Want some winter reading? The Banff Mountain Book Festival recently closed the book covers on its 15th annual awards presentation, with the festival jury — including editors and authors from across North America — reviewing mountain literature from 133 entries from nine countries beore whittling the field down to 33 finalists. And the $2,000 Grand Prize winner is…

Grand Prize ($2,000) The Black Grizzly of Whiskey Creek, by Sid Marty (McClelland & Stewart, Canada, 2008).

The over-riding consideration when deciding upon the Grand Prize winner had to be which book demonstrated literary prowess by taking the craft of writing onto another level elevating this extraordinary medium into an artform in its own right. We looked for a book which could inspire and inform the broadest range of readers captivating them with beautiful prose, a strong narrative and a distinctive voice. Two books took us on a journey to the “other side” observing, exploring and illuminating our complex relationship with the wild and with wilderness. They complement and at the same time contrast with each other. They sponsor feelings of humility, wonder and the whole gamut of human emotions and, most importantly, both fitted our criteria for the Grand Prize Winner. Therefore, the 2008 Banff Mountain Book Festival Grand Prize is shared by The Black Grizzly of Whiskey Creek and The Wild Places.

— Julie Tait

Grand Prize ($2,000) The Wild Places, by Robert MacFarlane (Granta Books/Penguin Group, UK, 2007)

Robert Macfarlane’s second book chronicles his quest for wilderness in his decreasingly wild homeland of Great Britain. Balancing his own insights with those from mountaineering literature, romantic poetry and travel writers, he explores the human need to connect with the “otherness” of nature. Macfarlane’s masterful prose and rich understanding of how our attitudes towards wilderness are rooted in our humanness make this book a significant addition to a valid mountain and wilderness culture.

— David Chaundy-Smart

Best Book—Mountain Literature ($1,000) Dark Summit, by Nick Heil (Random House of Canada Ltd., 2008)

Believe it or not, some of us have not kept up with the Everest literature, haven’t even read Into Thin Air — that world of high altitude ambition seems so different from what motivates us to love mountains and climbing that we’ve become cynical about the whole scene. But Nick Heil’s exquisitely crafted and fast-paced tale of Everest’s second-most deadly year — 2006 — draws in even us Everest curmudgeons by humanizing the participants, building initial empathy for their dreams and then cold shivers for their final nightmares.

— John Harlin

Best Book –Mountaineering History ($500) Fallen Giants: A History of Himalayan Mountaineering from the Age of Empire to the Age of Extremes, by Maurice Isserman, Stewart Weaver (Yale University Press, USA, 2008)

Tilman speculated that a chronicle of the “fall of the giants” of the Himalayas would not be as interesting as chronicles of the failed attempts. He never anticipated that Maurice Isserman and Stewart Weaver would eventually paraphrase him in the title of an exhaustive and entertaining history of Himalayan mountaineering. This is a standard-setting work that credibly accounts for the struggle to summit the 8000 metre peaks with a seamless discussion of politics, economics and the development of climbing technique backed by a mind-boggling list of sources.

— David Chaundy-Smart

Best Book—Mountain Exposition ($500) Lofoten Rock, by Chris Craggs, Thorbjorn Enevold (Rockfax, UK, 2008)

The word that comes to mind when summing up this book is “perfect.” We can’t imagine how another guidebook formula could make a complex climbing area easier to navigate or more enticing to visit. From the overview maps to the tabbed sections to the quality and quantity of route line photos — all in exquisite color and often highlighted with action shots — this book completely demystifies a set of granite encrusted islands off the Norwegian coast. With this book in hand, all the adventure will come from the climbing, none from figuring out where the climbs are.

— John Harlin

Best Book – Adventure Travel ($500) A Man’s Life: Dispatches from Dangerous Places, by Mark Jenkins (Rodale Press, USA, 2007)

Perhaps no adventure writer has traveled so widely, or with such a combination of passion, insight, and literary grace, as Mark Jenkins. His nearly 10-year run of columns for Outside Magazine (”The Hard Way”) was the definition of excellence in serious writing about serious adventure. The only thing that rivals Jenkins’s enthusiasm for putting himself into harm’s way in exotic places is his love for crafting stories after coming home to his family in Laramie, Wyoming. A Man’s Life is the second and final collection of “The Hard Way” columns, lightly reedited, and ready to take you pretty much everywhere.

— John Harlin

Best Book — Mountain Image ($500) Mont Blanc, by Mario Colonel (Mario Colonel Editions, France, 2008)

As a community with a passion for mountains, we all have life long memories of beautiful vistas we’ve experienced and are deeply moved by what we see. The Mountain Image Award recognizes the book that has the power to draw us into its images.

Special Jury Mention Fatal Tide: When the Race of a Lifetime Goes Wrong, by David Leach (Penguin Group, Canada, 2008)

This book will appeal to those who know much or a little or nothing about the relatively young outdoor sport of adventure racing. It examines the nature of adventure, risk and responsibility through a tragic story which is sensitively and subtly told from both personal and political perspectives. It combines a smooth and effortless narrative and strong characterization underpinned by a gripping documentary style which is both accessible and engaging.

— Julie Tait