Search the Community

Famed Mountaineer Fred Beckey first travelled to the Himalaya in 1955 as a member of the International Himalayan Expedition.Their objective: To make the first ascent of Lhotse, a part of the Everest massif. At 27,940 feet, this is the fourth highest mountain in the world.Over the next nearly-sixty years Fred made multiple trips back to the Himalaya.His interests were in finding unclimbed peaks, establishing new routes on previously climbed peaks, trekking untrodden, remote mountain valleys, and the study and exploration of sub-ranges of various Asian Mountains and the Himals.This short evening lecture will focus on the goals of the Lhotse Expedition, and analyse controversies that arose with this climb, and resultant outcomes. Time permitting, the detail and objectives of subsequent trips will also be discussed, and include the ambitious plans of what had been Fred Beckey's most recent Himalayan objective, which would have been to travel next year (2018), to a remote valley in the Garhwal of Northern India. Fred Beckey recently died at age ninety-four. He lived a life that centered on mountains, climbing, scholarship, research and creating a legacy that will endure for generations to come. The speaker, Megan E. Bond, is also Fred Beckey's biographer and will read excerpts from her writings, which will be published by Mountaineers Books. Over the course of a decade, she and Fred made multiple exploratory trips together to Nepal, India, China and Tibet. *There is no charge for this event, but please Register for a 'Ticket' as capacity is limited to forty people. Please message the Speaker/Host (Megan) to add your name. Thank you. .................................... Location: Magnolia Branch of the Seattle Public Library. 2801 34th Ave West Seattle WA 98199