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By Associated Press and James Gordon for Dailymail.com
05:51 March 17, 2024, updated 05:51 March 17, 2024
- Renowned mountaineer, author and filmmaker David Breashears, known for co-directing a 1998 IMAX documentary about Everest, has died at age 68.
- Breashears reached the summit of Everest five times and founded GlacierWorks to address the impact of climate change on Himalayan glaciers.
- Its pioneering achievements include broadcasting live television images from the summit of Everest in 1983.
David Breashears, a climber, author and filmmaker who co-directed and co-produced a 1998 IMAX documentary about climbing Mount Everest, has died, his business manager confirmed Saturday. He was 68 years old.
Breashears was found unresponsive at his home in Marblehead, Massachusetts, on Thursday, Ellen Golbranson said.
She said he died of natural causes, but “the exact cause of death remains unknown at this time.”
Breashears was one of the most influential Americans in the world of Himalayan mountaineering and reached the summit of Mount Everest five times, including with the IMAX camera in 1996, his family said.
“He combined his passion for climbing and photography to become one of the world’s most admired adventure filmmakers,” the family said in a written statement.
In 2007, Breashears founded GlacierWorks, which describes itself on Facebook as a nonprofit that “highlights changes in Himalayan glaciers through art, science and adventure.”
“With GlacierWorks, he used his experience in climbing and photography to create unique records that reveal the dramatic effects of climate change on the historic mountain range,” his family said.
In 1983, Breashears broadcast the first live television images from the summit of Everest.
Two years later, in 1985, he became the first American citizen to reach the summit twice.
Breashears and his crew were filming the Everest documentary when a blizzard hit the mountain on May 10, 1996, killing eight climbers.
He and his crew stopped filming to help the climbers.
His IMAX film chronicles his 1996 expedition to the summit with fellow American guide Ed Viesturs.
It explored the training mountaineers endure before their expeditions and the dangers they encounter on their way to the summit.
The film Everest generated more than $120 million in revenue and transformed Breashears into something of a celebrity.
Over the decade, Breashears helped millions of people learn about Mount Everest through his films and broadcasts.
Breashears, who grew up in Boulder, Colorado, said he was the 135th person to reach the top of the world and that the experience changed him forever.
‘If we look back to 1983, it almost seems quaint. “We had the entire south side of the mountain to ourselves, and not only did I know who my teammates were, but I also knew that they had come to Everest with careful preparation, experience, and extensive training to climb it,” he said. First line.
“I remember feeling much closer to the mountain then, more in tune with the experience.”