2025 Banff Mountain Book Competition category award winners announced

Media Release | October 16, 2025 | Banff, AB

The Banff Mountain Book Competition is delighted to announce the 2025 category award winners, who will go on to compete for the Grand Prize on November 6, at this year's 50th anniversary Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival.

The Book Competition is an internationally recognized literary competition that celebrates mountain literature in all its forms. $29,000 in cash is awarded annually with eight awards: Mountain Literature (non-fiction), Mountain Fiction and Poetry, Environmental Literature, Adventure Travel, Mountain Image, Guidebooks, Mountain Article, Climbing Literature, plus the Grand Prize selected by an international jury of writers, adventurers, and editors.

The eight category award winners are selected by our international jury from a longlist of 29 category finalists (chosen from a total of 142 submissions, from authors across 11 countries).

The 2025 Book Competition jury members are David Chambre (France), Paul Scully (UK), and Kate Neville (Canada).

The Grand Prize ($5,000 sponsored by The Alpine Club of Canada) will be announced on Thursday November 6, 2025, as part of the 50th anniversary Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival. All the category winners listed below are eligible for the Grand Prize.

Category Award Winners

Mountain Literature (non-fiction) – The Jon Whyte Award 
$3,000 – Sponsored by The Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies

Thirty Below: The Harrowing and Heroic Story of the First All-Women's Ascent of Denali
Cassidy Randall, Abrams (USA, 2025)

"A trailblazing tale of courage, ambition, and history reclaimed. In Thirty Below, Randall brings to life the long-overlooked story of the first all-women’s expedition to summit North America’s highest peak. Meticulously researched yet swift in pace, this is far more than a mountaineering tale - it’s a powerful portrait of perseverance and solidarity. With honesty and grace, Randall gives a voice to the women, allowing their stories to echo across time. In telling their stories, the book casts a light on not just a mountain conquered, but barriers broken and legacies formed."

– Paul Scully, 2025 Book Competition Jury

Mountain Fiction & Poetry
$3,000 – Sponsored by the Town of Banff

An Abundance of Wild Roses
Feryal Ali-Gauhar, Canongate (UK, 2024)

"At once harsh, haunting, and mythic, An Abundance of Wild Roses takes us into the mountains of Pakistan to the lives unfolding in and around the "Village of a Hundred Sorrows." In an unforgiving environment, it is the violence wrought by humans that creates the most suffering. With bold, poetic writing that weaves the lives of spirit-beings with troubled village life, Feryal Ali-Gauthar attends to the intertwined damage of the world, linking the losses of snow leopard and markhor and cedar forests with the burdened lives of those rendered powerless by unyielding social strictures, fear, and grief."

–  Kate Neville, 2025 Book Competition Jury

Environmental Literature
$3,000 – Sponsored by Rab

The Wild Dark: Finding the Night Sky in the Age of Light
Craig Childs, Torrey House Press (USA, 2025)

"After reading this book, it is impossible not to look up at the stars. Craig Childs takes us on a delightful bicycle journey from the light of downtown Las Vegas to the surprisingly dark skies of the central Nevada desert, linking our earth-bound lives with the universe around us. This is not just a book for stargazers. With tenderness and adoration for the world, Childs masterfully explores our fraught entanglements with wildness and domesticity. He shows us how charting the rhythms of our planet is not just a celestial project, but one that can help us rebuild our relationships here on the ground."

–  Kate Neville, 2025 Book Competition Jury

Adventure Travel
$3,000 – Sponsored by Rocky Mountain Books – RMB

Into the Thaw: Witnessing Wonder Amid the Arctic Climate Crisis
Jon Waterman, Patagonia Books (USA, 2024)

"Jon Waterman is, above all, a lover of the Arctic. In a journey that takes place as much through geography as through time, and thanks to this book's gorgeous iconography, the effects of climate change impose themselves on us as an undeniable reality. The powerful images combined with an elegantly written narrative take us on a journey between despair and optimism. Simultaneously, rich scientific footnotes provide added context. This combination makes reading this book more meaningful than any political speech."

