That New York Times video from 2008 tells the story of Fred Beckey, a climbing legend and West Seattle High School alumnus who has died at age 94. (Thanks to James for e-mailing to ensure we had heard.) Mr. Beckey’s obituary published tonight on Outside Online says he is “widely hailed as North America’s most prolific climber and mountaineer” – in the history books for a multitude of “first ascents.” Before he was inducted into the West Seattle High School Hall of Fame in 2014, this bio was written to explain why he should be part of it (he was in the WSHS Class of 1941); it notes there’s even a mountain named after him (Mt. Beckey in Alaska). Mr. Beckey also recently became the subject of a documentary about his lifelong obsession with climbing:
The Seattle Times reports that Mr. Beckey died today at the home of a longtime friend. According to the SeattlePI.com obituary for Mr. Beckey, his many other climbing companions included Lloyd Anderson, who co-founded REI while living in West Seattle. Mr. Beckey was still climbing in recent years, and was a prolific guidebook writer, as noted on the HistoryLink.org page that tells his story.
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