2005 Banff Mountain Photography Competition
Best Photo — Yellowstone to Yukon Region
Rob Buchanan: “Sir Donald Range, Rogers Pass, Selkirk Mountains, B.C.”
“The jagged peaks of the Sir Donald Range mark the dividing line between the Selkirk Mountains and the Purcell Mountains in the interior of British Columbia. These rugged peaks — Eagle, Uto and Sir Donald — were the final barriers in 1881 to railroad surveyor Major A.B. Rogers in his quest to find a pass to the east for a Canadian transcontinental railway. The victory he must have felt when, having climbed to the shoulder of Avalanche Peak, he gazed down on the pass that would later bear his name, can only be imagined. Undoubtedly, he enjoyed a well-deserved hunk of hardtack and a plug of chewing tobacco, stroked his dromedary whiskers, muttered some congratulatory profanities as was his custom, and started back on his epic journey to send news of his discovery.”
Rob Buchanan is a professional photographer, graphic artist and editorial cartoonist. As he writes this bio, he is gazing into the Arctic midnight sun from his window in Inuvik, the staging point for a six-week trip documenting the sights and people of the western Arctic. Buchanan’s work has appeared in many publications including National Geographic Adventure, Bike, Powder and the Patagonia catalogues. He has taken photos in Malawi, Africa, for the Canadian Physicians for Aid and Relief and worked in Nepal, Belize and Costa Rica. He currently enjoys the enviable position of photographing, drawing and designing exhibits for Parks Canada. Buchanan lives in Revelstoke, British Columbia, with his wife, Carolyn, and his precocious two-year-old son, McKinley, who is teaching him to see the world with even newer eyes.