Boardman Tasker Prize for Mountain Literature
Encyclopedia
The Boardman Tasker Prize for Mountain Literature is an annual prize of £3000 awarded by the Boardman Tasker Charitable Trust to an author or authors for 'an original work which has made an outstanding contribution to mountain literature.' It was established in memory of Peter Boardman
and Joe Tasker
after their deaths on the north-east ridge of Mount Everest
in 1982. It can be awarded for a piece of fiction or non-fiction, poetry or drama, although the work must have been written in (or translated into) English.
The winner was announced on 18 November 2011 at the Kendal Mountain Festival
.
Peter Boardman
Peter Boardman was a British climber, Everest summiteer, and author of several mountaineering books.-Early life:...
and Joe Tasker
Joe Tasker
Joe Tasker was one of the most talented British climbers during the late 1970s and early 1980s. Born into a traditional Roman Catholic family, he was one of ten children and spent his early childhood in Port Clarence, Middlesbrough then attended Ushaw Seminary, County Durham between the ages of 13...
after their deaths on the north-east ridge of Mount Everest
Mount Everest
Mount Everest is the world's highest mountain, with a peak at above sea level. It is located in the Mahalangur section of the Himalayas. The international boundary runs across the precise summit point...
in 1982. It can be awarded for a piece of fiction or non-fiction, poetry or drama, although the work must have been written in (or translated into) English.
2011 shortlist
The five books on the shortlist for the 2011 prize are:- Desert Towers by Steve Bartlett
- Murder in the Hindu Kush by Tim Hannigan
- Shadow of the Matterhorn by Ian Smith
- Freedom Climbers by Bernadette McDonald
- The Sound of Gravity by Joe SimpsonJoe Simpson (mountaineer)Joe Simpson is an English mountaineer, author and motivational speaker. He is best known for his book Touching the Void and the 2003 film adaptation of his book.-Early life:...
The winner was announced on 18 November 2011 at the Kendal Mountain Festival
Kendal Mountain Festival
The Kendal Mountain Festival is an annual festival held in the town of Kendal, England, in the third week of November "to celebrate mountain culture in film, lectures, art and literature"...
.
Winners
- 2011 Bernadette McDonald, Freedom Climbers
- 2010 Ron FawcettRon FawcettRon Fawcett is an English rock climber. He is noted for being amongst the outstanding rock climbers of the 1970s and 1980s, and for being one of the first professional rock climbers....
with Ed Douglas, Ron Fawcett, Rock Athlete - 2009 Steve HouseSteve HouseSteve House is an American professional climber and mountain guide from La Grande, Oregon.-Biography:House earned a Bachelor of Science in ecology from The Evergreen State College in 1995...
, Beyond the Mountain - 2008 Andy KirkpatrickAndrew Kirkpatrick (climber)Andrew Kirkpatrick, usually known as Andy Kirkpatrick, is a British mountaineer, author, motivational speaker and monologist.-Biography:...
, Psychovertical - 2007 Robert MacfarlaneRobert MacfarlaneRobert Macfarlane, , is a British travel writer and literary critic. Educated at Nottingham High School, Pembroke College, Cambridge and Magdalen College, Oxford, he is currently a Fellow of Emmanuel College, Cambridge, and teaches in the Faculty of English at Cambridge.-Books:Macfarlane's first...
, The Wild Places - 2006 Charles Lind, An Afterclap of Fate: Mallory on Everest
- 2005 Andy CaveAndy CaveAndy Cave is a British mountaineer. He was nominated for the Piolet d'Or for his ascent of the North Face of Changabang.-Biography:Born in 1966, Andy Cave grew up in Royston, a small coal mining village in South Yorkshire. On leaving school with few qualifications at 16, he followed family...
, Learning to Breathe - 2005 Jim PerrinJim PerrinJim Perrin is an English rock climber and travel writer.Born in Manchester, Perrin has lived in Wales since the age of 17. Before turning to writing, he worked in Cwm Pennant as a shepherd. As a writer, he has made regular contributions to a number of newspapers and climbing magazines...
, The Villain: The Life of Don Whillans - 2004 Trevor BrahamTrevor BrahamTrevor Braham , is a prominent figure in Himalayan exploration and mountaineering.Braham joined the Himalayan Club in 1946, the Swiss Alpine Club in 1948, and the Alpine Club in 1951...
, When the Alps Cast Their Spell - 2003 Simon MawerSimon MawerSimon Mawer is a British author who currently lives in Italy.-Life and work:Educated at Millfield School in Somerset and at Brasenose College, Oxford, Mawer took a degree in Zoology and has worked as a biology teacher for most of his life. He published his first novel, Chimera, at the...
