Rocky Mountain Books,Canada – förlag

Biography of one of the most colorful, some might say eccentric, people the Canadian West has thrown out who also happens to be a climber. At a time when most men are thinking of retirement from strenuous activities, Don was busy setting records: the first person to climb all the 11,000 foot peaks in the Canadian Rockies and Columbia Mountains and the oldest person to climb Mount Logan, Canada's highest mountain. Apart from Don's climbing achievements, for which he received the Banff Mountain Festival's Summit of Excellence Award in 1990, Don is renowned for his idiosyncrasies which the author and Don's friends have documented in hilarious detail.

A century of landscape art inspired by the Mount Assiniboine area of the Canadian Rockies from 1899 to 2006. Jane Lytton Gooch's Mount Assiniboine: Images in Art is a stunning collection of 42 colour plates, only seven of which have been previously published. They represent a wide variety of styles and media from 23 artists, including: A.P. Coleman Carl Rungius James Simpson Belmore Browne Barbara and A.C. Leighton Catharine and Peter Whyte W.J. Phillips A.Y. Jackson Colour plates are divided into three sections: approaching Assiniboine from the northwest; east of Assiniboine; and Mount Assiniboine itself. Each section is introduced with a black-and-white archival photograph and a quotation. In addition, four black-and-white archival photographs, along with five colour reproductions of Mary Vaux Walcott's stunning watercolours of wildflowers sketched in the Assiniboine area, complement Gooch's introduction. Gooch also discusses the history of exploration of the region, early ascents of Mount Assiniboine , the development of tourism and the significant artistic activity this majestic peak has inspired.

As North American cities continue to grow and downtown cores evolve into suburban shadows of their former urban selves, the shabbier realities of contemporary life at the city's heart are forced to migrate and disappear as "villages" are torn down, reimagined and redeveloped into upscale properties. With a gentle touch, George Webber takes his camera into the mysterious half-light of these disappearing interior spaces, penetrating them with a thought-provoking humanity and then withdrawing without creating a ripple. This is an area that transcends place, lying between a city's mountain and prairie landscapes, a purgatory of dark and light, hope and despair. Over a five-year period between 2004 and 2009, photographer George Webber hung out in Calgary's East Village. In what he describes as "my little personal battle against time," he touched the feral heart of the place, capturing its gritty, shattered beauty with his camera. Last Call is an unforgettable and astounding collection of colour photographs of Calgary's East Village in all of its lurid glory, along with touching and poignant excerpts from Webber's journals.

Bow Lake in the Canadian Rockies has inspired artists for almost a century. An early explorer who recognized the beauty of this alpine landscape was Jimmy Simpson, a legendary guide and outfitter who also collected art and painted in watercolours. He welcomed artists such as Carl Rungius, Belmore Browne and Peter and Catharine Whyte to his camp beside Bow Lake, which eventually became the storied Num-Ti-Jah Lodge. A.C. Leighton and his wife, Barbara, along with Walter J. Phillips were among the early artists at Bow Lake. This artistic tradition has been carried on with the current artist-in-residence program at Num-Ti-Jah, attracting many contemporary artists to paint the spectacular landscape. This volume includes an introduction describing the history of exploration and the early artistic activity generated by Jimmy Simpson, followed by brief biographies of 18 contemporary artists whose works are also included in the 47 colour plates, all documented and described, of which only 6 have ever been published before.

Beavers are the great comeback story--a keystone species that survived ice ages, major droughts, the fur trade, urbanization and near extinction. Their ability to create and maintain aquatic habitats has endeared them to conservationists, but puts the beavers at odds with urban and industrial expansion. These conflicts reflect a dichotomy within our national identity. We place environment and our concept of wilderness as a key touchstone for promotion and celebration, while devoting significant financial and personal resources to combating "the beaver problem." We need to rethink our approach to environmental conflict in general, and our approach to species-specific conflicts in particular. Our history often celebrates our integration of environment into our identity, but our actions often reveal an exploitation of environment and celebration of its subjugation. Why the conflict with the beaver? It is one of the few species that refuses to play by our rules and continues to modify environments to meet its own needs and the betterment of so many other species, while at the same time showing humans that complete dominion over nature is not necessarily achievable.

"Nifty book on honeybees . . . helpful things you can do!" -- Margaret Atwood (via Twitter) In this updated bestseller (with new science and data related to North America, the United Kingdom and Australia), Dr. Reese Halter continues with his passionate crusade to save the world's most important group of flower-visiting animals: the honeybee. Responsible for pollinating over 110 different crop types throughout the world and accounting for a quarter-trillion dollars' worth of commerce, the incredible efforts of the honeybees are vital to humanity in terms of the food we eat, the clothes we wear and the medicines we use. And yet, all around the globe, billions of honeybees are dying from colony collapse disorder, the effects of global warming, introduced mites, bacteria, fungi, diseases and modern insecticides. Our civilization as we know it depends on the health and well-being of all 20,000 known species of bees, and each of us is required to lend a helping hand to ensure that the bees survive.

