Switchbacks: True Stories from the Rocky Mountains

The Rocky Mountains contain some of the most beautiful and scenic geography in the world. In Switchbacks, Sid Marty presents a collection of interconnected stories drawn from a life in the Rocky Mountains. Marty examines an array of characters living in the shadow of these mountains and details the daily tests of their grueling lives. All nature lovers will enjoy this collection.

In Switchbacks, Sid Marty draws on his own memories and those of friends and former colleagues in relating a series of true mountain tales. Among his subjects are: the old guide who built a staircase up a cliff; the stranded snowshoer who was rescued between rounds of beer in a Banff tavern; the man who catered to hungry grizzlies; an opinionated packrat with a gift for larceny; and a horse named Candy whose heart was as big as a stove.

Along the way, Marty tries to answer the kind of questions that all of us must face some day. Do we really have to "grow up" and abandon adventure as well as youthful ideals? Can the mountains draw old friends back together, when politics and life styles have set them apart?

Sid Marty writes gracefully of the land he loves and lampoons a few bureaucrats whose policies sometimes threaten its integrity. His portraits of the people - and creatures - that make their lives in the mountains are affectionate and respectful. But, above all, this is a collection of engaging, surprising, funny, and superbly told true stories by a gifted writer.

True stories from the Canadian Rockies, as seen through the memories of a Parks Canada Warden. A fabulous collection of anecdotes tied together by the author's love of the mountains, but written as though the reader is already familiar with the Rocky Mountains. If a person does not have this familiarity, the stories loose some of their wonderment, as the reader is left wondering. In that case, check out Marty's Men for the Mountains.

Sid Marty's work has been published in periodicals including Equinox, Canadian Geographic, Reader's Digest, Canadian Business, and National Geographic Traveler. His prose and poetry have been included in a number of literary periodicals and anthologies and his books about life in the mountains and foothills of Canada's west have been consistent bestsellers. Sid Marty lives and writes in the foothills of southwestern Alberta.