Book excerpt: Set in the early days of recreational skiing, Bradley Davis, a young man recently trained in the methods of snow safety and avalanche control, takes up the position of Snow Ranger at a newly opened Western ski resort. His job is to keep the skiers safe in an area plagued by treacherous avalanches. As he routinely contends with the snow and the weather, he becomes entangled in an investigation of the mysterious disappearance of his predecessor