A message from Bernadette McDonald -

The inspiration for “Alpine Rising” came while doing research for my last book, “Winter 8000”, which is about climbing 8000-metre peaks in winter. A niche activity, to be sure. I was interviewing elite high-altitude climbers, trying to understand their attraction to the unique ‘art of suffering’ that best describes climbing above 8000 metres in the coldest season. One of the most impressive was Pakistani climber, Ali Sadpara. Despite growing up in extremely modest circumstances in the village of Sadpara, and having had no formal training in mountaineering, Ali was one of the world’s leading high-altitude winter specialists.

Yet, Ali was almost unknown outside his country. Unlike his famous climbing partners from Italy, Poland and Spain, his accomplishments were often ignored. I wondered if this was unique to Ali’s experience or if it was a trend. 
That question took on a life of its own as I dove back in history, reading mountaineering narratives all the way back to the early 1900s. What I found was actually shocking. Countless examples of local climbers from Pakistan and Nepal working tirelessly on expeditions led by foreign mountaineers, yet receiving very little recognition, compensation or respect. They were often not even named. 

The situation today is a stark contrast to those early days. Some local climbers – particularly Nepali Sherpas – have achieved global stardom with all of the trappings. They are well trained, are internationally certified mountain guides, are running their own businesses and travelling the world. But they are still the minority.

What I’ve learned from talking to climbers from Pakistan and Nepal is that too many are still learning on the job – usually in extremely dangerous situations. Many are not being paid fairly for the work they are doing, and are not insured, either for injury or death. These men and women are spending their days at high altitude helping foreign climbers achieve their dreams. And when the climbing season ends, they return to their villages to herd livestock or build roads. They are not superstars, they’re not famous and they’re not rich. They are just trying to earn enough to educate their children.

“Alpine Rising” is about giving these individuals a voice to tell their own stories. This book is about respect – for all of these men and women who work in the highest mountains on Earth, who are emerging from out of the shadows, and into the light that they so deserve. I have never been so impressed, humbled and moved by the strength of the characters I was honoured to meet. 

“Alpine Rising” is published by Mountaineers Books. Bernadette will share stories from her book on November 1 at the Banff Mountain Book Festival.
 

K2, January 2021

Everyone was glued to the weather forecasts. As usual, they varied. Mingma
G was using a forecaster from Nepal, whereas Nimsdai’s and Ali Sadpara’s
teams were following European experts. Ali Sadpara’s team opted to wait
for better weather, but Nimsdai and Mingma G decided to launch a summit
attempt. There would be ten Nepali climbers: three from Mingma G’s team,
six from Nimsdai’s team, and Sona Sherpa from the SST team.

Nimsdai and his group headed up as far as Camp 2 on January 12. Mingma
G delayed his own departure until January 13, when his team climbed all the
way to 7,000 meters. Even though they were heavily loaded with equipment
for the upper part of the mountain, they reached 7,350 meters at Camp 3 on
the fourteenth and continued fixing lines an additional 300 meters. On the
morning of the fifteenth, Mingma G, Mingma David, Mingma Tenzi, and
Sona began fixing lines up toward Camp 4.

Mingma G described what happened next: “We followed the way to Camp
4 the same way we do in summer.” But this wasn’t summer. At this point,
Mingma G was fixing and the others were assisting. After fixing 400 metres
of rope, they were approaching the steep wall below Camp 4 when a problem
arose: “We found a big crevasse, which was impossible to cross. . . . We tried
more on the right side, still the same. Then we descended back a little and
tried to find a way on the left side—again it was the same so we descended
all the way back to just above Camp 3.” This was a devastating situation
since they essentially had to start all over again. Using what was left of the
beautiful day, they persevered and fixed a completely new line up to Camp
4. Luckily, a serac had collapsed over part of the gaping crevasse, providing
a tentative bridge. Exhausted from breaking trail and fixing lines, Mingma G
stepped aside while Mingma Tenzi took over the lead.

At around 4 p.m. they arrived at Camp 4, the route fully equipped below
them. “Our first reaction was winter K2 will be ours, and we hugged each
other because we knew we would make the summit next day,” Mingma G
said. Their efforts had been immense. The route from Camp 3 to Camp 4
usually takes two to three hours; they had taken eight. Still, he was elated.
“We talked a little bit about our luck and hard work before descending.
Whenever we are on the mountain, we pray to the mountain for our safety
and we also pray for her to accept us. The Goddess K2 accepted us this time.”
They rushed down to Camp 3 and began preparing for the summit bid, which
would begin in a matter of hours. The forecast for January 16 was even better
than expected, so instead of starting at 11 p.m., their original plan, they felt
comfortable delaying the start to 1 a.m.

