Every year, the Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival celebrates the best mountain and adventure writing, film, and photography. The literary highlight of this alpine-themed celebration is the Banff Mountain Book Competition, with eight categories and one grand prize. The jury will award the grand prize at the festival, but the category winners have been announced.
First, the two Special Jury Mentions. Jack Plant’s Spirit of the Great Bear showcases his spectacular photography of the Great Bear Forest. Meanwhile, Ian Nicholson’s Glacier Travel & Crevasse Rescue: Essential Skills for Snow Travel does exactly what it says on the tin. “Of all the skill sets required for mountain climbing, perhaps none are as intimidating as glacier travel. But with carefully crafted instructions and illustrations, Nicholson takes us behind the curtain,” jury member Lauren DeLaunay Miller explains.
The category winners
The Mountain Literature award went to Lone Wolf: Walking the Line Between Civilization and Wildness by Adam Weymouth. Weymouth dives into the place of wild animals in modern Europe, a continent “undergoing profound climatic, environmental, and political changes.”
Black Bear: A Story of Siblinghood and Survival by Trina Moyles won the Environmental Literature category. “Black Bear seamlessly weaves together two complex storylines, laying bare Moyles’ relationships with her brother and with the wildlife she meets while working in a fire watch tower in Alberta.”
The Mountain Article prize, awarded to a magazine piece rather than a book, went to The Misfits by Chad Heddleston. Heddleston chose to profile rock climbing couple Jan and Herb Conn. “These two exist in the spirit and austerity of the pioneering European climbers of the early 20th century. The writing highlights their uniqueness and the integrity of their life choices,” jury member David Chambre said.
Pioneering rock climbers Jan and Herb Conn. Photo: Dwight Deal
Adventure travel and guidebook prizes
The Adventure Travel prize went to North to the Future: An Offline Adventure through the Changing Wilds of Alaska by Ben Weissenbach. “Weissenbach — an L.A. native with little prior wilderness experience — treks through the Alaskan tundra with a series of eccentric environmental scientists and returns with a new perspective on technology and a revitalized sense of wonder for the natural world.”
Cabin Wild: Alpine Bivouac Huts by Ben Tibbetts won the Guidebook award. “A captivating volume that invites us to see the Alps in a new light, through an intimate journey around a selection of bivouac huts across Italy, Switzerland, and France,” according to jury member Rob Lovell.
Mountain image and mountain literature
The Mountain Image award went to Fjell: A Faithful Witness by Orsolya Haarberg. “A highly original book that takes us on a journey through the Norwegian highlands. It is as much an art book as a book about mountains,” explains jury member David Chambre.
Finally, The Great Mixed Climbs of Scotland by Guy Robertson & Hamish Frost won the Climbing Literature prize. “The Great Mixed Climbs of Scotland combines stunning photography and evocative essays in a truly spectacular ode to Scottish winter climbing. By profiling important routes through the eyes of the climbers who created them, Guy Robertson and Hamish Frost have created an exceptional book.”
The category-winning authors get cash prizes and a chance to win the grand prize at the festival on November 5.
