Lamont magazine is only in its second edition but it already feels like it has become an institution in the Australian alpine community. Issue #2 is now available free at a wide range of city and mountain outlets (check here for locations) and has a great cross section of stories, largely focused on people who have turned their passion for the mountains into lifelong connection.

As editor Mandy Lamont says in the introduction, the magazine is ‘becoming more of what I want it to be, with more pages, more stories, more contributors and more mountains’.

The magazine has a good range of profiles on people who are well known personalities, like Bill Barker, the legendary head of the Mt Hotham ski patrol. There is a short piece on Disabled Wintersport Australia, the new ski film from Nat and Anna Segal, profiles of skier Britt Cox and photographer Sarah Hatton, and a reflection on the awesome winter of 2017.

There’s also a good story on a new guided splitboarding operation that’s started up in NSW, and a profile on sit skier Sam Tait, a couple of stories on overseas skiing destinations and a quick historical summary of the influence of post WW2 European immigrants on the development of the Australian skiing scene and more.

Given what we know about the pressing reality of climate change impacts on the mountains we love, its time for all of us to take our personal responsibility seriously. So I always feel a bit sad when I see publications promoting high consumption lifestyles like taking the helicopter from Falls Creek to Hotham. But as a celebration of the diversity of Australian alpine culture, the magazine sits up there with the best mountain publications from around the world.

Grab a copy and enjoy the read – and the lovely pics of local mountains, which are as much a part of the story as the people featured in these pages.