Camp 3 began stirring at midnight. After the usual ordeal of lighting the
stoves, boiling water, double- and triple-checking the contents of their packs,
and then stuffing their feet into their high-altitude boots, they emerged from
the tents, one by one. Nimsdai, Kili, Dawa Tenjin, Sona, Dawa Temba, and
Mingma Tenzi left first. Mingma G came to the sad realization that his previous
day’s efforts had so exhausted him that he didn’t feel strong enough to
climb without oxygen. Disappointed, he fiddled with his oxygen regulator,
which didn’t fit properly. He eventually found a spare regulator but chilled his
fingers dangerously in the process of attaching it. By the time he was finally
ready to start up, the others were already nearing Camp 4. It didn’t look like a
promising summit day for Mingma G.

He left Camp 3 with Mingma David, Pem Chhiri, and Gelje. They reached
Camp 4 two hours later and were shocked at the chilling effects of the wind.
When Mingma G stopped for a few moments on the upper side of a crevasse
while waiting for Mingma David, he became so cold he considered turning
around. “I almost gave up there because I was worried to lose my toes.”
He checked his watch. It was 5 a.m. In another hour the sun would appear
above the horizon, so he decided to continue, at least until dawn. At the same
moment that he felt the first warming rays of the sun, the wind miraculously
dropped. The four climbers stopped to soak up the rays and warm themselves
before climbing up to the Bottleneck. The heat from the sun had given
them extra energy and hope.

The first group was fixing lines up the Bottleneck, Mingma Tenzi leading
the way. Mingma G’s group climbed toward them, finally catching up before
the traverse. Nimsdai urged them on: “We all had that common pride, a
common goal. This was for Nepal.” When they reached the small plateau 200
meters below the summit, they stopped to brew some tea. After resting a bit,
Mingma Tenzi resumed fixing. They were still four hours from the summit.
They planned to stop around 10 meters from the top and continue as
a group to the highest point. “We all started moving together and our 360
GoPro was on,” Mingma G said. “We then started moving towards the
summit singing the National Anthem. This was my third time summiting
on K2 but this time it was connected with the pride of the nation. . . . It was
a thrilling moment. I had tears in my eyes and my body was shaking itself,
bearing goosebumps. No member in the team can explain the moment we
had there.”

The ten Nepali climbers stepped onto the summit at 4:43 p.m., January 16,
2021. First winter ascent of K2.

The video of their final steps to the summit sped around the world, delighting
millions. What a sight: their faces lit up by the low-angled sun, the distinct
curvature of the earth as their backdrop, their crimson and gold suits
as bright as jewels, and that magnificent indigo sky.
 

Excerpted from Alpine Rising: Sherpas, Baltis, and the Triumph of Local Climbers in the Greater Ranges by Bernadette McDonald (March 2024). Published by Mountaineers Books. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission.

Bernadette McDonald has authored thirteen books and has won numerous awards, including two Boardman Tasker Prizes, the Banff Mountain Book Festival Grand Prize, Italy’s ITAS Prize, and India’s Kekoo Naoroji Award. In 2011 the American Alpine Club awarded her their highest literary honour for excellence in mountain literature.

Bernadette was the founding Vice President of Mountain Culture at The Banff Centre and director of the Banff Mountain Festivals for 20 years. She received the Alberta Order of Excellence in 2010, is an honorary member of the Himalayan Club and the Polish Mountaineering Association, and is a Fellow of the Explorers Club.

When not writing, Bernadette climbs, hikes, skis, paddles and grows grapes.
 

Located in the Canadian Rocky Mountains, the Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival is a globally recognized event and tour celebrating the beauty, adventure, and culture of mountains globally. Join us at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity from November 1 – 9, 2025 for the 50th Anniversary of the Festival in Banff, Alberta! The nine-day festival showcases live events with adventurers, authors, photographers, and filmmakers sharing their inspiring stories.

Online films are also available to watch throughout the year on Banff on Demand.  
To find out more about the Festival, World Tour, and related programs, please visit banffcentre.ca/banffmountainfestival. 

The Banff Centre Mountain Film Festival World Tour is screened around the world in more than 450 destinations in 50 countries.

For some countries, given political and other circumstances, hosting an event like the Banff Mountain Film World Tour is extra complicated.

This year, we wanted to recognize some of our tour hosts who bring these stories of resilience and passion to their communities, reminding us of the power of story, adventure, nature, and connection.

We reached out to Frida Ayala (Venezuela), Jeremy Gaskill (Georgia) and Muntasir Mamun (Bangladesh) to hear their stories about what hosting a World Tour event means to them.

How did you start working with the festival as a Tour Host?

Frida: “In 2002, my late husband was climbing Huascaran. He stayed in Huaraz and saw a poster for the BMFF. He came home very excited because he thought the idea of ​​a mountain film festival was wonderful… He decided to bring the festival to Venezuela [and] we had our first festival in 2003.

Jeremy: “[My wife] and I had attended Banff Mountain Film Festivals for years… When we later returned to Georgia, we reconnected with Paul, who had also been a Peace Corps Volunteer here [and] the idea of Banff just clicked for us.”

