Ben Gadd, 60, has lived in Jasper, Alberta since 1980. The author of Handbook of the Canadian Rockies, which has sold over 50,000 copies, Ben has written six other books and contributed to several more. His first novel, Raven’s End, has become an award-winning Canadian best-seller. It has also has been translated into German, Italian, Dutch and Danish for sale in Europe, and also into Japanese. Ben has received three Banff Mountain Book Festival awards.
Ben is a recognized authority on the Rocky Mountains. Educated as a geologist, he has pursued a career in natural history, working in the summer as a freelance interpretive guide in Jasper National Park—a job he describes as “rent-a-naturalist”—and in the winter as a writer and lecturer on Rockies topics. He also teaches writing courses for Grant MacEwan College.
A member of several conservation groups, Ben advocates for the mountain national parks, attending hearings, making representations on park-protection issues and speaking up publicly as required.
Ben is the founder of the non-profit Jasper Institute, which offers natural-history courses to park visitors. He designs nature trails, produces interpretive signage and consults with protected-area managers. Heard frequently on CBC radio, he has also appeared in many television items and several documentaries on the Rockies.
When not otherwise occupied, Ben hikes, bikes, climbs and cross-country skis in the mountains he loves best. Married over forty years, he and Cia have two adult sons.
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