David Breashears, whose mountaineering led him to climb Mt. Everest five times, died at his Massachusetts home on Thursday. He was 68 and no cause has been determined.
Breashears co-directed and co-produced a 1998 IMAX documentary for Universal, Everest, about climbing the fabled mountain. Footage from that expedition to the peak made him a celebrity in the outdoors world.
“He combined his passion for climbing and photography to become one of the world’s most admired adventure filmmakers,” his family said in a written statement.
In 2007, Breashears founded GlacierWorks, which describes itself on Facebook as a nonprofit organization that “highlights changes to Himalayan glaciers through art, science, and adventure.”
“With GlacierWorks, he used his climbing and photography experience to create unique records revealing the dramatic effects of climate change on the historic mountain range,” his family said.
In 1983, Breashears transmitted the first live television pictures from the summit of Everest, according to his website. In 1998, he became the first U.S. citizen to reach the summit twice.
Breashears and his team were filming the Everest documentary in 1986 when a blizzard struck, killing eight climbers. He and his team stopped filming to help the climbers.
No details on survivors or memorial plans was immediately available.