Muntasir: “2003, I went to Everest Base Camp and had the pleasure of meeting Christopher York who suggested that I explore the Banff Mountain Film Festival. In 2005, I sent my first email to Jim Baker, the festival’s world tour manager.”

Why did you want to bring the tour to your country?

Frida: “The first motivation was… to reinforce the bonds among the mountaineering, rock climbing and outdoor sports in Venezuela with the world. Right now, the festival is an opportunity to bring hope, resilience, a sense of freedom and the right to dream of a better world.”

Jeremy: “[We] knew what significant role mountains play in Georgia’s culture and felt that the festival belonged here. We saw Banff as a way of tapping into [a growing enthusiasm for mountain sports] and of inspiring new possibilities.”

Muntasir: “I wanted to introduce the Tour here to spark passion and curiosity about the world beyond our borders; to show that adventure is not just for explorers from faraway lands, but something we all can experience and be a part of. It’s also a way to… encourage [environmental preservation] through storytelling.”

What challenges (if any) have you experienced hosting? And how have you overcome them?

Frida: “In 2006 my husband and partner died coming down from Nanga Parbat, so I had to carry the responsibility of doing the fest and raising my little children. In 2014 and 2018 we [had] the most difficult political problems, fights in the streets, and a crazy economy. [That year], we went to the venue to cancel [and] found 100 people begging us to [stay open]. Years have passed, many have left the country, and [gaining] a new audience has been an issue. This has been one of the most difficult years due to the economic crisis and political and social instability.”

Jeremy: “In April, the Georgian government announced plans to introduce the ‘Foreign Influence Transparency Law.’ As a result, huge, sustained protests erupted across the country, particularly in Tbilisi. Understandably, the law and the upcoming October elections [are] the primary focus for many Georgians. While the Mountain Film Festival is important to us, we recognize that it doesn’t carry the same weight as these larger, critical challenges. For now, we have just postponed this year’s Festival and we remain hopeful.”

Muntasir: “Securing funding. [The screenings are free, so] securing sponsorships has been particularly difficult, as the festival is niche and not considered a mainstream film event."

What value do you feel the tour brings to your community? 

Frida: “Hope!”

Jeremy: “New inspiration, broader perspectives, and a deeper appreciation for the beauty of nature.”

Muntasir: “Motivation; igniting a passion for outdoor activities, conservation efforts, and personal growth.”

Why do you think it is important to celebrate and showcase mountain culture in your community?

Frida: “People also come here who find a message of values ​​and possibilities that they want to confirm in their lives. Many start doing outdoor activities after experiencing the festival.”

Jeremy: “By showcasing mountain culture through the eyes of others…, we can reawaken Georgians' appreciation for their own country and deepen their understanding of what’s possible.”

Muntasir: “In Bangladesh, while many live near the poverty line, that doesn’t diminish their passion for adventure or the dreams they hold. The festival creates a space where adventure is celebrated in all its forms, and where everyone is reminded that the spirit of exploration and discovery is universal.”

Author: Akcinya Kootchin, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity

Located in the Canadian Rocky Mountains, the Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival is a globally recognized event and tour celebrating the beauty, adventure, and culture of mountains globally. Join us at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity from November 1 – 9, 2025 for the 50th Anniversary of the Festival in Banff, Alberta! The nine-day festival showcases live events with adventurers, authors, photographers, and filmmakers sharing their inspiring stories.

Online films are also available to watch throughout the year on Banff on Demand.  
To find out more about the Festival, World Tour, and related programs, please visit banffcentre.ca/banffmountainfestival. 

In 2022, National Geographic Explorer and ice core scientist Alison Criscitiello led a team of international scientists on a daring expedition to climb Mount Logan – a long and arduous ascent which 50% of climbers don’t complete. The team braved -20 to -40 C temperatures, strong winds, complex icefalls, and intense snowfall to reach the summit plateau and successfully extract an ice core from the mountain.

The ice core holds critical historical climate data that could reveal how the region may respond to future change. This information is vital to studying the climate, especially as our planet warms.

Criscitiello’s herculean effort is part of Perpetual Planet Expeditions, a partnership between the National Geographic Society and Rolex to document the impacts of climate and environmental change on our planet’s vital life support systems.

The expedition was documented and made into a film by the Society’s Impact Story Lab, an award-winning creative unit that combines world-class storytelling with social and behavioral science in order to drive positive change. The documentary, For Winter, captures the ascent as well as Criscitiello’s home life, and what it’s like to balance the demands of her job with kids as well as being a LGBTQ+ woman in STEM.

Criscitiello is the Director of the Canadian Ice Core Lab at the University of Alberta and co-founder of Girls on Ice Canada, a tuition-free program that supports the next generation of female scientists and mountaineers.

She hopes the film inspires people to focus on the solutions to mitigate against climate change.

“In my position, I hear a lot of climate anxiety and despair. It’s time to feel the opposite and do the opposite. This is the time to make the change.”

