Canadian mountain guide and alpinist, Barry Blanchard, was born in Calgary on March 29, 1959. Twelve years later, when 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 has enjoyed some success:

More importantly, Barry has enjoyed all of his outings, even the ones not included in the narrow definition of “success.” 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 K-2, Cliffhanger, and The Vertical Limit in his professional life. Barry lives in Canmore, Alberta, with his partner, Nicole, his two daughters Rosemary and Eowyn, and their cat Orion.