Walking Up and Down in the World : Memories of a Mountain Rambler [Hardcover]

Smoke Blanchard (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 299 pages
• Publisher: Random House, Inc.; 1st Edition.1p edition (December 12, 1984)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0871568276
• ISBN-13: 978-0871568274
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 5.9 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,400,885 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hit the trails "smoking", May 4, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Walking Up and Down in the World : Memories of a Mountain Rambler (Hardcover)

this is quite an adventure for someone who has only hike locally in the Cascade Mountains. It is a great way to relax at the end of the day, after sitting at my desk in downtown Seattle all day. I even find my mind wandering-pretending that I am with Smoke on his advenures. Do yourself a favor and take a hike---with Smoke!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Intriguing rambles, April 11, 2002

By 

Suzanne Allen (Seattle, WA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Walking Up and Down in the World : Memories of a Mountain Rambler (Hardcover)

Smoke's stories are as amusing and intriguing as his style is at once eloquent and personal. He seems to write, not to tell what he has done, but to recount familiar tales to the curious listener. His adventures in the mountains of California, Alaska, Nepal, and everywhere in between are not told in high-action style. Instead, he enjoys the telling of adventures past and current, inviting the reader to take a hand in the making of their own experiences.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Up or down, it is all the same now...", March 23, 2006

By 

Matt Talley - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Walking Up and Down in the World : Memories of a Mountain Rambler (Hardcover)

This book languished on my shelf for over a year until I'd had my fill of fiction for a while and turned to Smoke's book as a possible literary escape into the mountains. Ten pages in, I was hooked and the more of it that I read the more I wanted to know. Mr. Blanchard's tales of old-school climbing and mountaineering on Mt. Hood were enthralling. The book goes on to detail his walks, climbs and bicycle rides in the Sierra's, Alaska, India, Japan, and Nepal - among other places. It details his friendship with uber-mountaineer, Norman Clyde and his wanderings with so many notable mountaineers and climbers of the day. His writing style was humble, yet often very amusing, like it seems he himself was. His tale isn't told with the usual balls-out - `We almost freaking died!' inflection that seems to be the trap of many of today's travel/adventure writers. Instead of leaving me breathless, Walking Up and Down in this World left me with a smirking smile and a want to take a week off from work, strap on my crampons, and head up into the winter clouds and snows of the high Sierras. The book is a good read and I highly recommend it to anyone who climbs in the California Sierras, boulders in the Buttermilks, or just want to read about an extraordinary mountaineer and trekker.