This particular climb of Mount Logan was record breaking. Criscitiello collected the deepest non-polar ice core ever collected at an altitude over 17,000 feet. In addition, Mount Logan is the highest peak in Canada.

The film’s executive producer and vice president of the Society’s Impact Story Lab, Vanessa Serrao, said she hopes the film shifts the narrative of science, exploration and conservation to foster a more inclusive community. In fact, the film is named after Criscitiello’s three-year-old daughter, Winter, and showcases the hope that she too can do anything — even the seemingly impossible.

“Alison’s story shows that this is not only possible, but necessary. We all have a place in solving the planet’s most pressing issues,” said Serrao.

Author: Porter O'Brien Agency 

Located in the Canadian Rocky Mountains, the Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival is a globally recognized event and tour celebrating the beauty, adventure, and culture of mountains globally. Join us at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity from November 1 – 9, 2025 for the 50th Anniversary of the Festival in Banff, Alberta! The nine-day festival showcases live events with adventurers, authors, photographers, and filmmakers sharing their inspiring stories.

Online films are also available to watch throughout the year on Banff on Demand.  
To find out more about the Festival, World Tour, and related programs, please visit banffcentre.ca/banffmountainfestival. 

The 2025 Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival hosted the Fire and Ice Symposium: The Stories We Tell on November 4th and 5th in Banff. 

After noting a shift in narratives through film and book submissions from more traditional adventure stories to environmentally conscious stories, highlighting our changing planet, the Festival honoured the land and waterways at its 50th anniversary. The series of events brought together scientists, authors, filmmakers, storytellers, educators, and community leaders to share why stories of fire and ice matter.

Article by Yash Chhabria

Welcoming the visitors to the land, Daryl Kootenay of the Stoney Nakoda Nation, in the Treaty 7 Territory of Southern Alberta, briefed the audience about the Stoney Nakoda Nation and left everyone spellbound with his melodious prayer.

Wasting no time, Robert Sandford, Senior Government Relations Liaison, Global Climate Emergency Response, United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health, made it clear in his opening remarks, or rather an alert, that we need to pay urgent attention to the broken systems that are dismantling the biological ecosystem. Showing a mirror to the audience and making an appeal for action, he said, “Right now, in our time, imagining those stories before it is too late may be our most urgent collective action.”

While the audience was settling from the unsettling warning from Sandford, the Women on Ice panel with Dr. Alison Criscitiello, Jocelyn Hirose, Dr. Corinne Schuster-Wallace, and moderator Colette Derworiz kicked off the first event of the day with their contribution towards uplifting women in glaciology. Sharing the passion for art and science, they collaborate with local and international groups to drive change and advocate for artistic expression. Girls* on Ice Canada co-founders, Chrisitiello and Hirose run programs, interweaving science, art and adventure to inspire next generation of girls and transgender, agender, Two Spirit, nonbinary, intersex, and genderqueer youth.

In a choose-your-own-adventure model, the audience had a choice between a panel of storytellers employing different media forms to tell stories of glaciers and a scientific exploration of the Swiss Alps through extended reality (XR).

Storytelling has evolved, and people are seeking new ways to form connections and stay grounded. Dr. Amy Cardinal Christianson (Métis from Treaty 8 territory) connects with people through her podcast, Good Fire. During the live podcast interview at the Symposium, she spoke to Alvin First Rider (Blood Tribe) and Jordan Melograna, debunking the myths around cultural burning and decolonizing land management. “We hear it so many times, ‘Indigenous people have lost their fire knowledge.’ Really, our knowledge was taken away from our nations through systemic racist campaigns, fire exclusion, looking at Indigenous fire knowledge as less, residential schools, the Indian Act, that kept us away from the land,” said Cardinal Christianson. First Rider’s work as the Environmental Manager for the Blood Tribe Land Management includes reintroduction of fire and bison to the landscape that was suppressed due to colonial policies. “Being able to reignite that connection has been an expression of sovereignty,” said First Rider.

When Marshall McLuhan coined the phrase, "the medium is the message," he brought awareness and a peek into today’s world of media expressionism. Media can alter your emotions or evoke a call to action, and exploring this phenomenon, Erin James, Jennifer Ladino, and Andreas Rutkauskas facilitated a hands-on workshop to record participants’ reactions to media representations of wildfire. In the other breakout room, the participants followed thematic learning journeys of people with lived climate change experience from Jasper, Wood Buffalo, Interior BC, and the Piikani First Nation with facilitators, Brooklyn Rushton and Andy Airey from The Resilience Institute.

The Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival is known for its adventure stories, but with great adventure comes even greater responsibility. Børge Ousland and Vincent Colliard took the evening stage, validating this idea of being responsible adventurers through their tales from the IceLegacy project. “You need someone who goes out there into those icy landscapes… and comes back with stories, with impressions and images and emotions from the field. Because if you’re a part of the problem, you should also be part of the solution,” said Ousland.

