Utah's Wasatch Range: Four Season Refuge

"The Wasatch Mountains are a love worth sharing, and Utah's Wasatch Range is definitely a book worth sharing."
—Terry Tempest Williams

Howie Garber has photographed Utah's Wasatch Range for 25 years and received national and international awards for his images. His photographs in Utah's Wasatch Range: Four Season Refuge capture the spirit of this major American mountain range in every season and illuminate his love for these peaks and canyons.

This book tells the story of our relationship with these mountains—the alpine backdrop and watershed for Salt Lake City and other Wasatch Front communities, a wilderness rising in the backyards of more than 80 percent of Utah citizens. And so Garber includes people in his photos—joyfully skiing, climbing, hiking, and living in the Wasatch. Essays by 23 Utah writers, scientists, and elected officials complement Garber's photos. One theme links their passionate words: conservation. They love this place and struggle to balance recreation growth, precious water supply, and a sustainable future for ski resorts (including Snowbird, Alta, Brighton, Solitude, The Canyons, Deer Valley, and Park City). Proposed ski resort expansion has made the Wasatch Utah's version of the Gaza Strip—every inch of land is contested. Private land without water rights and wilderness both hang in the balance.

Garber's lyrical and dramatic photographs and the eloquent words of these Wasatch writers work together to celebrate the diversity and fragility of one small mountain range that does so much for so many. Utah's Wasatch Range admirably succeeds in several ambitions. This is the culminating portfolio of a serious artist, a guide to the natural and human history of a wild landscape, and an exploration of our responsibility as 21st Century citizens to protect and preserve a threatened landscape. For locals and visitors alike, this is the book for the Wasatch. Contributing writers include: Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker; trails advocate Sarah Bennett; conservationists Joan Degiorgio and Jen Clancy; Save Our Canyons co-founders Gale Dick and Alexis Kelner; legendary skier Andrew McLean; outdoor industry leader Peter Metcalf; Bonneville Shoreline Trail activist Rick Reese; and writer and photographer Stephen Trimble.