(1888PressRelease)
January 18, 2007 - Golden, Colorado - With great regret and sympathy for the family, the Bradford Washburn American Mountaineering Museum is saddened to announce the passing of one of America’s pioneers of mountaineering, photography, and cartography, Bradford Washburn.
Washburn, who served as the Director of the Boston Museum of Science from 1939 to 1980, passed away on January 10 at a retirement home in Lexington, Mass. He was 96.
In 1951, having climbed Mt. McKinley twice before, Washburn joined an historic expedition of the Colorado Mountain Club to pioneer an ascent up the Kahiltna Glacier on the western side of the mountain. He had studied aerial photographs for fifteen years before joining Barry Bishop and Henry Buchtel, among others, on this first ascent of the West Buttress.
An honorary member of the American Alpine Club, Washburn was an active mountain climber and made a number of first ascents with guides in the Alps and with friends in North America. He has been honored by the Royal Geographic Society and the National Geographic Society for his contributions to exploration and cartography.
Along with his wife, Barbara, Washburn climbed, trekked, and flew over the Alaska Range beginning in the 1930s, returning nearly every year for the next 60 years. The aerial photographs he created with large format cameras are part strict documentation, part geometrical abstraction. Washburn’s images have served as detailed “topos” for climbers looking for new routes. “My partners and I relied on those photos for our new route explorations in Alaska. We owed so much to Brad that we named a route after him, the Washburn Face on Denali, which we climbed in 1988,” says executive director of the American Alpine Club, Phil Powers.
After founding the modern Boston Museum of Science, Washburn transformed a modest collection into a renowned institution, and authored many distinctive maps of our time, including those of Mt. Washington, Mount McKinley, and Mt. Everest.
His devotion to mountains and mountaineering will live on in the American Mountaineering Museum named in his honor.
About the Bradford Washburn American Mountaineering Museum
Opening in early 2008, the Bradford Washburn American Mountaineering Museum is devoted to the stories of mountains and mountaineers. The only museum of its type in the United States, the museum will introduce visitors to the world of mountain and rock climbing and honor the achievements of mountaineers from America and around the world. Exhibits on climate, science, cultures and the humanities as they relate to mountains promise to make the visitor experience exciting and interactive.
About The American Alpine Club
Founded in 1902, the not-for-profit American Alpine Club is the premier national organization in the United States devoted to mountaineering, rock climbing and the multitude of issues facing climbers. For more than 100 years, the AAC has led mountaineering adventure, scientific research and education in the U.S. The Club’s active membership ranges from beginning climbers to a “who’s who” of the world’s most experienced mountaineers, working together to cultivate mountaineering and fellowship among climbers. The organization’s dedication to education drives dissemination of knowledge, continued study and scientific exploration of the high mountains of the world, from the Arctic to Antarctic circles.
The AAC’s world-renowned American Alpine Club Library, founded in 1916, is one of the oldest and most complete alpine research facilities in the United States. Operating in partnership with the Colorado Mountain Club, and located alongside an indoor climbing wall at the AAC Headquarters in Golden, Colorado (with branches in California and Wyoming), the library educates students and other visitors, hosting conferences and symposia. The American Alpine Club produces a variety of publications for the climbing community, including the American Alpine Journal, the premiere record of significant mountaineering and long rock climbing ascents worldwide. For more information on the AAC, and to learn how to become active in the organization and the sport of climbing, visit the AAC Web site at www.AmericanAlpineClub.org.
About the Colorado Mountain Club
The Colorado Mountain Club (CMC) is the oldest outdoor education, recreation, and conservation organization in Colorado. Founded in 1912, CMC reaches an annual constituency of over 40,000 citizens, including 5,600 youth, providing a comprehensive and diverse range of programs and activities. Programs revolve around education, conservation, science, history, policy, recreation, arts and culture. CMC offers a wide range of opportunities for the public to explore, observe, and learn about the Southern Rockies, while simultaneously leading efforts to protect the species, habitats, and wildness of our public lands. CMC publishes a quarterly magazine, the Trail & Timberline and operates a book press with more than 20 current titles. No other organization in the Intermountain West has such a strong or broad-based approach connecting people and our Colorado landscape.
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