Any Festival night in Banff is incomplete without films. A selection of films premiered with a focus on the exploration of the global ecological shift and stories of resilience after turmoil caused by calamities from climate change. Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival and Adventure Filmmakers Workshop alum, director Trixie Pacis, and aerial performer and filmmaker, Sasha Galitzki’s Embers had its world premiere with a surprise aerial performance by Galitzki on the stage.

How often do the worlds of adventurers and scientists collide? Each has the expertise that the other does not possess, but the sentiment of accountability in the outdoors calls for a unique collaboration. Day two of the Symposium inspected the ingredients required for such an association of explorers and scientists in telling stories of adventure. Panelists Aldo Kane, Caroline Côté, and Dr. Andreas Linsbauer have wildly different backgrounds, but what brings them together is their concern for climate change and raising awareness. “Storytelling is about inspiring people,” said Kane.

Stories of climate change are not just pure statistics in academic papers, but loss, grief, and fear in the hearts of millions of individuals who have experienced it first-hand. One such story is of Sasha Galitzki, who lost her home in the 2024 Jasper wildfire, told in a poetic form through the film Embers. Galitzki and Pacis engaged the audience during the breakout session with their story of compassion and commitment to truth in times of distress and challenge.

As individuals, do we have any power, any control over the narrative of the future? As a juggernaut of a task it may seem, community leaders like Jim Elzinga, Tim Patterson, Abhay Singh Sachal, and Christie Pashby are working with their communities to rehabilitate the ways people interact with nature. Participants in their breakout session received tools on how they can reach out to local communities, trying to make a difference, and capture stories that matter to them.

The ever-avid storyteller, Jon Waterman, invited the house to follow him on his chronicles of the Alaskan Arctic, carefully documented in his new book, Into the Thaw: Witnessing Wonder Amid the Arctic Climate Crisis. The landscape, so fragile, has seen immense transformation in the last 30 years since his last visit—leaving him heartbroken. His eyes could not recognize the very place where he stood on his last visit. He observes and reflects through imagery and notes he made during his trips inspiring people to stop for a moment and think about this change and speak out.

The way to move forward is to adapt to the changes in the environment—"the good old days” are gone, and reality can be discouraging. In an attempt to give hope, Kate Neville, Amanda Monthei, and Amber Bennett, along with moderator Graham Zimmerman, shared ways to be together during their breakout session.

While the landscape is changing, how do you go about interacting with nature and continue with the adventure while it is vulnerable? Ignacio Palomo, Kate Hanley, and Marc Pons, with moderator Graham McDowell, brought perspectives from mountain guides, nature-positive adaptation, and human connections from mountainous regions around the world, and how to be engaged in climate communication.

Concluding the Symposium, photographer James Balog presented the Extreme Ice Survey project—compelling visual evidence of receding glaciers through his 15-year project cataloging over a million images. His presentation was followed by the screening of his new film, Chasing Time, directed by Jeff Orlowski-Yang and Sarah Keo, following Balog and his crew capturing behind the scenes of the Extreme Ice Survey.

The symposium was two days of rich conversation, connection, and we sincerely hope that attendees left feeling inspired and courageous to tell stories in new and impactful ways. 

In collaboration with

Fire and Ice Symposium Sponsors:

Here are some momentous milestones, key dates, and fun adventures we’ve had over the past 50 years during the Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival! There are literally mountains of memories, but here are a few to share with you for a little journey down memory lane: 

1970s

1976 Bored climbers Chic Scott, Patsy Murphy, Evelyn Moorehouse, and Betty Ware scheme about a mountain film festival in a Banff basement. John Amatt helps them turn their dream into reality and the first festival is held.
1976 The first Festival is held on October 31, 1976. 
1977 The first film competition opens, with 19 entries submitted. 
1978 The Festival becomes a two-day event.

1980s

1981 Best of the Festival Film Tour is launched in partnership with Alpine Club of Canada sections from Ottawa to Victoria. 
1984 Austrian Mountaineer Peter Habeler does a presentation about his and Reinhold Messnerʼs first oxygenless ascent of Everest/Chomolungma.
1987 Introduction of the Summit of Excellence Award. Local photographer Bruno Engler wins.
1988 Bernadette McDonald takes the helm as Festival Director. 
1989 Sir Chris Bonington opens the Festival as guest speaker.

1990s

1990 The Best of the Festival Tour expands from three cities to 38 screenings and 27 cities in Canada and the United States.
1994 The Book Festival is established, and is presented alongside the Film Festival.
1994 UK climber Alison Hargreaves presents Six North Faces of the Alps,  her record-breaking project. She dies tragically the following year on K2.
1996 Catherine Destivelle charms the Banff audience with recollections of her multi-day solo ascents in the Alps. 
1999 “Radical Rides” becomes the Festival's first strictly high-adrenaline program, the prescursor to what is now Radical Reels.

