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Ranking in 7summits list, either CP or K | : | 1 |
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Ranking in Carstensz Pyramid list | : | 0 |
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Ranking in Kosciuszko list | : | 1 |
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First name | : | Richard Daniel (Dick) |
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Family name | : | Bass |
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Gender | : | male |
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Country of origin | : | USA |
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Date of Birth | : | 1929-12-21 |
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Name of first summit | : | Aconcagua |
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Date of climbing the first summit | : | 1983-01-21 |
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Name of final summit in Carstensz list | : | xxx |
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Date of final summit in Carstensz list | : | 0000-00-00 |
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Name of final summit in Kosciuszko list | : | Everest |
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Date of final summit in Kosciuszko list | : | 1985-04-30 |
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Date of climbing Kilimanjaro | : | 1983-09-01 |
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Date of climbing Elbrus | : | 1983-09-13 |
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Date of climbing Aconcagua | : | 1983-01-21 |
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Date of climbing Denali | : | 1983-07-06 |
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Date of climbing Vinson | : | 1983-11-30 |
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Date of climbing Everest | : | 1985-04-30 |
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Date of climbing Carstensz Pyramid | : | 0000-00-00 |
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Date of climbing Kosciuszko | : | 1983-12-00 |
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Climbed Carstensz Pyramid? | : | No |
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Climbed Kosciuszko? | : | Yes |
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Total time including Carstensz Pyramid | : | xxx |
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Total time including Kosciuszko | : | 02y,100d |
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Age when finished with CP | : | xxx |
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Age when finished with K | : | 55y,131d |
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Website | : | http://www.snowbird.com/pages/shared/viewer.php?category_id=1301 |
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Additional Info | : | The book:
- Seven Summits By Dick Bass Frank Wells & Rick Ridgeway:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0446385166/the7summitscom/
"Their dream was to climb the highest mountain on each of the seven continents--an exciting prospect for any world-class mountaineer. But Bass and Wells, businessmen in their early 50's, were rank amateurs. With Ridgeway, one of America's foremost climbers who accompanied the pair on some of their expeditions, they tell their story here. It is a gripping tale of adventure and embraces courage, disappointment, joy and commitment. The process of getting to Mt. Vinson in the Antarctica was a marvel of logistics.
For their third and final attempt on Mt. Everest, Wells had to choose between the summit try and his family; Bass completed the seventh summit to become the oldest man to stand on top of the world, and the first to reach the highest point on each continent. The two were lucky enough to have the money to fulfill their dream; they also had guts. In mountaineering lingo, they proved themselves "real animals." - Publishers Weekly
Bio:
"The feats of this story, to gain self, not glory Recount an adventure which spurned man's indenture, It's the fabric of life, full of pleasure and strife; Woven with hopes and fears, much laughter, some tears. If it seems boring, brother, just one step after another, You should know beyond any doubt, That's what success is all about." ( -- Poem by Dick Bass, to express the experience of climbing from his perspective)
Dick Bass, of Dallas, is the first man in the world to have climbed the highest mountain on all seven continents including Kosciuszko. His efforts still impress and energize thousands all over the world who are trying to follow in his footsteps.
He has done what he set out to do and the discussion about the 7th summit and all the patronizing and jealousy from 'real' mountaineers won't take that away. He is more than 'just a businessman, buying his way up Mt Everest', just read the book, filled with adventure and the account of his problems, persistence and succes and then judge again. In his days, there was no regular airtaxi to Antarctica...
In 1981, Bass formed a partnership with Frank Wells, then head of Warner Brothers Studios, who had the same dream as Bass--to be the first to climb the highest mountain on all seven continents--to devote one year of their lives to accomplish their dream.
Wells resigned his position with Warner Brothers and Bass re-arranged his schedule for developing Snowbird Ski Resort in Utah to take a year off. They agreed to pool their resources to accomplish the goal.
Although he was fifty-one at the time and not an experienced climber, Bass decided to climb in order to get a report card.
About reaching the top of a mountain, Bass wrote, ". . . I finally found something really big to give me a tangible sense of accomplishment now!"
The planned one year adventured became five years, including three failed attempts of Mount Everest, after which Wells kept his promise to his wife to quit the quest. Wells later became head of Disney Studios, a position he held until a tragic helicopter crash took his life. In 1994, Disney Corporation named a national education award in Wells memory.
After Wells quit, Bass persisted until he was able to reach the summit of Everest on April 30, 1985.
In the seven summits book Bass describes climbing as a demanding test of physical, mental, and emotional endurance. A climber chips hand holds into the ice with an axe and then holds on while the toes of the boots are used to make a foothold. The climber works hour after hour, sometimes taking ten steps up before falling twenty steps down and having to start again. Only the most determined reach the summit.
(from: "Seven Summits for Developmental Education" by Dr. Don Garnett: www.nade.net/documents/Articles/SevenSummits.pdf)
"IF IT SEEMS BORING, BROTHER,
JUST ONE STEP AFTER ANOTHER,
YOU SHOULD KNOW BEYOND ANY DOUBT,
THAT'S WHAT SUCCESS IS ALL ABOUT." -- Dick Bass
Additional info:
-Read an interview containing funny anecdotes here:
http://www.dmagazine.com/december00/legends1200.shtml
(updated: the link is dead now, I copied the article here:
http://7summits.com/info/files/DMagazineDallas-FortWorth.htm )
-A recent picture can be found here:
http://nys.alpineclub.org/Dinner01.htm |
