num_pages: 440
description: With heart-pounding descriptions of avalanches and treacherous ascents Barry Blanchard chronicles his transformation from a poor Native American/white 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 Strathcones 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 familys 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 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
language: English
title: The Calling: A Life Rocked by Mountains
publisher: Patagonia