2000s

2000 The Festival celebrates 25 years, hosting a huge event including a mountaineers’ summit. In partnership with National Geographic, the Festival publishes Voices From the Summit: The World’s Great Mountaineers on the Future of Climbing.
2001 The Adventure Filmmakers Workshop is launched as a two-day program.
2003 The Book Festival lineup features Peter Matthiessen and Maria Coffey. Mountaineering classic Touching the Void screens.
2005 The first three-week Mountain Writing Program residency is established.
2009 Canmore filmmaker Leanne Allison presents her film Finding Farley along with husband and adventure partner Karsten Heuer. It wins both People’s Choice and Grand Prize.

2010s

2010 Free soloist Alex Honnold appears on the Banff stage for the first time along with climber Peter Croft.
2012 The first woman to ascend all 8000-metre peaks without supplemental oxygen, Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner, takes to the Banff stage. 
2015 Climbers Alex Honnold and Greg Child arm wrestle on stage during their interview. 
2016 Writer and adaptive climber Paul Pritchard is featured in the annual Voices of Adventure interview. 
2019 The Festival Marketplace moves to the Kinnear Centre, and doubles in size by 2023.

2020s

2020 The Festival pivots to online during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Banff on Demand streaming platform is launched.
2023 Snowboarders Jeremy Jones and Jess Kimura are featured as keynote speakers.
2024 Climber Beth Rodden is interviewed on stage about her book A Light Through the Cracks: A Climber’s Story. At intermission, hundreds of book lovers wait patiently as Rodden signs copies well into the night.
2025 
Celebrating 50 Epic Years! With an attendance of over 21,000 in Banff! 
Fire and Ice Symposium: The Stories We Tell is held in collaboration with the UN International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation.
 

By Trixie Pacis

From Adventure Filmmakers Workshop to Documentary Director

A few winters ago, I found myself in the charming mountain town of Kimberley, BC. Ski slopes without lift lines replaced the hustle of the Vancouver film industry, where I had worked my way from assistant roles into script development. To stay in Kimberley would require a career shift—and this is precisely when I chanced upon an ad for the Banff Centre Adventure Filmmakers Workshop (AFW). 

The Adventure Filmmakers Workshop is a 10-day intensive designed for independent and emerging filmmakers. Over its 20-year tenure, it has drawn 400+ participants from across the globe. 

Though typically held in tandem with the Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival, I was part of a virtual cohort in the spring of 2021. Benefits of this post-pandemic workshop included skiing resort laps before dashing to my desk with a goggle tan. More importantly, the workshop was a beacon of inspiration during an otherwise bleak spring. It single-handedly drew me into the world of documentary filmmaking.

Over a dozen sessions, I took meticulous notes as faculty Keith Partridge and Michael Brown dove into every detail of documentary filmmaking. I bolded words of wisdom like, “Have a north star”... “If it’s fluffy, stay wide. If it’s getting serious, push in”... “Silence is important too”... and “Interviews are about connecting as a human being to another human being”— ideas now integral to my approach. To balance film theory, we were tasked with making a short film. I collaborated with two classmates to capture the joy of cross country skiing felt by characters of all ages and abilities.  

The workshop culminated in a practice pitch. New to the Canadian Rockies and its history, I was intrigued by early 1900s artist and adventurer Mary Schäffer Warren. I pitched a film about her contributions to wilderness exploration. I didn’t know the idea would take root and eventually blossom into my directorial debut: a 37-minute film called Wildflowers.

In a full-circle moment, Wildflowers had its world premiere at the 2024 Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival. My second film Wild Aerial premiered too. Some of my workshop classmates sat in the audience. Keith and Michael could not attend—they were teaching the workshop in the building next door—but we later toasted to the community and sense of self-belief this workshop cultivates. 

Reflecting on my transition into mountain culture documentaries, I realized I had found my north star. Thanks in part to Keith and Michael’s continued mentorship and new partnerships cemented at the 2024 Festival, I’ll be back in 2025 to celebrate Banff’s 50th anniversary and premiere my fourth film Embers. November may be shoulder season in the Rockies but the month is sacred. Both the Festival and AFW offer unparalleled opportunities to gather with like-minded creatives, immerse in mountain stories, and feel the stoke.

Find out more about the Adventure Filmmakers Workshop and Moonlighter Film Camps at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity.

By Michael Kennedy

I was broken when I came to Banff Centre for the Mountain and Wilderness Writing program (now called Mountain Writers Intensive) in October 2019. Our son Hayden had died by suicide two years before. I wanted to write a memoir but had no idea of how to approach such a daunting task. All my previous writing had been prosaic, a workmanlike procession of news, editorials, book reviews, and features produced during my twenty-four years as editor of Climbing Magazine. How could I turn a few vague ideas into a book that made sense of the twenty-seven years my wife Julie and I had shared with Hayden, and the devastation his death had wrought?

Those three weeks in Banff were a godsend. Under the able and sympathetic guidance of faculty members Marni Jackson, Tony Whittome, and Harley Rustad, I was able to put together the first few chapters and develop a rough plan for the rest of the book. The other writers in the workshop were extraordinarily diligent and thoughtful in their close reading of the work we shared with each other.

