The Calling - by Barry Blanchard (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

"I hurt, therefore I am."

"The Calling is sure to make any reader with a shred of adventurous inclination wish to have climbed with Mr. Blanchard during the storm years of his strength." -- Wall Street Journal

"An extraordinarily well-written mountaineering memoir. -- Foreword Reviews

"I laughed. I cried. I thought about life. I couldn't put down [this] long-awaited memoir." -- Rocky Mountain Outlook

"A memoir that reads like a conversation over beers around the campfire, deep into the night." -- Thecampsiteblog.com

With heart-pounding descriptions of avalanches and treacherous ascents, Barry Blanchard chronicles his transformation from a poor kid from the wrong side of the tracks to one of the most respected alpinists in the world.

At thirteen, he learned to rappel when he joined the 1292 Lord Strathcone's Horse Army Cadets. Soon kicked out for insubordination, he was already hooked on climbing and saw alpinism as a way to make his single mother proud and end his family's cycle of poverty.

He describes early climbs attempted with nothing to guide him but written trail descriptions and the cajones of youth. He slowly acquires the skills, equipment and partners necessary to tackle more and more difficult climbs, farther and farther afield: throughout the Canadian Rockies, into Alaska and the French Alps and on to Everest, Peru, and the challenging mountains in Pakistan. From each he learns lessons that only nature and extreme endeavor can teach.

This is the story of the culture of climbing in the days of punk rock, spurred on by the rhythm of adrenaline and the arrogance of youth. It is also a portrait of the power of the mountains to lift us - physically, emotionally, intellectually, spiritually - and the depths of relationships based on total trust in the person at the other end of a rope.

With an accompanying playlist of classic punk and rock 'n' roll, includes climbs with renowned alpinists such as Kevin Doyle, Mark Twight, David Cheesmond, and Ward Robinson.

Review Quotes

Winner for The Boardman-Tasker Prize for Mountain Literature, 2015

Finalist, Banff Mountain Book and Film Festival, Adventure Memoir, 2014

"The Calling is sure to make any reader with a shred of adventurous inclination wish to have climbed with Mr. Blanchard during the storm years of his strength. Once upon a time, the classics of the genre impelled Barry Blanchard into the alpine game. It is as inevitable as one of his cherished mountain sunrises that some young men and women will glean the same inspiration from The Calling." -- Wall Street Journal

"A legacy of technical and literary pioneers in alpine climbing in this extraordinarily well-written mountaineering memoir." -- Foreword Magazine

"Certainly not disappointed by the tales of climbing, I was also deeply impressed by the bravery, quality, tenderness, and vulnerability of Blanchard's writing." -- Elevationoutdoors.com

"What makes The Calling powerful is the fact that Blanchard does not varnish the story of where his chosen path takes him. As a result, the narrative is at times heartbreaking. The closeness that Blanchard discovers with certain climbing partners becomes painfully obvious as they are killed in accidents." -- Adventure Sports Journal

"I laughed. I cried. I thought about life. I couldn't put down [this] long-awaited memoir." -- Rocky Mountain Outlook

"A memoir that reads like a conversation over beers around the campfire, deep into the night. It offers the reader intimacy, captivating stories, and a unique chance to get the know the man described as Canada's best alpinist. Blanchard is a solid writer, and while he is already known for his poetic, descriptive prose, it shines in his first, full-length book." -- thecampsiteblog.com

"Blanchard the master-storyteller writes as Blanchard the young alpinist climbed: passionately, full of heart. These stories are raw and superbly entertaining. Blanchard chronicles the "I hurt, therefore I am" era of mountain climbing." -- Steve House, alpinist, author, Training for the New Alpinism and Beyond the Mountain

"Blanchard describes the essence of an era when climbing was dangerous and sex was safe. Like listening to classic rock music, Barry's writing is just something I couldn't stop reading; it makes me feel good. Keep rockin'" -- Marko Prezelj, alpinist, photographer

"Blanchard is a great storyteller, and through his vivid characters and dramatic adventures he takes us on a journey through his early climbs in the Canadian Rockies to his later alpine-style ascents in the Himalaya. It's a compelling book. I couldn't put it down." -- Steve Swenson, alpinist

"Blanchard's story of how, after growing up in a broken family on the prairies, he found his purpose and meaning in the mountains. Told through raw dialogue and striking images, what shines throughout is the respect and love Barry bears for his climbing partners. For Barry, sharing a rope on a mountain is emblematic of a deeply lived friendship." -- Raphael Slawinski, alpinist

"Conservative librarians are going to hate this book. The rest of us will love it. Sex (first time), drugs, (oxygen deprivation and others) and rock and roll (OK, more punk than pure rock, but definitely full volume), all against a backdrop of hard climbing on the world's wildest peaks. This is a story of brothers putting it all out there together, to a soundtrack of full-bore punk, sex and wild mountains." -- Will Gadd, climber, host of documentary series Fearless Planet

About the Author

Canadian Mountain Guide and alpinist, Barry Blanchard, was born in Calgary, March 29, 1959. Twelve years later three boys navigated the Bow River through the western side of the city on a raft of nailed together railway ties, Barry was at the helm steering the adventure. He found mountain climbing in the books of his high school library, some of which are still in his possession. A six-month trip to the French Alps in 1980 set the course of Barry's life: to climb the steepest and most complicated faces of the world's great glaciated peaks. Barry moved to the mountains in 1982 to pursue his Mountain Guiding career (he is an internationally certified -UIAGM- mountain guide) and has included making Hollywood features such as K2, Cliffhanger, and The Vertical Limit in his professional life. Barry lives in Canmore, Alberta, with his fiancé, Nicole, and his two daughters, Rosemary and Eowyn, and cats, Orion and Lemmy, and dog, Strummer.

Jeremy Dean (cover artist) has had a mildly successful career over the past 30 years as a designer, typographer and creative director. Starting his career at International type foundry House Industries, Jeremy was the first design hire before graduating from college as well as the first to leave. His time in the industry later took him from varied Art Director and Creative Director roles in corporate America. In early 2017 Jeremy struck out on his own, and currently manages a roster of clients that have included the Rolling Stones, John Mayer, Dead & Company, Green Day, Phish, Nike, K2, and Stella McCartney, under the studio name D.E.S. His "Wonders of Black Flag" t-shirt/art project has built a cult following over the past few years with releases selling out in a matter of minutes much to the dismay of frustrated customers.