Cassidy Randall
@cassidyrandall.bsky.social
Author & journalist writing on adventure, environment & the West. New book THIRTY BELOW out now. www.cassidyr.substack.com.
You guys. I was floored when the jury announced that THIRTY BELOW won the Banff Mountain Book Competition Grand Prize on Thursday. What a hell of an honor. If you haven't read it and want a "propulsive" read, as the jury called it, now's a good time to pick it up!
www.banffcentre.ca/articles/mou...
www.banffcentre.ca/articles/mou...
Thirty Below: The Harrowing and Heroic Story of the First All-Women's Ascent of Denali by Cassidy Randall wins 2025 Banff Mountain Book Competition Grand Prize
We are excited to announce the 2025 Grand Prize Book Competition winner at this year’s 50th anniversary Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival.
www.banffcentre.ca
November 10, 2025 at 8:06 PM
You guys. I was floored when the jury announced that THIRTY BELOW won the Banff Mountain Book Competition Grand Prize on Thursday. What a hell of an honor. If you haven't read it and want a "propulsive" read, as the jury called it, now's a good time to pick it up!
www.banffcentre.ca/articles/mou...
www.banffcentre.ca/articles/mou...
Reposted by Cassidy Randall
Congrats to @cassidyrandall.bsky.social for winning the grand prize at the Banff Mountain Book awards for her excellent book, THIRTY BELOW.
November 8, 2025 at 3:06 AM
Congrats to @cassidyrandall.bsky.social for winning the grand prize at the Banff Mountain Book awards for her excellent book, THIRTY BELOW.
I went looking for the kind of leadership that unites people, and through union, offers a path out of the pressure cooker.
No matter your politics, there is always SOME thing we can find to agree on, that makes us, instead of enemies, a community.
cassidyr.substack.com/p/give-me-th...
No matter your politics, there is always SOME thing we can find to agree on, that makes us, instead of enemies, a community.
cassidyr.substack.com/p/give-me-th...
Give Me the Common Ground
The "us-against-them" rhetoric is metastasizing--and exhausting. What if instead, we started from the places where we (gasp) agree?
cassidyr.substack.com
September 29, 2025 at 10:39 PM
I went looking for the kind of leadership that unites people, and through union, offers a path out of the pressure cooker.
No matter your politics, there is always SOME thing we can find to agree on, that makes us, instead of enemies, a community.
cassidyr.substack.com/p/give-me-th...
No matter your politics, there is always SOME thing we can find to agree on, that makes us, instead of enemies, a community.
cassidyr.substack.com/p/give-me-th...
Reposted by Cassidy Randall
We were excited to see this story from National Geographic about Wendy Johnson, one of the keynote speakers at our upcoming Perennial Farm Gathering! #PFG2026
www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/...
Story by @cassidyrandall.bsky.social
Photos by @renaeffendi.bsky.social
www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/...
Story by @cassidyrandall.bsky.social
Photos by @renaeffendi.bsky.social
Regenerating the soil of America’s heartland
National Geographic photographer Rena Effendi visits the U.S. Midwest to capture how one farmer is restoring her family farm from the ground up—and with support from PepsiCo, helping cultivate the fut...
www.nationalgeographic.com
September 10, 2025 at 4:23 PM
We were excited to see this story from National Geographic about Wendy Johnson, one of the keynote speakers at our upcoming Perennial Farm Gathering! #PFG2026
www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/...
Story by @cassidyrandall.bsky.social
Photos by @renaeffendi.bsky.social
www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/...
Story by @cassidyrandall.bsky.social
Photos by @renaeffendi.bsky.social
Reposted by Cassidy Randall
@cassidyrandall.bsky.social stopped by Pitch Club HQ to talk about her @atavist.com pitch for her story "Alone at the Edge of the World," a story was anthologized in Year's Best Sports Writing 2023.
welcometopitchclub.substack.com/p/how-to-wra...
welcometopitchclub.substack.com/p/how-to-wra...
How to Wrangle the Idea with Cassidy Randall
Cassidy Randall takes us to her Atavist Magazine pitch that earned her a nod in Year's Best Sports Writing 2023.
welcometopitchclub.substack.com
September 2, 2025 at 7:24 PM
@cassidyrandall.bsky.social stopped by Pitch Club HQ to talk about her @atavist.com pitch for her story "Alone at the Edge of the World," a story was anthologized in Year's Best Sports Writing 2023.
welcometopitchclub.substack.com/p/how-to-wra...
welcometopitchclub.substack.com/p/how-to-wra...
