Friedrich Wolfgang Beckey (14 January 1923 – 30 October 2017), known as Fred Beckey, was an American rock climber, mountaineer and book author, who in seven decades of climbing achieved hundreds of first ascents of some of the tallest peaks and most important routes throughout Alaska, the Canadian Rockies and the Pacific Northwest.

Early years

Beckey was born in 1923 near Düsseldorf, Germany to Klaus Beckey, a surgeon, and Marta Maria Beckey who was an opera singer. in the Cascades by himself, after wandering off on a family camping trip. Afterwards, his family signed him up with the Boy Scouts where he learned the basic concepts of climbing. Later he joined The Mountaineers. In 1939, at sixteen, Fred and two friends climbed 7,292-foot Mount Despair in the North Cascades, which was considered unclimbable at the time. Beckey followed that with many more first ascents of summits in the Olympic and North Cascade ranges. In 1942 he joined 10th Mountain Division, based in Colorado, and served as an instructor. However, he soon discovered that his work interfered with his climbing. For a time, he worked as a delivery truck driver, which left him time for climbing. As time went on, he decided that climbing was his life's focus. He never married or had children, he never pursued a professional career, he never sought money or financial security as a goal—his goal was to climb mountains. His life was the subject of a 2017 documentary, directed by David O'Leske and produced by Patagonia, called Dirtbag: The Legend of Fred Beckey. The film won over 26 international awards, including: the Best Feature Mountain Film at the 2017 Banff Mountain Film Festival; the Best Mountaineering Film at the 2017 Kendal Mountain Film Festival; and, the People's Choice Award at the 2017 Banff Mountain Book Festival.

Mount Beckey, a previously unnamed, 8,500-foot peak in remote West-Central Alaska Range (), was named after Beckey, after he, Calvin Hebert and John Middendorf climbed it in 1996.

  • 1946 East Ridge Devils Thumb, Alaska with Bob Craig and Clifford Schmidtke (Aug 25)
  • 1947 North Peak, Liberty Bell, North Cascades - 1947
  • 1948 North Ridge of Mount Baker, North Cascades Fred Beckey, Ralph and Dick Widrig (August 1948)
  • 1954 Northwest Buttress to North Peak, Denali, Alaska (May 27) with Donald McLean, Charles Wilson, Henry Meybohm and Bill Hackett.
  • 1961 North Face of Mount Edith Cavell, Canadian Rockies, Canada with Yvon Chouinard and Dan Doody
  • 1968 Direct East Buttress (IV F8 A4), South Early Winter Spire, North Cascades, Washington. FA with Doug Leen
  • 1970 South Face of Charlotte Dome, III 5.7, FA with Galen Rowell, Chris Jones
  • 1976 Mount Emmerich, Alaska
  • 1989 South Buttress, Caliban Peak, Arrigetch Peaks, Alaska from 2004 Patagonia's Fall catalog, where he is trying to hitchhike while holding a sign "Will belay for food".

Books

  • Fred Beckey's 100 Favorite North American Climbs (Patagonia Inc., 2011, )
  • Range of Glaciers: The Exploration and Survey of the Northern Cascade Range (Oregon Historical Society, 2003 )
  • Cascade Alpine Guide (3 vols.) (Mountaineers Books, 1973–2008)
  • Columbia River to Stevens Pass (1973, 3rd ed. 2000, )
  • Stevens Pass to Rainy Pass (1977, 3rd ed. 2003, )
  • Rainy Pass to Fraser River (1981, 3rd ed. 2008, )
  • Challenge of the North Cascades (1969, 2nd ed. 1996, )
  • Mount McKinley: Icy Crown of North America (Mountaineers Books 1993, paper 1999, )
  • The Bugaboos: An Alpine History (1987) (Introduction Only)
  • Mountains of North America (1986)
  • Mountains of North America (Sierra Club, 1982)
  • Darrington and Index Rock Climbing Guide (Mountaineers Books, 1976)
  • Guide to Leavenworth rock-climbing areas (Mountaineers Books, 1965)
  • Climber's Guide to the Cascade and Olympic Mountains of Washington (American Alpine Club, 1949, revised edition 1953)

See also

  • Snafflehound

References

  • Biography at HistoryLink
  • 2011 Profile in The Wall Street Journal by Michael J. Ybarra
  • 2007 Interview appearing in The Learning Project: Views of Authentic Learning
  • New York Times, 16 Dec. 2008. The Old Man of the Mountains . Video report on Fred Beckey. (The video displays the date of Dec. 16, although the URL states Dec. 15.)
  • Summer 2012 short film of Fred climbing in the Dolomites on Vimeo