brett Carlson has worked in Montana with troubled youth as a wilderness instructor, sold software as a salesman in Silicon Valley, and coached high school football. He is a born communicator.

Carlson has traveled and explored fifty countries on six continents. His love of mountain climbing has put him on icy peaks in Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Morocco, Spain, France, Turkey, Canada, and America. In addition, Carlson is an avid runner, cyclist, and a staunch chess enthusiast. Carlson has recently begun working on his next novel.

Monthly, he speaks at juvenile detention facilities on various motivational topics. He lives in northern California.