Culture. Webster’s defines it as the manifestations of human intellectual achievement regarded collectively. Culture is also a perfect way to view and understand a particular group of people or geographic region. It’s a beautiful thought really, understanding and getting to know a place or people by their collective achievements.
Here in the Kootenays much of our everyday life, work, and fun is dominated and dictated by the spectacular geography and natural playground that surrounds us. Indeed whether simply living in their shadow, creating art inspired by them, achieving great feats of human strength and endurance by scaling and descending them in all variety of forms, Kootenay people are a culture defined by our mountains.
Capturing that culture, and publishing it in a high quality magazine over the past decade and a half has in many ways put Kootenay Mountain Culture magazine at the forefront as the true story of record for our region rather than the traditional newspaper.
True to the culture of the region, it was born out of passion and a pioneering, enterprising spirit. Tired of having his freelancing story ideas stolen by other publications, like any true entrepreneur, Peter Moynes of Nelson new there had to be a better way.
15 years later, Kootenay Mountain Culture Magazine has become a legend within and beyond the region and has also expanded to the coast with Coast Mountain Culture and many other publications in between. I sat down with Peter in his home office overlooking Kootenay Lake to dive deep into the motivations, the struggles and the joys of being the mastermind behind capturing the achievements of mountain people and capturing the culture that we all know and love.