In our ever-warming world, trillions of indigenous bark beetles are killing billions of mature conifers throughout the forests of western North America and around the world, as they embark on their largest and most destructive feeding frenzy in modern times. In areas where cold temperatures traditionally prevented these insects from thriving, our once-healthy but now water-starved trees are becoming more and more vulnerable to the voracious appetites of these destructive pests. With aspects of both our environment and the economy at stake, Dr. Reese Halter's second RMB Manifesto provides information on the various types of beetles negatively impacting trees, descriptions of the ecosystems they currently inhabit, and an accessible look at the future humanity may face if we do not find ways to control greenhouse gas emissions and climate change, which are contributing factors to the ongoing spread of bark beetles.

Beginning in 1967 and for just over 30 years, the oil industry toiled in the relative obscurity of Northern Alberta as machines peeled away earth and boreal forest to exhume what has now become one of humanity's most precious and contentious resources: bitumen. As the years passed, the bitumen mines sprawled, poisonous tailings ponds spread, toxins polluted the environment, cancer reared its head downstream and the price of petroleum soared beyond all expectations. As plans continue to build the Keystone and Northern Gateway pipelines, a growing number of scientists, journalists, First Nations and environmentalists are fighting to raise the alarm about the implications and propaganda surrounding the world's largest energy project. In his second RMB Manifesto, Jeff Gailus dissects the global war on truth that has come to define the battle for oil. It is a battle fought not with bullets and bombs but with a dark web of Little Black Lies that poses a threat not only to environmental and human health, but to our moral and social well-being.

Fresh water is essential to both the ever-expanding human population and the ever-threatened natural landscapes that surround us. And yet, society seems to continually ignore the need for a common-sense approach to--and appreciation of--our freshwater resources and our consumption of this remarkable, life-giving substance that now exceeds its future availability. This ground-breaking and approachable work, by two of Canada's most authoritative experts on water issues, redefines our relationship with fresh water and outlines the steps we as a society will have to take if we wish to ensure the sustainability of our water supply for future generations.

Love it or hate it, the Calgary Stampede is a place where myth, history and spectacle collide. 100 years after an American vaudeville cowboy first dreamed it up, the Stampede remains an unrivalled homage to the West. Cowboy Wild was more than a decade in the making. Photographer David Campion roamed the world's biggest Wild West show and brought back a collection of images that speak to our fascination with the cowboy. With wry humour, these photographs pull back the curtain and probe the contradictions that lie at the heart of a myth that transforms history into a story about the triumph of man over nature, nostalgically regretted even as it is celebrated. As the Stampede marks its 100th anniversary, the time is ripe for a book that goes beyond the hype. In the accompanying essay, writer Sandra Shields uses the prism of the Stampede to offer a meditation on the meaning of the West and its enduring hold on our collective imagination.

A Delicate Art highlights the paintings and photography of six artists in Alberta who with passion and long moments of observation have made an inspired contribution to wildflower art. Covering a period of one hundred years to the present, the story behind these creators Mary Schäffer Warren, Mary Vaux Walcott, William Copeland McCalla, Annora Brown, Robert Sinclair and Carole Harmon is also told. A blend of biography, botanical and regional art history and commentary by the artists themselves about their treasured subject, A Delicate Art is intended for the lay reader and is accompanied by sumptuous reproductions of the artwork and an alluring overall design that will appeal to anyone interested in art, mountain-life and gardening.

"This then is a book of mountaineering, not presenting the Canadian Rockies in their entirety -- no single volume will ever do that -- but including many of the finest things. It is also a book of mountain travel, under conditions such as perhaps the European traveller experienced in the Alps during the Eighteenth Century. Finally, it is a book of mountain history; for here is Geography in the making, and with a tradition behind it -- a story that has never been properly gathered together, and whose details, in part at least, are gone forever." -- from the Preface by J. Monroe Thorington Cloth bound in slipcase. Archival illustrations, photos and maps throughout; 4 panoramic, fold-out plates and 1 large map. Limited to 200 copies. Completely re-edited, re-designed and containing with an impressive collection of archival photos and maps, The Glittering Mountains of Canada is a must-read for anyone interested in mountain literature. The book's position in the pantheon of outdoor writing as a "classic" is only further enhanced and supported by the passionate Foreword by well-known mountain historian and environmental writer Robert William Sandford, who urges the contemporary reader to embrace Thorington's belief in the importance of landscape and the poetry of place. This is a book that deserves to be read and appreciated alongside the work of Wallace Stegner, Henry David Thoreau and Sid Marty.

