Devon O'Neil — On Nature's Power and the Price of Adventure
Mountain & Prairie with Ed Roberson
Advice for Freelance Journalists Who Want to Write Books
Ed asks for guidance; Devon advises finding a story with emotional depth and length sufficient to sustain a book.
Devon O'Neil is a journalist, author, and longtime friend of mine whose new book "The Way Out: A True Story of Survival in the Heart of the Rockies" is one of the best pieces of outdoor nonfiction I've read in years. The book tells the harrowing true story of a backcountry ski trip near Leadville, Colorado, that turned tragic—and the years-long process of understanding what really happened, and how a mountain town wrestled with loss, resilience, and the complicated relationship we all have with risk and wild places. It's gripping, deeply reported, and beautifully written—equal parts survival epic, community portrait, and meditation on how we find meaning in the aftermath of tragedy.
Devon has spent more than two decades as a writer and reporter based in Summit County, Colorado, covering everything from adventure sports and avalanches to the cultural and emotional undercurrents of life in mountain towns. Before turning his attention to this book project, he worked in newspapers, wrote for Outside, Men's Journal, and ESPN.com, and somehow managed to balance all of that with being a hardcore athlete and a dedicated dad and husband. He's one of those rare writers whose empathy and endurance match the people that he writes about.
In this conversation, Devon and I dig into the story behind "The Way Out"—how he first heard about the tragedy, earned the trust of a close-knit community, and spent years piecing together a complete and compassionate account. We talk about the ethical tightrope of telling other people's hardest stories, how his own brushes with danger shaped his perspective on risk, and what this project taught him about the fine line between adventure and recklessness. We also get into his childhood growing up on a sailboat in the Virgin Islands, his evolution as a journalist and athlete, and the hard-earned wisdom that comes from spending a lifetime chasing stories in the mountains.
"The Way Out" is available now wherever you get your books, so follow the links in the episode notes to grab your copy. Big thanks to Devon for the chat, and thank you for listening. Enjoy!
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- Devon O'Neil
- "The Way Out" by Devon O'Neil
- Full episode notes and links: https://mountainandprairie.com/devon-oneil/
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TOPICS DISCUSSED:
- 2:23 – Intro and finding The Way Out story
- 6:59 – Making people comfortable
- 11:10 – The story in Devon's words
- 16:29 – Mountain town people
- 20:48 – Lifestyle overlaps
- 24:20 – Devon's own accidents
- 30:10 – It's all great until someone gets hurt
- 33:03 – The bonds of risk
- 35:18 – Adjustments
- 39:22 – Growing up on islands
- 43:43 – How Devon got to Colorado
- 47:34 – Pros and cons of different types of writing
- 51:22 – Book writing advice
- 55:42 – Not just about getting it right
- 1:00:09 – Book and writer recs
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