December 11, 2020
On a cold night among the formidable glaciated peaks of the Waddington Range on the western edge of B.C., I watched a faint light rise in the sky to the north. I naively assumed it was the glow of a distant city, not a prelude to one of nature’s greatest shows. But then the northern lights began to dance above the expanse of mountains before me. I was awestruck. Although I did not know it on that night 20 years ago, that event — and my month travelling through the province’s Coast Mountains and along the rivers they sustain — sparked a fascination with mountains, and ultimately a research career, that has taken me to mountain ranges all over the world, including the Himalayas, Andes and Alps. To this day, I am humbled by what I encounter in, and learn about, high places.