Bradford Washburn dies at 96

© Thomas Winship
Mountain cartographer, photographer and explorer Bradford Washburn died January 10, 2007, of heart failure in a retirement home in Lexington, Massachusetts. He was 96.

Born in Boston, MA, in 1910, he began exploring New Hamphire's White Mountains with an ascent of Mount Washington's Tuckerman Ravine, in 1921. He graduated to the Alps in his teens on a family holiday. He made many first ascents and from an early age he was a keen photographer and pioneered aerial mountain photography in the Alps, the Himalaya and particularly Alaska, creating some of the most spectacular images of World's mountains. He was a close friend of Ansel Adams whom he met through the Sierra Club. He was director of Boston's Museum of Science for 40 years, was inducted into the Explorer's Club at age 20 and was a member of the National Geographical Society.

A celebration of Bradford Washburn's life and work can be seen in Bradford Washburn: Mountain Photography by Antony Decaneas published by the Mountaineers Books (website).

His wife, Barbara Washburn, was the first woman to climb Mt. McKinley, Alaska.

You can view a gallery of Bradford Washburn's images here at Outside. Away.com.


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12 Jan, 2007
There's also a link to a gallery of Bradford Washburns's images.
12 Jan, 2007
I remember reading a resume of his career in an old copy of Mountain (??)- really stirring stuff- taking weeks to trek back out from some Alaskan peak, and his photography was excellent.
12 Jan, 2007
There's a book about it, "Escape from Lucania" by David Roberts. Superb stuff. Some of his photography from the 30's is awesome. The camera he used was enormous, and in many cases he was hanging out of a plane while he took the shots. Top Man.
12 Jan, 2007
Responsible for some of the most evocative mountain images of all time. A life well lived - Rest in peace.
13 Jan, 2007
Very sad to hear this - total legend. Imagine being 96yrs of age and able to look back on a life lived like his. I hope, when he shut his eyes for the last time, he was able to do so with complete contentment. Darron
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