Winner of the 2019 Banff Mountain Book Award for Climbing Literature
Winner of the 2019 National Outdoor Book Award for Outdoor Literature
Shortlisted for the 2019 Boardman Tasker Award

Inner Ranges brings together an enlightening and entertaining selection of mountain writing by one of Canada’s most respected adventure journalists and thinkers.

This collection of original and previously published pieces includes provocative editorial and opinion work about the state of adventure, personal tales from a life of exploration and risk-taking, some touches of humour, and award-winning profiles of some of Canada’s mountaineering greats. Stories include conversations with and profiles of alpine personalities such as Barry Blanchard, Sonnie Trotter, Lena Rowat, Raphael Slawinski, David Jones and many more.

Bringing these essays together for the first time has given Geoff the unique opportunity to reflect back on the stories behind the stories, the consequences of their publication, and the sometimes complex processes of writing about adventure and adventurous lives.

Geoff Powter has been a mountain writer, editor and presenter for more than 30 years. He has written pieces for magazines and newspapers around the globe, was the editor of the renowned Polar Circus magazine and spent 13 years at the helm of the Canadian Alpine Journal. He has been the host of the Voices of Adventure interview series at the Banff Mountain Book Festival for the past 20 years, and has been a regular contributor to CBC Radio and to the Globe and Mail travel section. He is the author of Strange and Dangerous Dreams: The Fine Line Between Adventure and Madness. Geoff Powter lives in Canmore, AB.

Geoff Powter's profile page

Sir Chris Bonington is one of Britain's most famous mountaineers. Born in Hampstead in 1934, he joined the army after time at Sandhurst, and quickly discovered his love of mountains. He started climbing very seriously in the Alps, then moved to the Himalayas. In 1975 he was leader of the famous ascent of the southwest face of Everest. He has since explored mountains, oceans, and remote areas around the world. In 1985 he achieved a life time ambition and he reached the summit of Everest.

Chris Bonington's profile page

"An astute observer of the many layers and hues of life, of the mountains, and of mountain life, Powter’s inquisitive mind and finely-honed storytelling talent coalesce in the collection to reveal shifting perceptions and opinions, moods and passions."

Rocky Mountain Outlook

"Anyone with any interest in the craft of adventure essay writing, personal exposé or a broad range of climbing subjects will find much here to justify aquiring a copy of this unique collection."

Canadian Alpine Journal

"...an essential addition to the lore of this country as a place of deep adventure."

Gripped Magazine

"This insightful anthology, stretching back to the beginning of his career, distills his best work while creating a natural extension of his own evolution as a writer."

Pique Newsmagazine

There is some beautiful, provocative and astute mountain writing in this book, and I'll hope you'll enjoy the journey through it as much as I have.

Chris Bonington

"...Powter’s incorporation of twenty-six pieces of mountain adventures, tragedies, conflicts, and fulfillment creates the portrayal of mountains as cultural and environmental landscapes molded by the people and animals within them."

BC Studies

"With Inner Ranges, he brings those adventures to the page, not in the form of tedious trip reports, but with lucid and honest accounts of triumph and death, intimate profiles of Canada’s most beloved mountain people and even some investigative journalism."

Alberta Views

"The strength of his story is the sharp contrast of the physicality of mountains with his own self-reflection and transformation as a result of time spent within these landscapes. The stories portray the evolution of those who seek out these places for physical achievement and pleasure and who leave with a deep appreciation of, and respect and admiration for, mountains."

BC Studies

Inner Ranges documents, through a range of literary genres, a prolonged encounter with an inner mountain landscape, and tries to see that landscape through new and ever-sharpening eyes.

The Ormsby Review

"Powter’s writing discloses an intelligence and a maturity that ranges beyond mountaineering’s frequent self-absorption. He is able to both view the mountaineering world from within the bubble, and from the outside looking in."

Crowfoot Media