Washburn: Extraordinary Adventures of a Young Mountaineer

by Phil Washburn, David Roberts (Foreword by)

Overview

Bradford Washburn is well known for his daring climbs of the world's highest peaks, his pioneering work in aerial photography and mountain cartography, and founding the internationally renown Boston Museum of Science. But his bold exploits started long before he first set eyes on McKinley and the Yukon. As a teenager, Washburn climbed Mount Washington—home of the "worst weather in the world"—in winter; scaled unclimbed peaks in the French Alps; and with a team of Harvard Mountaineers, made a second ascent of 15,500-foot Mount Fairweather, the highest peak in Alaska's coastal range. Now readers can learn about these extraordinary adventures in Washburn's own words in this collection of his early works: Among the Alps with Bradford, Bradford on Mount Washington, and Bradford on Mount Fairweather. In each book, the teenage Washburn describes his adventures in vivid detail, including the shockingly simple techniques he and his climbing buddies relied upon to scale some of the world's most ferocious peaks in the 1920s. Washburn's boyish clarity of purpose and enthusiasm offer insight into the incredibly accomplished author, photographer, lecturer, and mapmaker that he would become. Originally published as part of G.P. Putnam's Sons' true-life adventure series Boys' Books by Boys' nearly 80 years ago, this exclusive collection is not just for young adults. Mountain historians, followers of Washburn's life and work, or anyone who loves a gripping story of adventure will be entertained, engaged, and inspired.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781929173723
Publisher:	Appalachian Mountain Club Books MA
Publication date:	09/01/2004
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.75(d)

About the Author

World-class mountaineer, photographer, cartographer, and scholar, Bradford Washburn served as director of the Boston Museum of Science for nearly 40 years. He has produced numerous award-winning maps, including those of Mount Everest, Mount McKinley, the Grand Canyon, and Mount Washington and the rest of New Hampshire's Presidential Range. Washburn pioneered aerial photography (modifying both camera and airplane to capture vast landscapes), mountain cartography, wireless communications, cold-weather search and rescue, and cold weather survival techniques. He began his climbing career when he was just 11 years old by scaling Mount Washington, the highest and harshest but closest such peak to his boyhood home in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He would soon climb in the Alps and Alaska, claiming numerous first ascents around the globe.