The second 2025 Aspen Winter Words event sold out weeks in advance, and it wasn’t a surprise. The Feb. 5 event at The Arts Campus at Willits (TACAW) featured outdoor writer Kevin Fedarko. His second narrative about the Grand Canyon, “A Walk in the Park,” came out in May 2024 and, just a few weeks ago, won the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction.
Fedarko’s best-selling work is especially popular in the Roaring Fork Valley, as the third starring character in “A Walk in the Park” (after the Canyon and Fedarko himself), is local photographer and journalist Pete McBride. Fedarko and McBride have collaborated on multiple projects over the years. “A Walk in the Park” is a 500-page account of the excursion the duo undertook almost a decade ago to commemorate the National Park Service’s centennial. In the early phases of writing the book, Fedarko spent a month in the Valley as a 2018 Aspen Summer Words writer in residence.
At TACAW, Fedarko was interviewed by another friend, local filmmaker and artist Daniel Shaw. Shaw set a comfortable, laughter-filled tone from the start as the pair discussed writing and outdoor stewardship. Early on, Fedarko expressed immense gratitude to the Roaring Fork Valley community for its support in his writing. When the topic turned to him and his actual craft, he squirmed a bit — deflecting compliments and declaring his discomfort for writing in first person singular.
Fedarko held the audience’s rapt attention when advocating for the value of wild spaces and their stewardship. He stated, “Although these lands are handed to us intact by those who came before us, they’re handed to us with a question: What will we do to protect them?”
Fedarko moved to the American West from industrial Pittsburgh, and he spent part of the evening reminding the audience not to take the wilds of the Rockies for granted. He hopes his work will inspire younger generations to get outside and act to protect wild spaces and parks.