Kathy Calvert grew up in the Canadian Rockies. In 1974 she became one of the first female national park wardens in Canada; in 1977 she was a member of the first all-women expedition to Mount Logan; and in 1989 she was on the first all-women ski traverse of the Columbia Mountains from the Bugaboos to Rogers Pass. She is the author of four books: Don Forest: Quest for the Summits, Guardians of the Peaks: Mountain Rescue in the Canadian Rockies and Columbia Mountains, June Mickle: One Woman's Life in the Foothills and Mountains of Western Canada, and Ya Ha Tinda: A Home Place - Celebrating 100 Years of the Canadian Government's Only Working Horse Ranch. She and her husband, Dale Portman, live in Cochrane, Alberta.