              |
Bradford Washburn, 1910-2007
Brad was known for his aerial photographs of Alaska, originally used for mapping but works of beauty in themselves, and Randolph climbers remember Brad’s hospitality in his office at the Museum of Science, ready to find just the right photos (among thousands) for studying a new Alaskan route and giving indispensable practical suggestions. When a Harvard expedition was putting a new route up Mt. McKinley’s Wickersham Wall in 1963, the Boston Globe ran a front page story about the group’s death by avalanche. Brad was on the phone before it came out, reassuring the Goetzes (whose son Chris was part of the group) that the quick fly-by on which the report was based was not definitive evidence, and they should wait for more news. Sure enough, the group was spotted two days later, safe and far higher on the mountain than expected. Several Randophians have used Brad’s accurate and beautiful photographs to dream of summer climbs in Alaska and pick routes that looked feasible. Brad Washburn’s love of
mountains, his continued lively interest in technology as a way
to get things done – in the museum, in mapping, or in expressing
his artistic vision – and his energetic pursuit of his enthusiasms
were an inspiration to us all. We will miss him.
|
The
world knows Brad Washburn as a mountaineer, aerial photographer,
cartographer, and Director of the Boston Museum of Science. Less
known is that Brad spent some childhood summers in and around
Randolph. So we also remember Brad (an honorary RMC member, with
his wife Barbara) in more personal ways. One winter’s day
while I was skiing the old trail down the backside of Wildcat,
Brad suddenly popped into view, a slim and energetic older man
(then in his late 70s) on snowshoes, placing a marker to be used
in his map of Mt. Washington. Hersh Cross remembers, “When
Brad undertook to survey Mt. Washington, he didn't take long
in deciding that Highacres with extensive lawns, open fields
and fully buried power cables would be ideal for helicopter operations.
So for one fascinating summer, Highacres became a landing pad
for Brad's helicopter flights. To expedite the placing of the
reflectors for Brad's surveying theodolite, grandson Andy Cross
was charged with the responsibility of exiting the helicopter
at critical points, securing the reflectors, and then making
a mad dash to the helicopter for the next leg of the flight.
It was amazing to see how many neighbors visited Highacres to
see what was going on."