Blehm, Eric 1969-

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Blehm, Eric 1969-

PERSONAL:

Born 1969; married; children: a son. Education: San Diego State University, B.A. (with honors), 1994.

ADDRESSES:

Agent—Christy Fletcher, The Carriage House, 121 E. 17th St., New York, NY 10003. E-mail—[email protected]; [email protected].

CAREER:

Writer, journalist, editor, and consultant. Snowboarding Business magazine, managing editor, 1993-95; Snowborading, magazine, editor-in-chief, 1995-1998; freelance writer, c. 2000—. Also works as editorial consultant and writer for various clients, including MTV, the U.S. Army, ESPN, Burton Snow-boards, Ford Motor Company, Patagonia, Gatorade, K2 Snowboards, Colorado Ski Country USA, Marmot, DC Shoes, Whistler/Blackcomb Resorts, Winterstick, 900 Entertainment, The Board Channel, Mammoth Mountain, Abercrombie and Fitch, Aspen Mountain, Vail, Telluride, Steamboat, Winterpark, Copper Mountain, and TransWorld Media.

MEMBER:

Kappa Tau Alpha.

AWARDS, HONORS:

William Randolph Hearst Award for Excellence in feature writing, for "The Darkest White."

WRITINGS:

(Editor and contributor) Agents of Change: The Story of DC Shoes and Its Athletes, ReganBooks (New York, NY), 2003.

(With Todd Richards) P3: Pipes, Parks, and Powder, ReganBooks (New York, NY), 2003.

The Last Season, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2006.

Author of the script RIDE, which has been optioned by Bandeira Entertainment. Contributor to anthologies, including Patagonia: Notes from the Field, Chronicle Books, and Ultimate Snowboarding, Carlton Books; contributor to periodicals, including Powder, Outside, POV, Blue, Abercrombie and Fitch Quarterly, Men's Journal, Climbing, Spin, Playboy, Mountain Sports Europe, and Hemisphere.

SIDELIGHTS:

Eric Blehm is a journalist and writer who often writes about snowboarding and numerous other outdoor activities. In his book, The Last Season, Blehm tells the story of Randy Morgenson, an experienced backcountry ranger who disappeared in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. (His body was found five years later.) Drawing from Morgenson's journals, Blehm recounts the ranger's life and career and delves into the questions surrounding his disappearance. For example, Morgenson had become disillusioned with life after his father's death and an extramarital affair was ending his marriage, leading some to believe that he may have committed suicide. A Publishers Weekly contributor wrote that the Blehm was successful "in creating an empathetic portrayal of Morgenson and … the taxing, underappreciated calling to which he dedicated himself." Nancy Moeckel, writing in the Library Journal, called The Last Season an "impossible-to-put-down account." Referring to the book as a "probing account," a Kirkus Reviews contributor called The Last Season a "compelling portrait of a man who perhaps loved the wilderness too much." In a review in Audubon, Todd Neale commented: "The search drives the engrossing narrative forward at the speed of a best-selling thriller." Blehm is also author, with snowboarder Todd Richards, of Richards's autobiography titled P3: Pipes, Parks, and Powder. David Pitt, writing in Booklist, referred to the autobiography "just the thing for snowboarding fans."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Audubon, March-April, 2006, Todd Neale, review of The Last Season, p. 103.

Booklist, December 1, 2003, David Pitt, review of P3: Pipes, Parks, and Powder, p. 635; February 15, 2006, David Pitt, review of The Last Season, p. 23.

Kirkus Reviews, February 15, 2006, review of The Last Season, p. 167.

Library Journal, May 15, 2006, Nancy Moeckel, review of The Last Season, p. 127.

Publishers Weekly, February 6, 2006, review of The Last Season, p. 56.