Jim has been an active and influential alpinist for over 40 years. Noted alpinist Steve House refers to Jim as the “original Canadian hardman.” Jim’s climbing journey includes seminal first ascents in the Canadian Rockies such as the North Face of Mount Kitchener in winter and the world’s longest ice climb, Slipstream on the east face of Mount Snow Dome. Both mountains are among the eleven peaks at the Columbia Icefield. Snow Dome is the triple hydrographic apex of the Columbia Icefield. Jim worked as the climbing cameraman on the award winning film Challenge the Canadian Rockies, which featured climbing and filming the 1000 meter Slipstream in extreme winter conditions. Jim has led and guided multiple expeditions to the Himalaya and the Andes. Significantly, in 1986, he led the most successful Canadian expedition to Everest to date (Everest Light), establishing a new route on the Tibetan side, enabling two members of the team to summit (including Sharon Wood, the first North American woman to summit the mountain) and all without Sherpa support. He received a rare Award of Recognition from the Sir Edmund Hillary Foundation. recognizing his leadership of the historic Canadian Everest Light Expedition. Jim’s four years of study at Ryerson University were focused on a BAA in Photography. As a photojournalist he worked for Maclean’s Magazine among others, and was one of the first western photographers into China to document the lives of ordinary people. While acting as Assistant Director and cameraman of a field unit for the feature film The Climb on Nanga Parbat, he photographed the historic opening of the Khunjerab Pass between China and Pakistan on the Karakorum Highway. Jim has been photographer on multiple expeditions, for some time sponsored by Leica, becoming accustomed to working in extreme conditions. Currently his work explores the beauty of the mountain world and the growing impact of human activity upon it.

John’s 30-plus years of story work has been primarily in the roles of writer and editor, coaching and coaxing stories of depth and meaning from the memories of veterans, business and political leaders, survivors and artists. As well, he consults on the shaping and refining of works of fiction, carrying their authors’ ambitions, dreams and insights into courageous narratives. He has applied his unique expertise to more than one hundred published books. Recent published works: True North Rising by Whit Fraser, 2018 The Trail Beckons by Malcolm Hunter, 2018 Tom Thomson’s Last Bonfire by Geoff Taylor, 2017 The Scales of Eden by Wayne Campbell, 2017 Notable Works as Writer: White Gold: The John Clifford Story The Man Who Makes Heads With His Hands: The Art & Life of Harold Pfeiffer, Sculptor “I have always sought out the edges, the frontiers and interfaces where we are most alive, most creative and most engaged. It’s all a great adventure, whether hitchhiking through the Khyber Pass as I did as a young man, or partnering with an author to find the most compelling ways to express the deepest most heartfelt truths.”

Lin is an award-winning designer based in Exshaw, Alberta. Born and raised in The Netherlands, her passion and talent for drawing got her into a Communications Design program where she first learned about Graphic Design, which soon became her greatest passion. In 2009, she followed the love of her life to Canada. There she decided to take her craft further and went back to school to immerse herself in Graphic Design and Typography at Conestoga College in Ontario, where she graduated with distinction. Lin currently works as Senior Designer at Critical Mass, a full service digital experience design agency in Calgary, Alberta. In her spare time, she loves working with local clients to create bold design concepts that bring brands to life. When she is not working, she can be found enjoying the Rockies by bicycle or climbing to new heights.

Nino discovered his love for photography and printmaking at a young age. After many years of traveling and exploring he settled down in California where he studied at the Art Center College of Design, where he was recipient of the Adobe Design International Photographer of the Year. After graduation Nino began to travel the world working commercially as an assistant and photographer. He worked accounts such as Apple I-pod, Adidas, Nike, with editorial clients Conde Naste, I-D, and Vogue, to name a few. He also ran his own creative concept studio using his knowledge to aid others in the development and realisation of their personal and commercial projects. After exploring Canada in his early twenties he vowed to come back and live his life here. All along Nino was simultaneously pursuing his passion for the mountains, climbing and skiing around the world. Having climbed at highest grade level (5.14 for those who know the system) for years, he eventually turned his attention to exploring the mountains without concern for worldly measures of success. He is currently working on completing his mountain guide training while living and exploring the Canadian wilderness, enjoying the quiet spaces it still has to offer.