Cold Matters is a vital and approachable work that distills the scientific complexities of snow, ice, water and climate and presents the global implications of research put forth and funded by the Canadian Foundation for Climate and Atmospheric Sciences. This timely book gives the concerned reader an opportunity to take part in the conversation about our global environment in a way that transcends traditional scientific journals, textbooks, public talks or newspaper articles that are so often ignored or forgotten. In the end, Cold Matters will change the way you think about ice and snow. The impassioned narrative and sophisticated illustrations found within the pages of Robert Sandford's latest work offer ecologically and globally minded citizens an understanding of the behaviour of our ever-changing climate system and its effect on cold environments in western Canada over the past 400 years. Using revolutionary prediction scenarios to model glaciers and glacier meltwater in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario, Yukon, NWT and throughout the world, Cold Matters presents a clear snapshot of how altered ecosystems will impact future climates, urban centres and agricultural landscapes.

At the last census in 2006, just over 80 percent of Canada's population lived in urban centres. How we feed that population and protect its food sources is an enduring subject of debate in food security circles these days. As consumers and citizens, we all need to take a hard look at the deficiencies in Canada's ability to feed the urban poor; our dependence on imported foods and centralized food processing; our detachment from our food sources; the often problematic solutions to food security devised by governments, municipalities and non-profit groups; and where we are headed if we change nothing in these times when change is urgently needed. Many efforts are being made to introduce urban agriculture initiatives all across the country, to address the problems we've created and to protect our cities from real and potential crises in the food supply. With passion and lyricism, Digging the City addresses the problems facing urban omnivores in the 21st century and looks at various policy, grassroots and utopian solutions being developed and implemented, while considering the pros and cons of plans such as vertical farms, urban fish farms, transition-town initiatives, seed banks, permaculture and water conservation projects.

Established in 1967, the Ghost River Wilderness Area, located along the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains in southern Alberta, is one of only three provincially designated wilderness areas in the province. As such, it is supposed to have the strictest form of government protection available in Canada, with development, motorised transportation and recreational activities either tightly controlled or altogether forbidden. This has not been the case, however. Using a stunning combination of drawn and painted images, conventional and remote photography (using hidden cameras activated by heat or motion) and traditional stories told by Peigan and Stoney Nakoda people, Enns invites the reader to join her as she untangles old myths regarding Alberta's heritage and reveals some uncomfortable realities facing the province in the 21st century. The wild horses, wolves, moose, deer and bears profiled in this book have had little contact with humankind. As communities, developers and governments struggle to understand the affects of conservation, recreation and development in sacred places, it is becoming more and more difficult to keep the "wild" in wild animals. This project is a passionate plea for understanding, conservation and action.

George Webber's poignant black-and-white photographs transport us into the forgotten, unknowable communities of the Canadian prairies. Throughout the journey, we're confronted by the mysterious particulars of life, death, landscape and faith. Intimate portraits and the hard facts of the place are woven together to create a body of work that is by turns inspiring, consoling and sometimes achingly sad. Individually, these works startle and challenge. As a collection, they represent a photographer's decades-long meditation on the ever-changing face of the Canadian West.

When Jane Gooch first camped at Lake O'Hara in 1975, she could not have foreseen how important the Rockies would become in her life. She travelled from her home in Vancouver many times during the summer months to hike in the mountains, and her love of the alpine landscape eventually inspired her to study the artists who have painted in the Rockies. Her great enjoyment of the outdoors and a lifelong interest in art were combined with her academic background in writing and research. Mount Robson: Spiral Road of Art celebrates the centennial of Mount Robson Provincial Park with over a century of remarkable landscape paintings inspired by the Robson region in the Canadian Rockies. This volume includes an extensive introduction with historical and cultural background to the 50 colour plates, all documented and described, illustrating artists' works in a variety of styles and media from 1907 to 2012. Early artists include A.P. Coleman, the first explorer, and Group of Seven members A.Y. Jackson and Lawren Harris. In addition, the works of 17 contemporary artists show that the Mount Robson area continues to stimulate landscape art up to the present. Only ten of the images have been published before.

Finding Jim describes Susan Oakey-Baker's struggle to confront the realities of life after the death of her husband, renowned mountain guide Jim Haberl, the first Canadian to summit the most difficult mountain in the world: K2. For fifteen years they had spent time adventuring together around the world: skiing the Himalaya, rafting in Nepal and mountaineering in North America. In time, they got married, solidified a home for themselves in Whistler, British Columbia, and planned on starting a family. But the future Susan had imagined was not meant to be, and when Jim was killed in an avalanche in the University Range of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park in Alaska, she was faced with a loss greater than anything she ever could have expected. After Jim's death, Susan spent time retracing the adventures they took together, in a desperate and obsessive attempt to gather and hold on to as many memories of him as she could. She travelled to the place in Alaska where he lost his life; searched the Queen Charlotte Islands where they had first met; trekked to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro where they had journeyed the year before his death; and scoured the hills around their Whistler home for traces of the man she had expected to spend the rest of her life with. In the spirit of books like Joan Didion'sThe Year of Magical Thinking and Maria Coffey's Fragile Edge, Susan Oakey-Baker writes eloquently of her efforts to relive and reanalyze her husband's death, to defy the pain that such a loss causes and embrace the healing power of mountains, adventure and wilderness as she reimagines her new life.