HENRY BRADFORD WASHBURN, JR., 1910-2007
No question, when Brad Washburn conceived and climbed the West Buttress route on Mt. McKinley, he gave the world one of the most attractive routes up what was to become one of the Seven Summits. Without question, Brad pioneered high-quality aerial photography of the great mountains, as he did modern mountain cartography. However, if the true greatness of a man is the number of people he touched and personally affected, then by this dimension alone Brad was truly great.
In 1972, I and my fellow 17-year-old climbing buds read Bradford on Mt. Fairweather, a book he wrote about his first climbing expedition to Alaska, at age 20, to attempt Fairweather’s first ascent. The peak still had but a few ascents, and we committed ourselves to climbing it via a new route in the coming summer, much to the skepticism of many we talked to. Upon learning about Brad’s collection of photos at the Museum of Science in Boston, we drove up from New York City to have a look and study route possibilities. We were blown away when Brad, then in his mid-60s, burst into the room to introduce himself, talk about the mountain, pull out photos, and enthusiastically suggest lines. Most importantly, he believed in the high school students in front of him and instilled confidence in our plans.
That was the first of many winter visits during the 1970s to Dr. Washburn’s photo library, and each time we stopped by he made time to sit down with us, adding to our enthusiasm for the unclimbed lines we were scoping on McKinley, Foraker, Hunter, and Huntington, while also suggesting additional lines with great authority. His passion matched our own, and it was as if—at least for the time we were in his archival room—he was the fifth or fourth or third member of the team.
One of my most enjoyable memories of working with Brad was when, in 1977, I was commissioned to write an authoritative historical piece on Mt. Fairweather’s ascents for Summit magazine and he learned of it from the editors. Unexpectedly, Brad started calling me in the evenings to discuss my findings, share his knowledge, reminisce on his attempt in 1930, and ultimately swap me some of his magnificent, large-format black-and-whites for some of my unimpressive slides from my new routes done on Fairweather and McKinley. Those framed Washburn prints still adorn the walls of Black Diamond Equipment today, some 30 years later, and they still provide inspiration for anyone whose sight falls upon them.
Brad, you may be gone but your presence is truly eternal. May all of us whom you touched pass on to another generation what you so generously and enthusiastically gave us.
Peter Metcalf
Washburn in the AAJ
The American Alpine Journal has collected dozens of tributes to Brad Washburn from climbers who used Washburn’s photographs or consulted him personally to plan new routes. Excerpts will be published in the 2007 AAJ, and all of the tributes will be collected on a special page at www.AmericanAlpineClub.org. Readers are invited to submit additional memories to Dougald MacDonald at dougald@indra.com.