Book Festival Season--The Suburban Mountaineer
Greetings from Peaklessburg.
Last week, Brandon Pullan, Editor of Gripped Magazine, accused the Boardman Tasker Award for Mountain Literature of omitting a worthy title from its short list for the prize. It was a brief statement, but he was referring to the absence of Sonnie Trotter’s memoir through essays, Uplifted, published earlier this year by Patagonia Books. Actually, Pullan, a Canadian, said the Boardman Tasker omitted a worthy Canadian title, but I think, as an American, we can expand the scope. It was a very enjoyable book.
Unfortunately, enjoyable isn’t always the winner. I’ve been a pre-reader for the Banff Mountain Book Competition’s Article Category (and sometimes I review a couple of books, too,) and can speak from experience that all the things that make an outstanding work isn’t always the joy of the reader alone. That said, I noticed Uplifted wasn’t on the Banff shortlist, either.
We are in the middle of the mountain festival season, which means the mountain award literature season, for the literate climbers and those of us adventuring vicariously. The Boardman Tasker happens at the Kendal Mountain Festival and will be awarded on November 21st. The Banff Mountain Film is actually the Banff Mountain Film & Book Festival, because it hosts a literature competitions that is formally titled the Banff Mountain Book Competition, though it actually includes an article category as well. Then there is the third mountain specific literature award: The H. Adams Carter Literary Award; It’s announced in the early fall but given at the American Alpine Club Annual Benefit Gala, and though the date changes from year to year, it’s being held October 18th, and only is honoring Michael Wejchert.
So I reached out to Banff via the festival director, Joanna Croston (who is also an author.) Jo said, “It was close but didn’t make the cut unfortunately.” Banff pre-readers, which filter the nominees to make the Long List of nominees, prior to the Short List that the jurors select. “I enjoyed it very much myself,” Jo added. Trotter will present the book at the Banff Festival though, of course, and receive a homecoming-like reception, I’m sure.
Well, I actually posted on the blog, what seems like unfiltered notes on a good book, for a post, and I have news of an upcoming picture book (yes, you heard that right,) and Colin Haley’s blog lives. Here you go…
RECENT POST, in case you missed it...
Thoughts on ‘Echoes’ by Nick Bullock
The pace of the book is slower than nearly every other climbing book. But that’s part of it’s value. In fact, if a young person asks how they can progress to climb big objectives, I would direct them to this book. It’s not a manual but anecdote. Click here to read the whole thing.
A PICTURE BOOK AND FALLON ROWE INTERVIEW
On new mountain books and news about then for this month, Samuel Sidiqi, a dad and a mountaineer, has has written a picture book, My Dad is Climbing Denali. He had a very successful kickstarter campaign, exceeding his goal, and is self-publishing with Forrest Miller, as the illustrator, in the new year.
Children’s books aren’t always children’s books. Sometimes their picture books with a big message. In Sidiqi’s case, he is grappling with being a committed mountaineer and a father; how do you leave your child behind as you pursue your climbing objective for upwards of a month? He hopes that this book helps bridge the divide with parents that are seeking the summit. It will be available on Amazon in January or February 2026.
And if you haven’t exceeded your limit before the Outside dot com paywall (like me, because I refuse to register or subscribe,) you can read an interview with Fallon Rowe who has authored Pay No Mind: A Memoir of Climbing, Abuse, and Survival from DAP Books. Fallon has been a sponsored climber, a high school science teacher, and a climbing coach and guide, but she had a life that innocently started with a romantic pursuit that brought her to Patagonia that turned into chaos. From the publisher, it’s a story of the author fighting to overcome trauma and heal. Pay No Mind is being released on November 25th.
WHAT I AM READING NOW
I finished Echoes by Nick Bullock and am listening to his sequal, Tides in audio book format. I am going to have to go get a hard copy and find the passages I enjoyed. I like to copy down his best lines and it’s too hard via rewinding the chapter. But the advantage is I can listen when I am on my commute. So I moved on to reading Meltdown: The Making and Breaking of a Field Scientist by Sarah Boon. I am on a deadline with this one to get a review in to Alpinist Magazine this week. Next on my list is actually not a climbing book but finally going to read, rather than skim, Fixer-Upper, a nonfiction book by Jenny Shuetz from 2022 about the housing market and housing policy, which is my field for my day job that consumes a different part of me than mountains.
COLIN HALEY’S BLOG LIVES
I know you know Colin Haley and that he just soloed Cerro Torre in the winter. But did you know that he has had a blog called Skagit Alpinism for over a decade and a half. I thought it was dead but kept alerts on it. I’d glad I did. He put up a remarkable post about his solo of the Ragni Route.
He attempted to climb it in winter in 2008, but it all came together this summer… er… uh… southern winter. He wrote an Alpine Journal trip report-worthy blog post. The photos by himself and Ty Lekki, in particular, are spectacular. Go check them out.
Well, that’s all for September and thanks for reading. Don’t forget those print climbing magazines.Subscribe to at least one to support the climbing community and climbing writing in print. It’s some of the most important writing and it’s up to us to encourage it as subscribers.
Andrew, The Suburban Mountaineer