Jennifer has been developing diverse educational resources in both the formal K-12 education system as a teacher and for educational organizations as a consultant for over 25 years. She possesses excellent communication skills, detailed knowledge of the Alberta Program of Studies, as well as skills in developing and using technology in the 21st Century classroom. Jennifer has developed educational software, videos, video scripts, slide shows, hands-on activities, as well as teacher lesson plans for Parks Canada, Elbow River Watershed Partnership, Alberta Tomorrow Foundation, Meewasin Valley Authority, Saskatoon Board of Education, and Saskatchewan Environment and Parks. Jennifer is active in the classroom with all ages of students and has worked with various stakeholders to present bias-free information. When not working, she can be found with her husband and two daughters, exploring Alberta’s amazing landscapes on foot, bike or ski.

Holding a passion for the world and an eye for the beauty it contains, Revelstoke-based, award-winning commercial, personal, and adventure photographer and filmmaker Agathe Bernard is on a continual journey to seek out and capture the beauty of this world – whether it’s the beauty of some of the most extreme and pristine environments in the world, or the beauty of a person’s most personal moments. She specializes in female adventures in mountainous environments and ocean conservation. Among other work, she recently won “Best Nature Photographers of 2017” by National Geographic and filmed with them in Northwest Territories (Lotus Flower in Nahanni and Utah/Nevada desert). She made a short video about Leah Evans’s ski adventure in Iceland for Salomon and North face and contributed to Lynsey Dyer film Pretty Faces and Lexi Dupont Water Worshippers series. Her latest film about pioneer glaciologist and photographer Mary Vaux working on the Illecillewaet Glacier in Victorian dresses, Carving Landscapes, is currently touring in 2D and 360 in North America and was part of the latest Banff Festival. Her purpose is to share her experience and knowledge as an earth scientist in an effort to inspire people to be responsible, innovative and proactive in their decision-making while empowering people to live the life they have always dreamed of. In addition to her camera lens, she also contributes a scientific lens and can quantifiably measure how our behaviour affects the planet. Agathe’s work has been published in National Geographic, Canadian Mining Journal, The Globe and Mail, Powder, Freeskier, Ski Journal, Kootenay Mountain Culture, Highline, Mountaineer, Kootenay Business, Canadian and international newspapers. She has periodically discussed scientific findings and projects on CBC radio, and was selected by Nikon in “100 of the best photos in 100 years.”

Dr. Alison Criscitiello is the Director of the Canadian Ice Core Archive (CICA) at University of Alberta. Alison is an ice core scientist with extensive field experience in Antarctica, the Canadian high Arctic, Greenland, Alaska, and the Canadian Rockies. Broadly, her research utilizes new polar ice core records to address how the marine influence on coastal ice caps and ice sheets has changed over time, and how remote atmospheric dynamics impact regional and local processes and climate. Ultimately, this work helps constrain projections of future contributions of polar ice caps to global sea level, and is extremely valuable in advancing our understanding of the complex and coupled ocean-ice-atmosphere system. Dr. Criscitiello obtained her BA in Earth and Environmental Science from Wesleyan University (2003), her MA in Geology and Geophysics from Columbia University (2006), and her PhD in Glaciology from the MIT/WHOI Joint Program (2014). She moved to Canada to complete a post-doctoral fellowship at University of Calgary (2014-2016) where she expanded her work in the Canadian Arctic to encompass investigations of environmental contaminants in ice cores, and subsequently began her position as Director of CICA in May 2017.

Mike is a loving father, husband and award winning filmmaker based in Canmore, Alberta. He loves filming adventure sports, wildlife and wildpeople in landscapes that remind him that he is human. He has worked as a cinematographer and editor with Sherpas Cinema, Parks Canada,Travel Alberta, Goretex, Sport Chek, CMH and various broadcast networks. Mike is currently responsible for producing, filming and editing marketing video content for Pursuit’s diverse brands across North America, Iceland and Europe. One of his recent independent projects, the film Living with Wildlife which he co-directed, shot and edited, received the Environment award at the Wasatch Mountain Film Festival in Utah and the UNESCO World Heritage Dolomites Award at the Trento Mountain Film Festival in Italy. Trento is the world’s oldest mountain film festival. Mike is a graduate of the three year Banff Centre for Arts & Creative Film Study program.