Bernadette McDonald – författare

Find inspiration in this colorful book that invites you to slow down and explore the Okanagan Valley from a local’s point of view. Whether it’s spying a rare canyon wren, cycling the historic Kettle Valley Railroad across heart-stopping trestle bridges, or hiking through fields of spring flowers, travel alongside the authors as they draw you into the exquisite, unforgettable experience of savoring one of Canada’s most beautiful destinations.Generously offering a compilation of the Okanagan Valley’s best food, drink, and recreation spots, Okanagan Slow Road reveals treasured local culinary secrets: crusty double-baked bread from rural bakeries, lavender-infused pepper from hillside farms, and dark red cherries from the area’s multitude of bountiful orchards. And, of course, the world-renowned wines—after all, what would delicious local food be without famous vintages from the unique Okanagan terroir?First published in 2014, this completely updated edition of Okanagan Slow Road includes a list of the many wineries worth visiting as well as a list of the area’s farmers’ markets.

Freedom Climbers is the multi award-winning book by Bernadette McDonald, now available in the UK and Ireland thanks to Vertebrate Publishing. Freedom Climbers tells the story of the extraordinary Polish adventurers who emerged from under the blanket of oppression following the Second World War to become the world's leading Himalayan climbers. Although they lived in a war-ravaged landscape, with seemingly no hope of creating a meaningful life, these curious, motivated and skilled mountaineers built their own free-market economy under the very noses of their Communist bosses and climbed their way to liberation. At a time when Polish citizens were locked behind the Iron Curtain, these intrepid explorers found a way to travel the world in search of extreme adventure - to Alaska, South America and Europe, but mostly to the highest and most inspiring mountains of the world. To this end, Afghanistan, India, Pakistan and Nepal became their second homes as they evolved into the toughest Himalayan climbers the world has ever known. In her most engaging book to date, renowned and award-winning author Bernadette McDonald weaves a passionate and literary tale of adventure, politics, suffering, death and - ultimately - inspiration.

Voytek Kurtyka is one of the greatest alpinists of all time. Born in 1947, he was one of the leading lights of the Polish golden age of mountaineering that redefined Himalayan climbing in the 1970s and 1980s.His visionary approach to climbing resulted in many renowned ascents, such as the complete Broad Peak traverse, the ‘night-naked’ speed climbs of Cho Oyu and Shishapangma and, above all, the alpine-style first ascent of the west face of Gasherbrum IV. Dubbed the ‘climb of the century’, his route on GIV with the Austrian Robert Schauer is – as of 2017 – unrepeated. His most frequent climbing partners were alpine legends of their time: Polish Himalayan giantJerzy Kukuczka, Swiss mountain guide Erhard Loretan and British alpinist Alex MacIntyre.After repeated requests to accept the Piolets d’Or lifetime achievement award (the Oscars of the climbing world), Kurtyka finally accepted the honour in the spring of 2016. A fiercely private individual, he has declined countless invitations for interviews, lectures and festival appearances, but he has agreed to collaborate with internationally renowned and award-winning author Bernadette McDonald on this long-awaited biography.Art of Freedom is a profound and moving profile of one of the international climbing world’s most respected, complex and reclusive mountaineers.

‘He appeared, without a word, in the tent’s entrance, covered in ice. He looked like anyone would after spending over twenty-four hours in a hurricane at over 8,000 metres. In winter. In the Karakoram. He was so exhausted he couldn’t speak.’Of all the games mountaineers play on the world’s high mountains, the hardest – and cruellest – is climbing the fourteen peaks over 8,000 metres in the bitter cold of winter. Ferocious winds that can pick you up and throw you down, freezing temperatures that burn your lungs and numb your bones, weeks of psychological torment in dark isolation: these are adventures for those with an iron will and a ruthless determination.For the first time, award-winning author Bernadette McDonald tells the story of how Poland’s ice warriors made winter their own, perfecting what they dubbed ‘the art of suffering’ as they fought their way to the summit of Everest in the winter of 1980 – the first 8,000-metre peak they climbed this way but by no means their last. She reveals what it was that inspired the Poles to take up this brutal game, how increasing numbers of climbers from other nations were inspired to enter the arena, and how competition intensified as each remaining peak finally submitted to leave just one awaiting a winter ascent, the meanest of them all: K2.Winter 8000 is the story of true adventure at its most demanding.