Barry Bishop (mountaineer)
Encyclopedia
Barry Chapman Bishop was an American mountaineer, scientist, photographer and scholar. With teammates Jim Whittaker
, Lute Jerstad
, Willi Unsoeld and Tom Hornbein
, he was a member of the first American team to summit Mount Everest
, on May 22, 1963. He worked for the National Geographic Society
for most of his life, beginning as a picture editor in 1959 and serving as a photographer, writer, and scientist with the society until his retirement in 1994. He was killed in an automobile accident near Pocatello, Idaho
later that year.
, and Helen Rebecca Bishop. He was fascinated by climbing from an early age, spending his summers with the YMCA
in Colorado and joining the Colorado Mountain Club at age nine or ten. Under the tutelage of the club's members, many of whom were also members of the 10th Mountain Division
, Bishop quickly learned mountaineering skills and was guiding expeditions in the Rockies and Tetons by age 12.
He attended school in Cincinnati; first a private school, and a private college preparatory school beginning in 8th grade. He began his undergraduate education at Dartmouth
, where he roomed with Rodger Ewy and Bill Chafee. Following an acute lung infection, Barry soon switched to the University of Cincinnati, graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Geology in 1954. As part of his undergraduate research, he did field work in the Mt. McKinley area in the summer of 1951, during which time he participated in Bradford Washburn
's expedition, reaching the summit on July 10, 1951 to claim the fourth ascent of the mountain and the first by the West Buttress route. He met Lila Mueller, also an undergraduate at the University of Cincinnati, and the two were married in 1955.
In the summer of 1952, Barry and Rodger Ewy climbed guideless on many "classics" in Europe, among which the Zugspitze Ridge, Cime Grande in the Dolomites, Z'mutt Ridge on the Matterhorn, the traverse from Gornergrat to Monte Rosa via summits of Breithorn, Castor and Pollux and both summits of Monte Rosa, and the Dent du Requin Needle on Mont Blanc. Barry soloed the Italian Ridge on the Matterhorn.
His studies continued at Northwestern University
, where he earned a masters in geography in 1954–1955, studying shear moraines
on the Greenland Icecap. During his work in Greenland he met Rear Admiral
Richard E. Byrd, and after joining the Air Force, served as scientific advisor to Byrd's staff with Admiral Dufek, at the Antarctic Projects Office in Washington, D.C., where he monitored international scientific programs in polar research. By 1958, when he was honorably discharged from the Air Force at age 27, Bishop had accumulated considerable skills as a mountaineer, polar scientist, photographer and explorer.
His daughter Tara is now the wife of Greg Mortenson
, the co-author of Three Cups of Tea
.
as Picture Editor for National Geographic
. He rose quickly with the magazine, becoming a photographer for the magazine in 1960, and had his first published photography in 1962. His 1963 photography work on the American Everest Expedition earned him a National Press Photographers Association Special Award. Eventually he would become a vice president and Chairman of the Committee for Research and Exploration.
, which was also the first winter ascent in the Himalayas.
Barry's success with the Hillary expedition and his work with National Geographic led to an invitation to join the 1963 American Everest Expedition, which aimed to make the first American ascent of Mount Everest
. He was transferred to the National Geographic editorial staff and wrote an account of the expedition for the magazine, accompanied by his photography. On nearing the mountain, the expedition decided to attempt the unclimbed West Ridge, and Bishop helped establish a route up to the summit pyramid at 25100 feet (7,650.5 m) before transferring to the portion of the team attempting the South Col. Via that route, Jim Whittaker
summitted on May 1, becoming the first American to do so. In the following weeks, Tom Hornbein
and Willi Unsoeld continued the attempt on the West Ridge, and Bishop and Lute Jerstad
attempted the South Col. After a stove accident early on the morning of May 22, the pair began the summit attempt, reaching the South Summit at 2:00 p.m. and the main summit at 3:30. They waited on the summit for signs of Hornbein and Unsoeld, who were also due to reach the summit that day, but short of oxygen and seeing no sign of them, they began the descent at 4:15. As darkness fell around 7:30, they made voice contact with Hornbein and Unsoeld, who had summitted and were descending the South Col. After rendezvousing and descending further, the four decided to bivouac
. During the night, temperatures reached −18 °F, and Bishop sustained frostbite that would result in the loss of all his toes and the tip of his little finger.
On July 8, 1963, the team was awarded the Hubbard Medal
by president John F. Kennedy
for their achievement.
's Ph.D. program in geography in 1966, assisting in high-altitude physiology
studies, and planning and executing the field research for his dissertation, a cultural-ecological analysis of the Karnali Zone
of western Nepal
. The dissertation was eventually published in 1980 and in book form as Karnali Under Stress (1990).
Through the 1980s and early 90s, Bishop continued both his administrative duties with the National Geographic society as Vice Chairman and then Chairman of the Committee for Research and Exploration and Chief of the Geographic Liaison Office, and his research and service, leading Himalayan research expeditions in 1983 and 1985 and continuing to write for National Geographic. He retired in 1994 and moved to Bozeman, Montana
.
On September 24, 1994, Bishop was on his way to deliver a lecture in San Francisco when he apparently veered onto the shoulder of the highway, lost control of his car, and was killed. He was survived by his wife Lila, who suffered minor injuries in the accident, and by his son Brent and daughter Tara. The National Geographic Society honored him posthumously with the Distinguished Geography Educator award in recognition of a life that "reflected National Geographic's mission of increasing and diffusing geographic knowledge."
