UMCA Talk 3 | Alpine Rising Book Talk

Bernadette McDonald is the world's foremost mountaineering biographer, transforming raw climbing records into human-centred narratives and elevating the spirit of alpinism into art. A two-time winner of the UK's Boardman Tasker Prize for Mountain Literature and a recipient of the American Alpine Club's H. Adams Carter Literary Award, its highest literary honour, she holds a singular authority within the field of mountain literature. She is especially accomplished at reconstructing, in full dimension, the lives of legendary climbers such as Voytek Kurtyka and Tomaž Humar, as well as those of the Sherpas long obscured by history. Reaching beyond the mere record of sporting achievement to probe the depths of human will and inner struggle, she is credited with opening a new horizon for the mountain biography.

He began climbing in 1976 as a member of the Hankuk University of Foreign Studies Alpine Club(HUFSAC), and has been active in organizations such as Korea Student Alpine Federation(KSAF), Piolet d’Or Asia Organizing Committee, Korea Alpen Book Club, and Ulsan Ulju Mountain Film Festival(UMFF). He climbed Salathé Wall of El Capitan and RNWF of Half Dome in 1982. Currently, he serves as  professional reviewer for Riri Publishers, project manager for Harujae Club, and the honorary secretary of the Himalayan Club of Korea. His translated works include PSYCHOVERTICAL(2013), ALPINE WARRIORS(2020), Catherine Destivelle(2020), WINTER 8000(2021), M4 Mountains Die vierte Dimension(2022), Alpine Rising(2025), and ROCK ‘N’ ROLL ON THE WALL(2026).