At the end of our three weeks together it seemed a shame to say goodbye. Several of us have continued meeting online in the years since; this group’s feedback and support have been essential to my ability to tackle the most challenging writing I’ve ever attempted. More importantly, we’ve developed the kind of lifelong friendships that only come from sharing our most profound experiences, our fears, and frustrations, and our infrequent moments of transcendence.

It would be easy to attribute the synergy I experienced in 2019 to the personal chemistry among this group of people. But there seems to be something else at work, a particular mix of place, spirit, and intention unique to Banff Centre. That hint of magic while walking across campus at midnight as falling snow glimmers in lamplight, engaging in an unexpected breakfast conversation at Vistas, catching a raven in flight over the Bow River valley from the Tunnel Mountain trail. There is an “aha” moment sparked by a fellow writer’s question that clarifies the path you’ve been missing, while tapping into the vitality of the Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival.

And you somehow sense the spirit of the Indigenous peoples who have inhabited this land for millennia, and the collective energy of the artists, filmmakers, athletes, thinkers, and writers who have passed through Banff Centre.

My hope is that this year’s participants in the Mountain Writers Intensive find a similar sense of purpose and community. That they and future writers continue a long tradition of insightful and unique storytelling. I know I’ll return year after year to reconnect and to center my creative practice. To learn and to grow. To tap into the magic.
 

Find out more about the Mountain Writers Intensive 2026 program at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity.

Dr. Alison Criscitiello
The Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival celebrates Dr. Alison Criscitiello as the recipient of the 2025 Summit of Excellence Award—which, since 1987, has recognized outstanding individuals who have made a significant contribution to mountain life in Canada.

Dr. Alison Criscitiello is a world-renowned ice core scientist, glaciologist, advocate for gender equity, mother, and high-altitude mountaineer. She is an Assistant Professor and the Director of the Canadian Ice Core Lab at University of Alberta, and co-founder of Girls* on Ice Canada. 

As a scientist, her work has taken her to ice caps around the world including Antarctica, Greenland, and the Canadian High Arctic. Criscitiello explores the history of climate and sea ice in polar and high-alpine regions by tracking environmental contaminant histories using ice core chemistry. Criscitiello is at the forefront of data capture and documentation of ice loss in these volatile zones. 

Criscitiello’s expedition to collect ice core samples from the summit of Mount Logan was groundbreaking (and back-breaking) work. While polar ice coring science has been around for half a century, no one had conducted such an extensive collection from such a high altitude.  

Criscitiello is committed to making science more accessible to young women and as a founder of the Girls* on Ice Canada program, Criscitiello hopes to merge science, art, and adventure to inspire leadership and confidence in the next generation of leaders. Her work has motivated a community of young women to pursue their interests in science and dive into their passions in the outdoors.

She was elected into Canadian Geographic Society’s College of Fellows and has been recognized as a Fellow by The Explorer’s Club. She was awarded a Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee Medal and is the recipient of three American Alpine Club (AAC) climbing awards, The John Lauchlan Award, the Mugs Stump, and the Alpine Climbing Award.
 

By Debra Hornsby, World Tour Road Warrior and Festival Volunteer Coordinator
 

On any given night somewhere in the world, 

the Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival theme music booms from speakers in a darkened theatre. Audience members lean forward in their seats, eager for an evening of adventure films. Each year, the Festival’s World Tour presents screenings in over 500 locations across 45 countries, reaching annual audiences of over half a million people. But this juggernaut of mountain culture began—as so many great things do— small, with a handful of staff, and a single screening in Banff in 1976. The idea of taking the best films from the Banff competition on the road was launched five years later, in 1981.

Patsy Murphy was the brave woman tasked with delivering that first tour to six Canadian cities, in partnership with the Alpine Club of Canada. “It occurred to me that without the films, there would be no show, so I somehow managed to talk the airline into letting me bring six giants—and very heavy—16 mm film canisters as carry-on luggage!” Those early screenings were no-frills affairs, held in school gyms and community centres. “There was only one copy of each film, no back-up,” Patsy remembers.“My biggest nightmare came true in Toronto with an old projector set in the center of a gymnasium. In the middle of the event, a film snapped. On went the overhead lights and I proceeded to splice the film together with scotch tape, in full view of everyone. Luckily the mend held and the show went on.”

It was Bernadette McDonald who firmly established the Banff Festival on the world stage. “There was an enormous amount of energy expended in gathering the films for the competition—a lot of work for what was then a two-and-a-half-day festival,” she notes. “So, the tour was a way to extend the impact of those films beyond Banff.”

For McDonald, who was Festival Director from 1988 to 2006, the tour light bulb moment came during a sponsorship course. “The instructor used our festival as a case study, and he pointed out that it was gold,” she says. “It provides value for filmmakers, value for audiences, value for outdoor companies who want to reach those audiences, and value for the local hosts in each city. Win-win-win.”