Love that my fave piece I've written all year is for our local outlet @thepulp.org. It's about how Missoula landed on the national music map. But it's about so much more than that - including how to preserve the culture and people that give a place its soul.
thepulp.org/empire-state...
thepulp.org/empire-state...
The complicated rise of Missoula's Logjam Presents – The Pulp
Logjam reshaped Missoula’s music scene, bringing big stages and shows, while its corporate playbook drew fire — and lured a much bigger fish.
thepulp.org
August 26, 2025 at 8:44 PM
Love that my fave piece I've written all year is for our local outlet @thepulp.org. It's about how Missoula landed on the national music map. But it's about so much more than that - including how to preserve the culture and people that give a place its soul.
thepulp.org/empire-state...
thepulp.org/empire-state...
My latest for @theguardian.com: locals rallied in Glacier as politicians "championing" public land showcased the park - while doing nothing about the Trump administration’s slashing of jobs & funding that have thrown national parks into crisis.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Protests at Glacier as national parks reel from Trump cuts: ‘They’ve gutted staff, gutted funding’
As Republicans tout their stewardship of public lands, Montana protesters say their park is suffering – and help is urgently needed
www.theguardian.com
August 22, 2025 at 4:30 PM
My latest for @theguardian.com: locals rallied in Glacier as politicians "championing" public land showcased the park - while doing nothing about the Trump administration’s slashing of jobs & funding that have thrown national parks into crisis.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
The first all women's ascent of Denali, 55 years, was an absolutely fantastic story and a wild survival story to boot.
But why had it gone mostly untold, until now? My latest, for REI.
www.rei.com/blog/climb/f...
But why had it gone mostly untold, until now? My latest, for REI.
www.rei.com/blog/climb/f...
www.rei.com
August 5, 2025 at 6:35 PM
The first all women's ascent of Denali, 55 years, was an absolutely fantastic story and a wild survival story to boot.
But why had it gone mostly untold, until now? My latest, for REI.
www.rei.com/blog/climb/f...
But why had it gone mostly untold, until now? My latest, for REI.
www.rei.com/blog/climb/f...
When @be-jammin-polley.bsky.social and I, two adventurers, were planning our honeymoon, it made sense that it should be the most epic adventure we’d undertaken to date. No feather beds and cocktails on beaches for us, we thought.
And then we almost died.
cassidyr.substack.com/p/our-wilder...
And then we almost died.
cassidyr.substack.com/p/our-wilder...
Our Wilderness Honeymoon Almost Killed Us. Literally.
Why it's a good thing to face mortality with your significant other.
cassidyr.substack.com
July 23, 2025 at 7:34 PM
When @be-jammin-polley.bsky.social and I, two adventurers, were planning our honeymoon, it made sense that it should be the most epic adventure we’d undertaken to date. No feather beds and cocktails on beaches for us, we thought.
And then we almost died.
cassidyr.substack.com/p/our-wilder...
And then we almost died.
cassidyr.substack.com/p/our-wilder...
Latest on the column: Writer and REI podcaster Shelby Stanger lives a dream life. But she's honest about the fact that she worked for it, invested in herself, and was entirely motivated to pursue her passion.
cassidyr.substack.com/p/the-secret...
cassidyr.substack.com/p/the-secret...
The Secret To Success Isn't Just Wishing For It
Writer and REI podcaster Shelby Stanger lives a dream life. But she's honest about the fact that she worked for it, invested in herself, and was entirely motivated to pursue her passion.
cassidyr.substack.com
July 9, 2025 at 6:25 PM
Latest on the column: Writer and REI podcaster Shelby Stanger lives a dream life. But she's honest about the fact that she worked for it, invested in herself, and was entirely motivated to pursue her passion.
cassidyr.substack.com/p/the-secret...
cassidyr.substack.com/p/the-secret...
Thank you to @alexhonnold.bsky.social for the most fun interview I've gotten to do yet on THIRTY BELOW. Clearly it was winter when we recorded this...
June 30, 2025 at 1:59 PM
Thank you to @alexhonnold.bsky.social for the most fun interview I've gotten to do yet on THIRTY BELOW. Clearly it was winter when we recorded this...
Latest on my Substack: what our reactive, handful rescue dog taught me about expectation, perfectionism, and how to enter into relationship with other beings. And remembering that none of us mean to mess up (usually). We're all just doing our best.
cassidyr.substack.com/p/how-to-ope...
cassidyr.substack.com/p/how-to-ope...
