“Join us for a Fireside Chat with Steve Swenson and Barry Blanchard, moderated by local author Nikki Tate!
When: October 27 | 6:30 - 8:00pm
Where: Friends Program Room
Steve Swenson and Barry Blanchard, two great raconteurs and world-renowned mountaineers, will be joining local author Nikki Tate for an evening of storytelling and mountain wisdom.
Barry Blanchard’s new book, The Echo, has just been released and is full of the honesty, wit, and insight that we have come to expect when Bubba shares his adventures on the page.
Steve Swenson’s epic, Karakorum: Climbing Through the Kashmir Conflict, reflects not only on his more than 1200 days of climbing in the Karakorum Range, but also on the troubled politics of the region. Hear all about the adventures, adversities, and accomplishments that form the foundations upon which these two legends have built their lives.
Steve Swenson
Steve Swenson grew up in Seattle and started climbing in the nearby Cascade Mountains at age 14. Over the last sixty years, he has completed over twenty expeditions to South Asia, including ascents of K2 and Everest without supplemental oxygen. He was also part of a team that won the 2012 Piolet d’Or award for the first ascent of Saser Kangri II (7518 meters) and a team that won the 2020 Piolet d’Or for the first ascent of Link Sar (7041m). Steve graduated from the University of Washington with a degree in Civil Engineering and retired after a 35-year consulting career in project management, design, policy making, finance, and communications related to water and wastewater infrastructure projects. He has served on several nonprofit boards since his retirement and has expertise in governance, fundraising, and strategic planning. Steve is married and has two sons. His book, Karakoram, Climbing Through the Kashmir Conflict, was published by Mountaineers Books in 2017.
Barry Blanchard
Canadian Mountain Guide and alpinist, Barry Blanchard, was born in Calgary in 1959. Twelve years later, he and two friends navigated the Bow River through the western side of the city on a raft made of railway ties, with Barry at the helm. Barry first discovered 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 part of his professional life has included working on various Hollywood feature films. Barry lives in Canmore with his fiancé, Nicole, and his two daughters, Rosemary and Eowyn, as well as their cats, Orion and Lemmy, and dog, Strummer.
Moderated by Nikki Tate
Nikki Tate has lived in the Bow Valley on and off since 1969. The great outdoors never fail to inspire her and she enjoys, among other things, horseback riding, sailing, rock climbing, cross-country skiing, and hiking.
Nikki is the author of more than three dozen books (including Writer on Fire: Poetry Prompts to Inspire the Poet Within, co-authored with Carol Thornton, another Canmore author), several thousand articles and blog posts, a couple of short screenplays (including Spindrift: The Barry Blanchard Story), as well as works for the stage.
Nikki loves to tell stories in a wide range of genres and for all ages. As the founder of the Writers on Fire writing group, she is also passionate about helping others find the best way to tell their own stories.
Connect with Nikki:
IG: @writergrrrl
FB: /WritersOnFire
Blog: nikkitate.substack.com”
Hosted by the Canmore Public Library.