, The Fall - 2002 Robert Roper, Fatal Mountaineer
- 2001 Roger Hubank, Hazard's Way
- 2000 Peter GillmanPeter GillmanPeter Gillman is a British writer and journalist specialising—but not exclusively—in mountaineering topics. His book, Direttissima; the Eiger Assault, also published under the title, Eiger Direct, co-authored with Dougal Haston, published in 1967, told the story of the ascent of the Eiger North...
and Leni Gillman, The Wildest Dream: Mallory - His Life and Conflicting Passions - 1999 Paul PritchardPaul PritchardPaul Pritchard was one of the leading British climbers of the 1980s and 1990s. He started climbing at 16 in his native Lancashire, and within a year had started to repeat some of the hardest routes in the county, as well as beginning his own additions.Pritchard made many ascents of outstanding...
, The Totem Pole: And a Whole New Adventure - 1998 Peter Steele, Eric Shipton: Everest and Beyond
- 1997 Paul PritchardPaul PritchardPaul Pritchard was one of the leading British climbers of the 1980s and 1990s. He started climbing at 16 in his native Lancashire, and within a year had started to repeat some of the hardest routes in the county, as well as beginning his own additions.Pritchard made many ascents of outstanding...
, Deep Play: A Climber's Odyssey from Llanberis to the Big Walls - 1996 Audrey Salkeld, A Portrait of Leni Riefenstahl
- 1995 Alan Hankinson, Geoffrey Winthrop Young: Poet, Mountaineer, Educator
- 1994 Dermot SomersDermot SomersDermot Somers is an Irish mountaineer, explorer, writer, and broadcaster. He was educated in the Irish-speaking Coláiste Mhuire, Dublin, and graduated from University College Dublin with a BA and HDipEd, and worked for a time as a teacher, before concentrating full-time on writing, broadcasting,...
, At the Rising of the Moon - 1993 Jeff Long, The Ascent
- 1992 Will McLewin, In Monte Viso's Horizon: Climbing All the Alpine 4000m Peaks
- 1991 Alison FellAlison Fell-Life:Alison Fell graduated from Edinburgh Art College and began writing for Scotland Magazine. She moved to London in 1970, where she co-founded the Woman's Street Theatre Group...
, Mer de Glace - 1991 Dave Brown & Ian Mitchell, A View from the Ridge
- 1990 Victor SaundersVictor SaundersVictor Saunders is a British mountaineer and author. He trained as an architect at the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London...
, Elusive Summits - 1989 M. John HarrisonM. John HarrisonM. John Harrison , known as Mike Harrison, is an English author and critic. His work includes the Viriconium sequence of novels and short stories, , Climbers , and the Kefahuchi Tract series which begins with Light . He currently resides in London.-Early years:Harrison was born in Rugby,...
, ClimbersClimbers (novel)Climbers is a literary novel by the British author M. John Harrison.First published in 1989 and apparently set several years earlier, the book had been out of print for several years but was reissued in paperback by Phoenix in 2004. It has attracted considerable critical acclaim and won the... - 1988 Joe SimpsonJoe Simpson (mountaineer)Joe Simpson is an English mountaineer, author and motivational speaker. He is best known for his book Touching the Void and the 2003 film adaptation of his book.-Early life:...
, Touching the VoidTouching the VoidTouching the Void is a 1988 book by Joe Simpson, recounting his and Simon Yates's disastrous and nearly fatal climb of the 6,344-metre Siula Grande in the Peruvian Andes in 1985.... - 1987 Roger Mear & Robert SwanRobert SwanRobert Charles Swan, OBE, FRGS is the first person to walk to both Poles.He was born on 28 July 1956 in Durham, England and attended Aysgarth School and then Sedbergh School before completing a BA degree in Ancient History at St Chad's College, Durham University. He is currently an advocate for...
, In the Footsteps of Scott - 1986 Stephen VenablesStephen VenablesStephen Venables is a British mountaineer and writer, and is a past president of the South Georgia Association and of the Alpine Club.-Mountaineer:...
, Painted Mountains: Two Expeditions to Kashmir - 1985 Jim PerrinJim PerrinJim Perrin is an English rock climber and travel writer.Born in Manchester, Perrin has lived in Wales since the age of 17. Before turning to writing, he worked in Cwm Pennant as a shepherd. As a writer, he has made regular contributions to a number of newspapers and climbing magazines...
, Menlove: The Life of John Menlove Edwards - 1984 Linda Gill, Living High: A Family Trek in the Himalayas
- 1984 Doug ScottDoug ScottDouglas Keith Scott CBE, known as Doug Scott , is an English mountaineer noted for the first ascent of the south-west face of Mount Everest on 24 September 1975. Scott and Dougal Haston were the first Britons to climb Everest during this expedition...
and Alex MacIntyre, The Shishapangma Expedition