David Finlay Breashears, born December 20, 1955, in Fort Benning, Georgia, and died March 14, 2024, in Marblehead, Massachusetts, was an American mountaineer, filmmaker, author, and lecturer. The son of an army officer, he grew up moving regularly, eventually settling in Denver with his mother, where he developed a passion for climbing and the mountains at an early age. As a young man, he spent long hours at the Denver library, learning about great mountaineers to plan his own adventures.
In 1983, Breashears made history by broadcasting the first live television images from the summit of Mount Everest. In 1985, he became the first American to reach the summit twice, during the expedition with Dick Bass, who then became the first man to complete the Seven Summits. He gained worldwide recognition as a director and cinematographer of adventure and mountain films, notably with the IMAX documentary Everest, released in 1998, the highest-grossing film in the format's history at the time of its release. During filming, he distinguished himself during the 1996 Everest disaster by actively participating in the rescue effort. Breashears eventually reached the summit with the IMAX team, capturing unprecedented footage from "the roof of the world."
Over the course of his career, he directed or collaborated on some thirty films and documentaries, including Seven Years in Tibet, Cliffhanger, and Red Flag Over Tibet. He also accompanied Catherine Destivelle and Jeff Lowe on an expedition to the Trango Towers in 1990. His commitment extends to the environmental field: in 2007, he founded GlacierWorks to raise awareness about the melting of Himalayan glaciers due to climate change.
Known for his compassion and courage, he asserted that the true success of his expeditions lay in the survival and cohesion of his team in the face of adversity. A four-time Emmy Award winner for his filmmaking, he left a lasting mark on mountaineering, adventure, and environmental protection. Divorced from adventurer Veronique Choa, Breashears lived in Marblehead when he wasn't trekking in the mountains. His death at 68 marks the passing of a legend of mountain cinema and a passionate advocate for the Himalayas and Tibet.
