Bernadette McDonald is the founder and former vice president of the Mountain Culture Division at The Banff Centre. She was director of the Banff Mountain Film Festival for 20 years and was founding director of the Banff Mountain Book Festival. She is a founding member of the International Alliance for Mountain Film and was an invited speaker at the General Assembly of the United Nations in 2001 to launch the International Year of Mountains. In 2006, she was awarded the King Albert award for her contributions to the global mountain community. As an author and editor, her book projects include "Voices From the Summit: The World’s Great Mountaineers on the Future of Climbing," "Extreme Landscape," "Whose Water Is It" and "I’ll Call You in Kathmandu: the Elizabeth Hawley Story." Bernadette is an avid climber, hiker and skier and travels the world in search of warm rock and deep snow. Her newest book, "Brotherhood of the Rope," profiles the extraordinary life of Charlie Houston.