– David Chambre, 2025 Book Competition Jury

Mountain Image
$3,000 – Sponsored by Mountain Life Media

Eden: A Portrait of Mountain Biking in Aotearoa New Zealand
Nick Stevenson, Thames & Hudson Australia (Aotearoa New Zealand, 2025)

"Eden is a breathtaking portrait of mountain biking in New Zealand, where earth and sky seem to conspire in beauty. When looking through this collection, it becomes easy to see why this land has shaped some of the world’s most gifted riders (highlighted throughout). Every image, created by some of the industry’s finest photographers, captures the alchemy of light, motion, and terrain—an ode to the artistry of riding and the spirit of a place that feels like paradise itself. I knew it was going to be in contention for the award from the moment I turned the first few pages."

– Mason Mashon, 2025 Photo Competition Jury

Guidebooks
$3,000 – Sponsored by the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides – ACMG

Northern Horizons
Will Herman, Scottish Mountaineering Press (UK, 2025)

"A lyrical and inspiring journey into the heart of the Cumbrian and Scottish mountains. Will Herman’s beautifully crafted work is as much a memoir as it is a guidebook — a seamless blend of essays and exploration. With stunning photographs and evocative descriptions, it invites readers not just to see the landscape, but to feel it. At its core, the book centres the deep and evolving relationship between person and place, encouraging a reflective, almost meditative engagement with the mountains. It stirs a longing for wild spaces and makes you dream of setting off into the hills yourself."

– Paul Scully, 2025 Book Competition Jury

Mountain Article
$3,000 – Sponsored by The Lodge at Bow Lake

Fleet-Winged Ghosts of Greenland
Caroline Van Hemert, Hakai Magazine/BioGraphic (USA, 2024)

"Revered and persecuted, popular and imperiled, tenacious and fragile—the peregrine falcon is a bird of contradictions, as Caroline Van Hemert’s brilliantly constructed article reveals. In The Fleet-Winged Ghosts of Greenland, Van Hemert draws us into a multi-generational conservation story along Greenland’s granite cliffs, tracing decades of peregrine recovery efforts while exploring the rocky fjords with her own sons. This lively article is one to be read and re-read: a deeply researched account of falcon recovery that blends science with social and literary histories of falcons to show the precariousness and possibility of redemption."

– Kate Neville, 2025 Book Competition Jury

Climbing Literature
$3,000 – Sponsored by NOLS

Moving the Needle
Dave MacLeod, Rare Breed Productions (UK, 2024)

"Dave MacLeod is one of the best and most daring rock climbers in the world. But this book isn't just a list of his achievements. In it, he shows transparency about the difficulty of getting where he is from a working-class Scottish background. It’s not about ability but about throwing yourself at something again and again. Not just about overcoming self-doubt but leveraging self-doubt effectively. A real core climbing book with deep insights into the psychology of achieving extreme feats."

– David Chambre, 2025 Book Competition Jury

Special Jury Mention

Is a River Alive?
Robert Macfarlane, W. W. Norton & Company (USA, 2025)

"As much a book about the environment as it is about adventure travel, the author takes us on a journey to discover rivers from his backyard to the four corners of the world. Thanks to the book's circular construction and the author's poetic, subtle and elegant language, Robert MacFarlane manages to send a strong political and environmental message while maintaining optimism. He convinces us of the living nature of these bodies of water. Macfarlane is a master storyteller, and this book is an absolute game-changer."

– David Chambre, 2025 Book Competition Jury

Special Jury Mention

Across the Himalaya
Vineeta Muni, Neemtree Tech Labs Pvt Ltd (India, 2025)

"In this beautiful and inspiring book, Vineeta Muni draws us into the soul of the Himalaya—and her quiet, powerful transformation. The sheer joy and deep love for the mountains radiate from the pages, making this extraordinary journey as emotionally resonant as it is physically impressive. At its heart, the book captures the best of what human relationships can be when shaped by shared purpose, trust, and the transformative power of wild landscapes. A moving testament to adventure, connection, and the spirit of the mountains."

– Paul Scully, 2025 Book Competition Jury

Grand Prize 
$5,000 – Sponsored by The Alpine Club of Canada 
All the category winners listed above are eligible for the Grand Prize.
Book Awards will be presented, and the Grand Prize will be announced Thursday, November 6, as part of the 50th annual Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival.

Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival Announces Finalists for Inaugural BanffPitch Competition

In celebration of its 50th anniversary, the Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival is proud to announce the five finalists for the inaugural BanffPitch competition—an exciting new initiative supporting young and emerging filmmakers.

On Friday, November 8 at 2 p.m. MT, the finalists will pitch their film projects live to an international jury at the Max Bell Auditorium, Banff Centre. The event is free and open to the public, taking place during the Festival’s nine-day program.

The pitches will be evaluated by a jury of renowned filmmakers, producers, and industry experts —Michael Brown (USA), Joni Cooper (Canada), Joachim Hellinger (Germany), Ava Karvonen (Canada), and Greg Moga (USA).

Winners will be announced at the end of the pitch event on November 8. The winning pitch will receive a $25,000 CAD cash award to support their film project, the first runner-up will receive a $10,000 CAD cash award, and the second runner-up will receive a Nikon gift card valued up to $5,000 CAD.

BanffPitch is sponsored by Bray's Run Productions and Beyond Boundaries Films. With support from Nikon, HOVERAir, and NRS.

BanffPitch Finalists

The Land She Treads (Canada)
By Olivia Johnson and Erica Negrini

Echoes of memory (Colombia)
By Mateo Arango Guerrero

Making The Cut (Canada)
By Tyler Burr

Waterkeeper (Kyrgyzstan)
By Nazgul Omurzhanova

BEARPROOF (USA)
By Kyle Dudgeon

This year’s 50th anniversary Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival (November 1-9), held by Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity in Banff, Alberta, will welcome adventurers, filmmakers, authors, and photographers from around the world for an exceptional lineup featuring 87 epic films (including World and North American premieres), plus a special Fire and Ice Symposium (November 4-5), the bustling Festival Marketplace, free talks on the Rab Stage, happy hours with live music, downtown events, exhibitions, and much more!

Don't miss our popular daytime book events, featuring authors, photographers, and explorers from around the world, including Hamish Frost, Guy Robertson, Sonnie Trotter, Joanna Croston, Hazel Findlay, Lynn Hill, Lydia Bradey, Sarah Hueniken, Brette Harrington, Sharon Wood, Tom Bell, Jean McNeil, Jeremy Collins, Cassidy Randall, Greg Hill, and Craig Childs. 

The Festival schedule is available to view online. Tickets and passes can be purchased at banffmountainfestival.ca or Banff Centre Box Office.

Online films will be available following the Festival from November 12-23, 2025 (available in CAN/USA only).

For more information or image requests, please contact: 

Jess Elliott
Media and Communications, Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival
Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity
Box 1020,107 Tunnel Mountain Drive
Banff, Alberta
Canada T1L 1H5  
jess_elliott@banffcentre.ca 

About Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival: Created 50 years ago, Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival has become the premier event of its kind in the world. The nine-day Festival hosted by Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity in Banff, Canada, showcases the world’s best films, books and photographs on mountain subjects – climbing, culture, environment and natural history, exploration and adventure, wildlife, and sport – and attracts the biggest names in mountaineering, adventure filmmaking, and explorers as presenters and speakers. An international jury will also award over $40,000 in prizes for films and books submitted to this year’s Festival competitions. banffmountainfestival.ca    

Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival Sponsors: The 2025 Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival Presenting Sponsors are Rab and Banff and Lake Louise Tourism. The Festival is also supported by YETI, Oboz Footwear, World Expeditions, The Lake Louise Ski Resort, Grangers, SLY Foods, Duer, Alpine Club of Canada, Arc’teryx, Durston, Wild Life Distillery, Wild Rose Brewery, and KORE.

About Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity: Founded in 1933, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity is a post-secondary institution built upon an extraordinary legacy of excellence in artistic and leadership development. What started as a single course in drama has grown to become the global organization leading in arts, culture, and creative decision-making across dozens of disciplines. From our home on Treaty 7 territory in the stunning Canadian Rocky Mountains, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity aims to move everyone who attends our campus – artists, leaders, thinkers, and audiences – to unleash their creative potential and realize their unique contribution to build an innovative, inspiring future through education, performances, convenings, and public outreach. banffcentre.ca