How to Open to Unexpected Love
What my new handful of a pup taught me about expectation, perfectionism, and entering into relationships with other beings.
cassidyr.substack.com
June 24, 2025 at 8:26 PM
Latest on my Substack: what our reactive, handful rescue dog taught me about expectation, perfectionism, and how to enter into relationship with other beings. And remembering that none of us mean to mess up (usually). We're all just doing our best.
cassidyr.substack.com/p/how-to-ope...
cassidyr.substack.com/p/how-to-ope...
Thanks to @brendanomeara.bsky.social for the chat on The Creative Nonfiction podcast on my latest @atavist.com story. Talking with other writers about writing is always so validating and vindicating and all the other feels solitary writers often need so badly.
brendanomeara.com/the-cassidy-...
brendanomeara.com/the-cassidy-...
Episode 471: The Cassidy Randall Residency at CNF Pod Continues! – Home of The Creative Nonfiction Podcast
brendanomeara.com
June 11, 2025 at 5:42 PM
Thanks to @brendanomeara.bsky.social for the chat on The Creative Nonfiction podcast on my latest @atavist.com story. Talking with other writers about writing is always so validating and vindicating and all the other feels solitary writers often need so badly.
brendanomeara.com/the-cassidy-...
brendanomeara.com/the-cassidy-...
Reposted by Cassidy Randall
If you like a good podcast, well, you're in luck. It's a double-feature Friday and @cassidyrandall.bsky.social is back to talk about her @atavist.com story "The Longest Journey."
Episode 471: The Cassidy Randall Residency at CNF Pod Continues! – Home of The Creative Nonfiction Podcast
brendanomeara.com
June 6, 2025 at 2:52 PM
If you like a good podcast, well, you're in luck. It's a double-feature Friday and @cassidyrandall.bsky.social is back to talk about her @atavist.com story "The Longest Journey."
Need something inspirational in your apocalyptic politics feed? My latest for @rollingstone.com.
www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...
www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...
www.rollingstone.com
June 10, 2025 at 11:20 PM
Need something inspirational in your apocalyptic politics feed? My latest for @rollingstone.com.
www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...
www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...
Reposted by Cassidy Randall
Lena Rowat skied 1,600 grueling miles across the Coast Range to quiet her demons. But she didn’t begin to silence them until tragedy struck. Atavist no. 163, by @cassidyrandall.bsky.social, is here. magazine.atavist.com/the-longest-...
She Completed an Audacious 1,600-Mile Ski Journey. Then Tragedy Struck.
Lena Rowat embarked on what many considered an impossible expedition across the Coast Range mountains to quiet her demons. But she only began to silence them once she lost the love of her young life.
magazine.atavist.com
June 2, 2025 at 3:18 PM
Lena Rowat skied 1,600 grueling miles across the Coast Range to quiet her demons. But she didn’t begin to silence them until tragedy struck. Atavist no. 163, by @cassidyrandall.bsky.social, is here. magazine.atavist.com/the-longest-...
Reposted by Cassidy Randall
Here's a real actual booklist of real actual books about historical adventures in the great outdoors - mine included! 💙📚 I'll add @cassidyrandall.bsky.social's THIRTY BELOW and Jayne Zanglein's THE GIRL EXPLORERS. @bookriot.bsky.social bookriot.com/historical-s...
Historical Nonfiction for Readers Who Crave Adventure
Take a deep dive into the world of historical adventure and survival nonfiction.
bookriot.com
May 31, 2025 at 8:40 PM
Here's a real actual booklist of real actual books about historical adventures in the great outdoors - mine included! 💙📚 I'll add @cassidyrandall.bsky.social's THIRTY BELOW and Jayne Zanglein's THE GIRL EXPLORERS. @bookriot.bsky.social bookriot.com/historical-s...
My latest for @atavist.com: It the greatest ski mountaineering expedition ever. And it was a journey of obsession, depression, love, loss, survival—and the cost of following a drive to go further and higher than anyone had before.
magazine.atavist.com/the-longest-...
magazine.atavist.com/the-longest-...
She Completed an Audacious 1,600-Mile Ski Journey. Then Tragedy Struck.
Lena Rowat embarked on what many considered an impossible expedition across the Coast Range mountains to quiet her demons. But she only began to silence them once she lost the love of her young life.
magazine.atavist.com
May 30, 2025 at 4:54 PM
My latest for @atavist.com: It the greatest ski mountaineering expedition ever. And it was a journey of obsession, depression, love, loss, survival—and the cost of following a drive to go further and higher than anyone had before.
magazine.atavist.com/the-longest-...
magazine.atavist.com/the-longest-...
We live in an era of curated productivity - a time of drinking from a constant fire hose of production.
How do we buck such unsustainable standards? Latest on the Substack.
cassidyr.substack.com/p/the-pressu...
