Mount Everest documentary maker is found dead in his Massachusetts home: David Breashears, 68, summited FIVE times and made iconic 1998 IMAX film
David Breashears, a mountain 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.
Breashears was found unconscious Thursday at his home in Marblehead, Massachusetts, 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 who climbed Mount Everest in the Himalayas five times, including with the IMAX camera in 1996, his family said.
Mountaineer, filmmaker and author David Breashears, 68, died Thursday at his home in Marblehead, Massachusetts
David Breashears is seen behind the camera during the shooting of Everest in 1996
The film, Everest, generated more than $120 million in revenue and transformed Breashears into something of a celebrity
“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 climbing and photography experience to create unique images that revealed the dramatic effects of climate change on the historic mountain range,” his family said.
In 1983, Breashears broadcast the first live television footage from the summit of Everest.
Two years later, in 1985, he became the first American citizen to reach the summit twice.
Breashears and his team were filming the Everest documentary when the snowstorm of May 10, 1996 hit the mountain, killing eight climbers.
He and his team stopped filming to help the climbers.
David Breashears is pictured filming the IMAX documentary ‘Everest’ which premiered in 1998
Breashears climbed Everest five times and founded GlacierWorks to address the impact of climate change on Himalayan glaciers
Breashear’s groundbreaking achievements include broadcasting live TV footage from the summit of Everest in 1983
His IMAX film chronicles his 1996 summit expedition with fellow American guide Ed Viesturs.
It examined the training mountain climbers undergo before their expeditions, and the dangers they encounter on their route to the summit.
The film, Everest, generated more than $120 million in revenue and transformed Breashears into something of a celebrity.
Over the past decade, Breashear has 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 the experience changed him forever.
‘If you look back at 1983, it almost seems strange. “We had the entire south side of the mountain to ourselves, and not only did I know who my teammates were, but I knew they had come to Everest with the careful preparation, experience and rigorous training to climb it,” he said. Frontline.
“I remember feeling much closer to the mountain then, more attuned to the experience.”