David Breashears

David Breashears ( born December 20 1955) is an American mountaineer and film director. He is known for his climbing achievements on Mount Everest. He reached the summit became the first American in 1985 for the second time. In addition, he was known when he first commercial leadership to the summit of Everest led by the entrepreneur Dick Bass to help bass to become the first man to complete the "Seven Summits". Bass was hereby also to the man who had 55 years to date, oldest person on the summit of Everest.

David Breashears is a world-renowned filmmaker, adventurer and mountaineer whose tours and adventure led him to Tibet, China, Nepal, India, Pakistan, South America and East Africa. He worked on feature films such as " Seven Years in Tibet " and " Cliffhanger ", as well as to the documentation Red Flag over Tibet. In 1983 he transferred the first live pictures from the summit of Everest. He received an Emmy Award for advances in cinematography. In 1996 he was co- director, photographer and co-producer of the IMAX film Everest - Summit without mercy. The film expedition was led by the Indian Sherpa mountaineer and Jamling Tenzing Norgay, son of the first man to climb Mount Everest Tenzing Norgay. Jamling plays himself a starring role in the film. David Breashears brought his photos in the bestseller " Everest summit without grace." He is the author of several books including an autobiography, High Exposure: An Enduring Passion for Everest and Unforgiving Places.

Breashears took eight expeditions to Everest, five of them with summit success. He also ascended the summit of Ama Dablam in the Himalayas and is also known as rock climbers on difficult walls in Colorado, which he mastered as a young man.

David Breashears Documentary Storm over Everest was shown by PBS / FRONTLINE on 13 May 2008 on television. During filming in 2006 Breashears again ascended to the summit, the fifth time.

Breashears received four Emmy Award for cinematography. Breashears is also director of the company "Destination Himalaya", a tour operator that specializes in adventure travel in Himalayan countries. He is still active as a climber in the Himalayas, holds book readings around the world and works on film projects.

He was married in the late 1980s with his tour partner Veronique Choa. They are now divorced.

Works

• To extremes - The Mount Everest and other challenges, Diana Verlag, Munich 1999, ISBN 3-8284-5025-3