LYNN MARTEL
A long-time Canadian Rockies resident, Lynn has written about the people, places, natural environment and unique mountain culture of Western Canada’s mountain world for more than 30 years. An active Alpine Club of Canada member, she’s written 10 Summit Series booklets, edited the ACC Gazette for 13 years, and copy edited the Canadian Alpine Journal since 2006. Author of three books starring self-propelled mountain adventurers, her most recent is Stories of Ice: Adventure, Commerce and Creativity on Canada’s Glaciers, which weaves together a rich history of Western Canada’s glaciers through the exploits of fascinating individuals—explorers, professional guides, tourism operators, artists, filmmakers and scientists. She is Canada’s Writer in Residence for the UN Year of Glaciers’ Preservation.
It was while skiing across glaciers on her own adventures – camera in hand - that Lynn grew deeply intrigued by gaping crevasses and tottering seracs – glacier ice sculpted and shaped by centuries of snowfall, wind, sun, heat, frost and the pull of gravity. Writing for magazines and newspapers including explore, Gripped, Mountain Life, Alberta Views, Rocky Mountain Outlook and PIQUE Newsmagazine, her interviews expanded to learn from scientists who study our ancient ice, and all the ways we benefit from glaciers and icefields. These experiences have brought her a deep understanding of how Earth’s warming temperatures, exacerbated by burning of fossil fuels, are causing glaciers around the world to melt rapidly.
“I couldn’t stand for our glaciers, and all the ways they contribute to our lives, to simply melt away without anyone recognizing their value not just as critical freshwater reservoirs, but also as the most amazing, spectacular environments to experience firsthand. That’s why I wrote Stories of Ice, and why I love to share my stories and photos with audiences, to hopefully inspire people to fall in love with and become advocates for our magnificent, magical, and melting, glaciers.”