Product details
- ISBN 9781952338410
- Dimensions: 152 x 228mm
- Publication Date: 05 Nov 2026
- Publisher: Patagonia Books
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Paperback
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"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.
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.
