Fred Beckey (1923–2017)

Author of Cascade Alpine Guide Climbing and High Routes, Vol. 1: Columbia River to Stevens Pass

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About the Author

Fred Beckey was born Wolfgang Beckey near Düsseldorf, Germany on January 14, 1923. He emigrated to Seattle with his family in 1925. He learned climbing techniques as a Boy Scout and in a Mountaineers course. At the age of 13, he and two friends reached the top of Mount Despair, a rugged 7,292-foot show more peak in the North Cascades that mountaineers had considered unclimbable. In 1942, he joined the wartime army's 10th Mountain Division, based in Colorado. He received a degree in business administration from the University of Washington in 1949. He became a mountaineer and author who was the first to take hundreds of routes to the summits of North America's tallest peaks in Alaska, the Canadian Rockies, and the Pacific Northwest in a seven-decade climbing career. He searched for unconquered summits and routes considered too difficult to climb. He often climbed 40 or 50 different peaks a year. His books included Climber's Guide to the Cascade and Olympic Mountains of Washington, Challenge of the North Cascades, Cascade Alpine Guide, Mountains of North America, Mount McKinley: Icy Crown of North America, Range of Glaciers: The Exploration and Survey of the Northern Cascade Range, and Fred Beckey's 100 Favorite North American Climbs. He died from congestive heart failure on October 30, 2017 at the age of 94. (Bowker Author Biography) show less

Includes the names: FRED BECKY, Fred Beckey, Fred W. Beckey

Works by Fred Beckey

Cascade Alpine Guide Climbing and High Routes, Vol. 2: Stevens Pass to Rainy Pass (1977) 69 copies

Cascade Alpine Guide Climbing and High Routes, Vol. 3: Rainy Pass to Fraser River (1981) 67 copies

Mountains of North America (1982) 53 copies

Challenge of the North Cascades (1977) 36 copies

A Range of Glaciers: The Exploration and Survey of the Northern Cascade Range (2003) 27 copies

Mount McKinley: Icy Crown of North America (1993) 26 copies

Climbing Mount Rainier: the essential guide (1999) 18 copies

Climber's guide to the Cascade and Olympic Mountains of Washington 18 copies

Darrington & Index: rock climbing guide (1976) 9 copies

Guide to Leavenworth rock climbing areas (1965) 6 copies

Supplement of additional information and alternations to Climber's guide to the Cascade and Olympic Mountains of… 2 copies

Climbers Guide To The Cascade And Olympic Mountains Of Washington 1 copy

Supplement to Guide to the Cascades 1 copy

Range of Glaciers: the Exploration and Survey of the Northern Cascade Range 1 copy

Work Explorer

Associated Works

Climber's Guide to the Cascade and Olympic Mountains of Washington by a Committee of the Cascade Section of the… (1961) — based on earlier edition by this author — 2 copies

Tagged

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Common Knowledge

Legal name: Beckey, Friedrich Wolfgang
Birthdate: 1923-01-14
Date of death: 2017-10-30
Gender: male
Nationality: USA
Germany (birth)
Country (for map): USA
Birthplace: Düsseldorf, Germany
Place of death: Seattle, Washington, USA
Places of residence: Portland, Oregon, USA
Education: University of Washington (BA, Business Administration)
Occupations: mountaineer
author
Organizations: The Mountaineers (honorary member)
American Alpine Club (honorary member)
Awards and honors: Mt. Beckey, named for Fred Beckey, is located in the Alaskan Range at North 62 degrees 52 minutes, West 152 degrees 15 minutes.
Short biography: A formidable alpine climber, Fred Beckey (1923-2017) is unofficially recognized as the all-time world-record holder for the number of first ascents credited to one man. Beckey's most famous climbing feat was his triple ascent of Alaska's Mounts McKinley, Deborah, and Hunter in 1954. His 3-volume Cascade Alpine Guide, published by The Mountaineers, is considered the definitive resource on the mountains located between the Columbia River and the Canadian border.