David Breashears was a mountaineer and filmmaker who directed the IMAX film “Everest” and was the first American to reach the mountain’s summit twice (and five times overall).
- Died: March 14, 2024 (Who else died on March 14?)
- Details of death: Died in Marblehead, Massachusetts, at the age of 68.
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David Breashears’ legacy
For most people, reaching the summit of Mount Everest would be a once-in-a-lifetime achievement. Breashears did it five times out of eight expeditions overall. He reached the famous peak for the first time in 1983. He did so again two years later and became the first American to summit Everest twice. When he returned to the peak in 1996, he did so with IMAX cameras – another first. His efforts resulted in the film “Everest,” a 1998 film that became the highest grossing documentary shot in the IMAX format.
Breashears also broadcast the first live audio webcast from the summit in 1997, during the making of “Everest: The Death Zone” for “NOVA.” He also took part in the 2008 “Frontline” documentary, “Storm Over Everest,” and contributed to Hollywood films such as “Cliffhanger” and “Seven Years in Tibet.”
Breashears was the founder of the nonprofit group GlacierWorks, which works to spotlight climate change. He coauthored “High Exposure: An Enduring Passion for Everest and Unforgiving Places” with Jon Krakauer, and both “Kilimanjaro: To the Roof of Africa” and “Last Climb: The Legendary Everest Expeditions of George Mallory” with Audrey Salkeld. He was also the director of the travel firm Destination Himalaya.
Tributes to David Breashears
Full obituary: Outside Online
