The Nelson Adventure Speaker Series is thrilled to welcome mountain historian and author Bernadette McDonald to the Prestige Lakeside Resort on March 5th at 7:00 p.m. to speak about her groundbreaking new book, Alpine Rising: Sherpas, Baltis, and the Triumph of Local Climbers in the Greater Ranges.
Alpine Rising is the first comprehensive history of the contributions of Sherpa and other local climbers to high-altitude mountaineering on Everest, and beyond. It launches March 1, 2024, in North America, with translated editions publishing simultaneously in France, Germany, Italy, Poland, South Korea, Spain, and Slovenia.
McDonald, as the author of 12 books on mountaineering and the founding Vice President of Mountain Culture at the Banff Centre (including serving as the director of the Banff Mountain Film and Book Festival for 20 years), has unprecedented access to historical records of mountaineering expeditions, as well as to the world’s most accomplished alpinists and their descendants. Alpine Rising is already being heralded as an essential read for mountain culture enthusiasts; one that will forever change the way we see the history and legacy of mountaineering in the Greater Ranges.
The book begins in the late 19th century, when British mountaineers first began arriving in Asia and paying locals to help carry their equipment and supplies to basecamps. It concludes with the first-ever winter ascent of K2, a feat that had long eluded Western mountaineers, and was finally achieved in 2021, by an all-Nepali team. In between, McDonald— using direct interviews and thorough research—deftly chronicles mountaineering history from the perspective of the locals, who evolve from servants and unskilled porters to become some of the most respected 8,000-metre peak alpinists and guides of our time.
In Nelson, McDonald will present a photo slideshow with a behind-the-scenes look at the making of Alpine Rising, which took three years to complete. She will also read excerpts from the book and answer audience questions.
Doors will open at 6:15 p.m. Copies of Alpine Rising will be available for sale for $29.95, and McDonald will sign them immediately following the presentation.
Tickets to this event are $10 each, and available online through Eventbrite here. Seating is limited to 80 people. Please don’t delay in purchasing your ticket—the Nelson Adventure Speaker Series anticipates this event will sell out in advance.
Early praise for Alpine Rising:
“Alpine Rising is a fascinating history of the crucial and frequently tragic role of local Nepalis, Tibetans, and Pakistanis on mountaineering expeditions to the world’s highest peaks. Bernadette McDonald sheds new light on the Himalayan and Karakoram villagers exploited for decades by Western climbers, who often seemed to regard them as little more than expendable servants and laborers. This important, engaging book explains how men and women from these underappreciated communities have recently won worldwide respect and admiration as cutting-edge alpinists, heroic climbing guides, successful entrepreneurs, and masters of their own destinies.”
—Jon Krakauer
“The history of local climbers in Pakistan and Nepal is so robust and nuanced that rarely has anyone endeavored to tell it. Alpine Rising shares these often-overlooked stories of high-altitude workers with direct interviews, historical context, and modern perspective. It should be essential reading for anyone who has wondered how these mountains are climbed and, as importantly, why.”
—Melissa Arnot Reid, mountain guide and co-founder, The Juniper Fund
“It’s taken far too long, but at last the local guides and porters who have contributed so much to Himalayan climbing for more than a century are having their achievements acknowledged more fully, along with the terrible human cost they suffered along the way. Bernadette McDonald tells this extraordinary story with great energy and understanding, making space not just for the famous Sherpas but other ethnic groups who are also overlooked.”
—Ed Douglas, author of Himalaya: A Human History
“We Pakistani climbers are grateful for this important book about us, the unsung heroes of Pakistan. We are the new generation, and we are ready for new challenges and our rightful place in climbing history. Alpine Rising shares our story.”
—Sajid Sadpara, Balti mountain guide
“This book is a fascinating and important account of what could very well be the last generation of Sherpa guides in Nepal.”
—Dawa Yangzum Sherpa, first female IFMGA-certified mountain guide from Nepal
The Nelson Adventure Speaker Series is a non-profit endeavor, made possible with help from our sponsors Mountain Culture Group, the publishers of Kootenay Mountain Culture magazine; Notably, a Book Lover’s Emporium; Elephant Mountain Literary Festival; Whitewater Ski Resort; and Nelson Kootenay Lake Tourism.