How do we buck such unsustainable standards? Latest on the Substack.
cassidyr.substack.com/p/the-pressu...
The Pressure of Constant Productivity
We live in an era of curated productivity, both work-wise and in nearly every other aspect of life. How do we buck such unsustainable standards?
cassidyr.substack.com
May 14, 2025 at 2:21 PM
We live in an era of curated productivity - a time of drinking from a constant fire hose of production.
How do we buck such unsustainable standards? Latest on the Substack.
cassidyr.substack.com/p/the-pressu...
How do we buck such unsustainable standards? Latest on the Substack.
cassidyr.substack.com/p/the-pressu...
"Once these lands are gone, they're gone forever." That means no more hiking, biking, camping, horseback riding, flyfishing, rafting, or wildlife watching. Latest on my Forbes column.
www.forbes.com/sites/cassid...
www.forbes.com/sites/cassid...
Five Ways Top Summer Vacations Depend On Public Lands
Millions of people plan summer vacations to hike, bike, camp, fish, raft and adventure. Which depends on public lands being staffed, funded—and public in the first place.
www.forbes.com
May 11, 2025 at 1:15 PM
"Once these lands are gone, they're gone forever." That means no more hiking, biking, camping, horseback riding, flyfishing, rafting, or wildlife watching. Latest on my Forbes column.
www.forbes.com/sites/cassid...
www.forbes.com/sites/cassid...
Reposted by Cassidy Randall
Jon Bentzel and Micah Nelson were hiking in Glacier National Park when a grizzly bear attacked Bentzel while protecting her cubs.
www.rollingstone.com/culture/cult...
www.rollingstone.com/culture/cult...
What It's Really Like to Face Off With a Grizzly -- and Live to Tell the Tale
Jon Bentzel and Micah Nelson were hiking in Glacier National Park when a grizzly bear attacked Bentzel while protecting her cubs
www.rollingstone.com
May 11, 2025 at 12:35 AM
Jon Bentzel and Micah Nelson were hiking in Glacier National Park when a grizzly bear attacked Bentzel while protecting her cubs.
www.rollingstone.com/culture/cult...
www.rollingstone.com/culture/cult...
Reposted by Cassidy Randall
Some are willing to muzzle science to seek profit By Benjamin Alva Polley EBS COLUMNIST The current administration is attacking institutions of knowledge, such …
May 9, 2025 at 9:12 PM
Some are willing to muzzle science to seek profit By Benjamin Alva Polley EBS COLUMNIST The current administration is attacking institutions of knowledge, such …
Reposted by Cassidy Randall
In case you just walked in: the mayor of Newark was arrested during a protest at an ICE detention center in his capacity as mayor while requesting access to the facility, which, the city says, failed to obtain required permits or certificate of occupancy.
Gift link:
www.nytimes.com/2025/05/09/n...
Gift link:
www.nytimes.com/2025/05/09/n...
Newark’s Mayor Arrested at Protest Outside ICE Detention Center
www.nytimes.com
May 9, 2025 at 11:27 PM
In case you just walked in: the mayor of Newark was arrested during a protest at an ICE detention center in his capacity as mayor while requesting access to the facility, which, the city says, failed to obtain required permits or certificate of occupancy.
Gift link:
www.nytimes.com/2025/05/09/n...
Gift link:
www.nytimes.com/2025/05/09/n...
I could not be more honored that Thirty Below has been selected as the Town Read at Mountainfilm this year! If you’re in Telluride, come join me at Wilkinson Public Library for some storytelling. So, so excited for this event.
May 8, 2025 at 1:50 PM
I could not be more honored that Thirty Below has been selected as the Town Read at Mountainfilm this year! If you’re in Telluride, come join me at Wilkinson Public Library for some storytelling. So, so excited for this event.
Coming for you Friday night, Whitefish! Thanks to @thepulp.org for publishing an excerpt of THIRTY BELOW ahead of the Whitefish reading. Montana love is the best kind of love.
thepulp.org/thirty-below...
thepulp.org/thirty-below...
No precedent, no permission: The first all-women team to challenge Denali – The Pulp
In a raw and intimate excerpt from “Thirty Below,” Missoula author Cassidy Randall chronicles the tension and triumph of a historic all-women ascent.
thepulp.org
May 7, 2025 at 10:49 PM
Coming for you Friday night, Whitefish! Thanks to @thepulp.org for publishing an excerpt of THIRTY BELOW ahead of the Whitefish reading. Montana love is the best kind of love.
thepulp.org/thirty-below...
thepulp.org/thirty-below...