"There is only one highest place on Earth"
March 20, 2024 10:16 AM Subscribe
Mountaineer and Cinematographer David Breashears dies at 68
David Breashears, mountaineer and cinematographer who climbed Mt. Everest 5 times and documented the 29.028 foot climb and infamous 1996 tragedy on the mountain in the highest grossing ever IMAX film, died this week at his home in Marblehead MA.
David worked as a cinematographer on over 40 films including Seven Years in Tibet with Brad Pitt and Cliffhanger with Sylvester Stallone. He was also a star of the mountaineering community, known for his skills and minimalist approach to climbing.
Some of David's story is told in Seven Summits a book about the first successful climbs of the highest mountains on all seven continents.
He also created GlacierWorks which, according to its Facebook page, is a nonprofit organization that “highlights changes to Himalayan glaciers through art, science, and adventure.”
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David Breashears, mountaineer and cinematographer who climbed Mt. Everest 5 times and documented the 29.028 foot climb and infamous 1996 tragedy on the mountain in the highest grossing ever IMAX film, died this week at his home in Marblehead MA.
David worked as a cinematographer on over 40 films including Seven Years in Tibet with Brad Pitt and Cliffhanger with Sylvester Stallone. He was also a star of the mountaineering community, known for his skills and minimalist approach to climbing.
Some of David's story is told in Seven Summits a book about the first successful climbs of the highest mountains on all seven continents.
He also created GlacierWorks which, according to its Facebook page, is a nonprofit organization that “highlights changes to Himalayan glaciers through art, science, and adventure.”
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posted by From Bklyn at 11:42 AM on March 20
posted by From Bklyn at 11:42 AM on March 20
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However, the top of Mount Chimborazo is the place on Earth closest to the stars.
posted by Rufous-headed Towhee heehee at 12:26 PM on March 20
However, the top of Mount Chimborazo is the place on Earth closest to the stars.
posted by Rufous-headed Towhee heehee at 12:26 PM on March 20
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posted by JoeXIII007 at 3:52 PM on March 20
posted by JoeXIII007 at 3:52 PM on March 20
incredible person. a real hero on the hill in '96. here's an anecdote:
I used to bartend. And i don't really like sports or garbage on tv; patience, this becomes interesting. I'd meet a lot of people. There's a small-ish sherpa community here. There's a terrific restaurant and an import shop downtown. Like a lot of immigrant communities, they support a conduit to bring relatives, colleagues, friends, and neighbors. This is a launching point for experienced mountaineers, climbing sherpas, to establish themselves as guides in the wealthy mountain towns.
So I'm tending bar and watching an everest doc on the TV. Afternoon shift, plenty of time to lean. In comes a Nepalese guy, we get to chatting, he's half distracted by the TV. He's a climbing sirdar, the top Sherpa on a high altitude climbing team. I'm a small-peak bagger, bit of an armchair mountaineer. So I love meeting this guy and talking. I bring up '96. Breashear's name comes up.
He says, "I'm Jangbu Sherpa, I'm David's climbing sirdar. I give him a little, side-eye. And he says, "no really, look at the tv. That's me, on the left, fixing ropes up high."
I look over, and damn if it wasn't him. High up on the hill, maybe lhotse face. "I was there in '96, with david, helping on the imax, then the rescue."
OK, this. Is. Really. Cool.
We talk some more, mostly me peppering him with questions. After a little while, he points at the Foster's oilcan in the cooler behind me.
"One time, I slammed a Foster's at 20, 000 feet."
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posted by j_curiouser at 8:05 PM on March 20 [7 favorites]
I used to bartend. And i don't really like sports or garbage on tv; patience, this becomes interesting. I'd meet a lot of people. There's a small-ish sherpa community here. There's a terrific restaurant and an import shop downtown. Like a lot of immigrant communities, they support a conduit to bring relatives, colleagues, friends, and neighbors. This is a launching point for experienced mountaineers, climbing sherpas, to establish themselves as guides in the wealthy mountain towns.
So I'm tending bar and watching an everest doc on the TV. Afternoon shift, plenty of time to lean. In comes a Nepalese guy, we get to chatting, he's half distracted by the TV. He's a climbing sirdar, the top Sherpa on a high altitude climbing team. I'm a small-peak bagger, bit of an armchair mountaineer. So I love meeting this guy and talking. I bring up '96. Breashear's name comes up.
He says, "I'm Jangbu Sherpa, I'm David's climbing sirdar. I give him a little, side-eye. And he says, "no really, look at the tv. That's me, on the left, fixing ropes up high."
I look over, and damn if it wasn't him. High up on the hill, maybe lhotse face. "I was there in '96, with david, helping on the imax, then the rescue."
OK, this. Is. Really. Cool.
We talk some more, mostly me peppering him with questions. After a little while, he points at the Foster's oilcan in the cooler behind me.
"One time, I slammed a Foster's at 20, 000 feet."
.
posted by j_curiouser at 8:05 PM on March 20 [7 favorites]
Around about the same time as a lot of people, I got hooked on reading about Everest, largely because of Into Thin Air. From there, I ended up reading some of the "competing" versions of events, some of the historical accounts of other climbs (Everest, The West Ridge is still on my shelf), and then Brashears' autobiography, High Exposure, which, among other stories, talks about the 96 disaster, and how he was filming at the time, dropped pretty much everything and took part in the rescue. It was a fascinating read, and an account of an amazing life.
It says a lot about his level of skill that he managed to die at home, and a lot about how respected he was from all the voices coming forward to pay their respects.
posted by Ghidorah at 5:53 AM on March 21 [3 favorites]
It says a lot about his level of skill that he managed to die at home, and a lot about how respected he was from all the voices coming forward to pay their respects.
posted by Ghidorah at 5:53 AM on March 21 [3 favorites]
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