Under Bernadette’s leadership, the Festival signed partnerships with industry leaders such as Patagonia, Eagle Creek, and National Geographic. And the Festival extended its reach—establishing screenings across the United States, and then internationally.“I think one of our first international shows was in Cape Town, South Africa, in conjunction with a UIAA (International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation) conference. Prague was another early location—and Tokyo, where we did a week of screenings at the Canadian embassy. And the Tour just continued to expand, year over year.”

Technology has changed—16 mm films gave way to VHS, then DVDs, and today the films are delivered on hard drives and through digital downloads. But Bernadette’s win-win-win formula continues to work its magic. 

Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival films are translated and subtitled into 17 non- English languages for viewers on every continent. And in North America, 76 per cent of the 450 tour screenings benefit a community cause—from outdoor programs for disadvantaged youth, to mountain rescue organizations, to land conservancies. And perhaps most importantly, as Bernadette points out, “The heart and soul that adventure filmmakers pour into their projects reaches audiences around the world.”

When I first visited the Festival in 1997 I could never have predicted the course my life would take. I had just finished a three-month intensive mountaineering course and had heard that Lynn Hill would be attending the Festival to sit on the film jury. It was a dream come true. The story of her free climb of The Nose on El Cap was the inspiration that would lead me to a life immersed in mountains. Like many of our Festival-goers, my first visit was transformational and I knew I was hooked for life.

When I was hired onto the Festival team in 2007, I found my dream job-and now 18 years later as Director of Mountain Culture at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, it's up to me to ensure that the energy and inspiration are never lost so
that the legacy lives on. 

After 50 years, the Festival continues to be one of the most significant events of the year for the mountaineering community in North America. Since its inception in 1976, the Festival has hosted hundreds of the world’s top adventurers and climbers. Legends like Sir Edmund Hillary, Dr. Tom Hornbein, Fred Beckey, Apa Sherpa, Catherine Destivelle, Alison Hargreaves, and Junko Tabei have all graced the Banff stage. Prominent authors like Wade Davis, Peter Matthiessen, Kate Harris, John Vaillant, Terry Tempest Williams, and many others have shared their stories in our Book Festival—whomever thinks that the Festival is only about films likely hasn’t ever attended our in-person Festival in Banff. The printed word is alive and well and book events prove to be one of the most memorable aspects of the Festival. 

We are the storytelling experts and, I can tell you, that tradition continues for the first week of November every year. There have been stories shared on the big screen: of being first (Free Climbing the Nose 1997, Everest Unmasked – the First Ascent Without Oxygen 1980), being the last (The Last Honey Hunter 2017, The Last Observers 2024), the tragic loss of partners (Death on Nanga Parbat 2007, Learning to Drown 2021), audacious rescues (Nordwand 2009, The Rescue 2021), and close calls (Escape from Tibet 1995, Berserk in the Antarctic 2001, Solo 2009). 

We have met people who have: survived avalanches (Cold, 2011), got there the fastest (Ueli Steck: The Swiss Machine 2010, A Fine Line 2013, K2: Chasing Shadows 2025), climbed the lightest (The Wall of Shadows 2020, A Gift From Kei Taniguchi 2024), paddled blind (The Weight of Water, 2018) and those who had to cut the rope (Touching the Void 2003). We have met characters who have committed their lives to: saving mountain landscapes (Shepherdess of the Glaciers 2016, Wild Life 2023), sharing Indigenous knowledge (Keepers of the Land, 2023, KONELĪNE: Our Land Beautiful 2016), and those who have reimagined what it means to be human (Becoming Who I Was, 2017). 

We have discovered animal realms (He Dances for His Cormorants 1994, Mountain Gorilla: A Shattered Kingdom 1996, Nuisance Bear 2022), met hermits (Charles, Edouard ou le Temps Suspendu 2005, Into the Wild 2007), and seen creativity at its best on screen (Lawren Harris – Journey Toward the Light 1988, All.I.Can 2011, Petit Bus Rouge 2014). We have screened 2419 films in 49 years, that’s 82,681 minutes! This year we will add 87 more films and 2,940 minutes to the total. 

We are the leaders in Mountain Culture and our awards remain the most prestigious and sought after on the planet. A Grand Prize in Banff is a life goal realized for any filmmaker or author. Many of the award-winning films that premiere in Banff are scooped up by other festivals who know that a Banff winner is a top-notch crowd-pleaser. Becoming a filmmaker with our official selection laurels under your belt means others will pay attention, and maybe one day you’ll win an Oscar just like Festival alumnus Jimmy Chin did for Free Solo in 2018. 

When you attend the Festival as a fan, filmmaker, author, athlete, or artist, a door opens. This door leads to amazing things. It leads to realizing self-potential and takes you on a journey which shows you just how resilient you can be. The wonderment and inspiration of storytelling is in our framework as humans, and we all want to be part of it. Go ahead, step through that door and see where life takes you. I guarantee you’ll never look back.

By Joanna Croston, Director of Mountain Culture at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity