makes me want to climb a mountain

December 20, 2009

i flew into chicago yesterday. left a brunch of tacos in sunny, 60 degree san francisco for 30 degrees, a dusting of snow, and a desperate need for some gloves. but it’s not too cold, and luckily we were spared the dumping of snow that the east coast got, but it’s certainly not california! on the plane i was reading The Last of His Kind: The Life and Adventures of Bradford Washburn, America’s Boldest Mountaineer, a biography of bradford washburn, a mountain climber, cartographer, explorer, and photographer.

the stories of his adventures are incredible–dropping into a blank space on the map in the yukon territory to try to map it; scaling mountains never scaled before; climbing the French alps at 17!!!; correcting the recorded height of mt. everest (from 29,028 feet to 29,035!!!)

i can’t even believe people like this even exist! and to think they did it all in the 1930s and on, with 20 pound sleeping bags and photography equipment bigger than the dogs pulling their sleds. so dangerous and beautiful and romantic, it really makes me want to climb a mountain.

enjoy these amazing photos! washburn is considered one of the best mountain photoraphers. his wife barbara also went with him on some climbs. she’s the first woman to climb mt mckinley. um, i think that deservs a “you go, girl!”