Richard Daniel "Dick" Bass (December 21, 1929 - July 26, 2015) was an American businessman, rancher and mountaineer. He was the owner of Snowbird Ski Resort in Utah and the first man to climb the "Seven Summits", the tallest mountain on each continent.
With his successful 1985 ascent he became the oldest person to summit Mount Everest, aged 55. He climbed with David Breashears and Nepalese sherpa Ang Phurba, surpassing the record by five years set in April of that year by Englishman Chris Bonington. Bass's record stood until 1993 when it was broken by 60 year old Ramon Blanco.
Video Richard Bass
Early life
Richard Bass was born on December 21, 1929 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. His father, Harry W. Bass, Sr., was a co-founder of the Goliad Corporation and the Goliad Oil and Gas Corporation. He had a brother, Harry W. Bass, Jr.. Bass moved with his family to Texas in 1932.
Bass was educated at Texas Country Day School and then the Highland Park High School in Dallas, Texas. He enrolled at Yale University at 16 and graduated in 1950 with a degree in geology. After completing some graduate work at the University of Texas, Bass served two years with the U.S. Navy on board the aircraft carrier USS Essex during the Korean War.
Maps Richard Bass
Career
Bass returned to Texas in 1953 to join in the running of the family oil and gas business and ranching operations. He was the owner of ranches in Central Texas.
During the 1960s, Dick invested $10,000 in the development of the ski resort in Vail, Colorado. He also built the largest private residence in Vail, later inviting President Gerald Ford to winter there with his family. He served on the Board of Directors of Vail Associates, Inc from 1966 to 1971.
Bass opened the Snowbird Ski Resort with investor Ted Johnson in 1971. He was its sole proprietor until he sold his stake in May 2014.
Mountaineering
Together with Frank Wells, one-time president of The Walt Disney Company, Bass decided to pursue the adventure challenge of summiting the high point on each of the seven continents: Denali, North America; Aconcagua, South America; Mt. Elbrus, Europe; Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa; Vinson Massif, Antarctica; Mount Kosciuszko, Australia; and Mt. Everest, Asia.
The pair successfully completed all but Everest, being rebuffed there in a first attempt. Later, after Wells' death in a helicopter accident returning from a ski trip at home in the US, Bass became the first person to achieve all Seven Summits on April 30, 1985. At the time, he was also the oldest person to have climbed Everest. He later co-wrote the book Seven Summits describing his achievement.
Jon Krakauer's book Into Thin Air argues that Bass's ascent of Mount Everest pulled the mountain into a "postmodern era" wherein commercial guided expeditions became big business and encouraged climbers with limited experience to pay large sums of money to these enterprises in order to ascend Everest.
Personal life
Bass was married three times, first to Rita Crocker. After their divorce he married Marian Martin, which also ended in divorce. He then married Alice Wosham. He had two sons, Jim and Richard Jr. (also known as Dan), and twin daughters, Bonnie Bass Smith and Barbara Bass Moroney.
Death
Bass died on July 26, 2015 in Dallas, Texas from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. His funeral was held at the St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church on July 31, 2015 in Dallas.
See also
- Lists of mountains (for other climbing lists)
References
External links
- 7Summits.com, voluminous information within commercial site
- Mount Everest Info One Of The Seven Summits
- 3D Tour of Seven Summits [1] in Virtual Earth
- Essay on the criteria for the Seven Summits
- Carstensz Pyramid and the Seven Summits
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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