Jim Whittaker
James W. Whittaker, also known as Jim Whittaker is an American mountaineer.As a member of the American Mount Everest Expedition 1963 led by Norman Dyhrenfurth, he was the first American to reach the summit of Mount Everest. He summited on May 1, 1963 with the Sherpa Nawang Gombu...
, Lute Jerstad
Lute Jerstad
Luther G. Jerstad was an American mountaineer and mountain guide who was a member of the 1963 American Mount Everest Expedition. He reached the summit of Mount Everest by the South Col route on May 22, 1963 with Barry Bishop. Three weeks earlier, on May 1, Jim Whittaker and Sherpa mountaineer...
, Willi Unsoeld and Tom Hornbein
Tom Hornbein
Thomas "Tom" Hornbein is a well-known American mountaineer.Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Hornbein developed an interest in geology as a teenager. His study of geology led to a fascination with mountains. Eventually he also became interested in medicine; he studied and worked as an anesthesiologist...
, he was a member of the first American team to summit Mount Everest
Mount Everest
Mount Everest is the world's highest mountain, with a peak at above sea level. It is located in the Mahalangur section of the Himalayas. The international boundary runs across the precise summit point...
, on May 22, 1963. He worked for the National Geographic Society
National Geographic Society
The National Geographic Society , headquartered in Washington, D.C. in the United States, is one of the largest non-profit scientific and educational institutions in the world. Its interests include geography, archaeology and natural science, the promotion of environmental and historical...
for most of his life, beginning as a picture editor in 1959 and serving as a photographer, writer, and scientist with the society until his retirement in 1994. He was killed in an automobile accident near Pocatello, Idaho
Pocatello, Idaho
Pocatello is the county seat and largest city of Bannock County, with a small portion on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation in neighboring Power County, in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Idaho. It is the principal city of the Pocatello metropolitan area, which encompasses all of Bannock...
later that year.
Early life
Barry Chapman Bishop was born on January 13, 1932 to Robert Wilson Bishop, a sociologist who was to become a dean at the University of CincinnatiUniversity of Cincinnati
The University of Cincinnati is a comprehensive public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, and a part of the University System of Ohio....
, and Helen Rebecca Bishop. He was fascinated by climbing from an early age, spending his summers with the YMCA
YMCA
The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...
in Colorado and joining the Colorado Mountain Club at age nine or ten. Under the tutelage of the club's members, many of whom were also members of the 10th Mountain Division
10th Mountain Division
The 10th Mountain Division is a light infantry division of the United States Army based at Fort Drum, New York. It is a subordinate unit of the XVIII Airborne Corps and the only division-sized element of the U.S. Army to specialize in fighting under harsh terrain and weather conditions...
, Bishop quickly learned mountaineering skills and was guiding expeditions in the Rockies and Tetons by age 12.
He attended school in Cincinnati; first a private school, and a private college preparatory school beginning in 8th grade. He began his undergraduate education at Dartmouth
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...
, where he roomed with Rodger Ewy and Bill Chafee. Following an acute lung infection, Barry soon switched to the University of Cincinnati, graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Geology in 1954. As part of his undergraduate research, he did field work in the Mt. McKinley area in the summer of 1951, during which time he participated in Bradford Washburn
Bradford Washburn
Henry Bradford Washburn, Jr. was an American explorer, mountaineer, photographer, and cartographer. He established the Boston Museum of Science, served as its director from 1939–1980, and from 1985 until his death served as its Honorary Director .Washburn is especially noted for exploits in four...
's expedition, reaching the summit on July 10, 1951 to claim the fourth ascent of the mountain and the first by the West Buttress route. He met Lila Mueller, also an undergraduate at the University of Cincinnati, and the two were married in 1955.
In the summer of 1952, Barry and Rodger Ewy climbed guideless on many "classics" in Europe, among which the Zugspitze Ridge, Cime Grande in the Dolomites, Z'mutt Ridge on the Matterhorn, the traverse from Gornergrat to Monte Rosa via summits of Breithorn, Castor and Pollux and both summits of Monte Rosa, and the Dent du Requin Needle on Mont Blanc. Barry soloed the Italian Ridge on the Matterhorn.
His studies continued at Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
, where he earned a masters in geography in 1954–1955, studying shear moraines
Moraine
A moraine is any glacially formed accumulation of unconsolidated glacial debris which can occur in currently glaciated and formerly glaciated regions, such as those areas acted upon by a past glacial maximum. This debris may have been plucked off a valley floor as a glacier advanced or it may have...
on the Greenland Icecap. During his work in Greenland he met Rear Admiral
Rear Admiral
Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. It is generally regarded as the lowest of the "admiral" ranks, which are also sometimes referred to as "flag officers" or "flag ranks"...
Richard E. Byrd, and after joining the Air Force, served as scientific advisor to Byrd's staff with Admiral Dufek, at the Antarctic Projects Office in Washington, D.C., where he monitored international scientific programs in polar research. By 1958, when he was honorably discharged from the Air Force at age 27, Bishop had accumulated considerable skills as a mountaineer, polar scientist, photographer and explorer.
His daughter Tara is now the wife of Greg Mortenson
Greg Mortenson
Greg Mortenson, SPk is an American humanitarian, professional speaker, writer, and former mountaineer. He is the co-founder and executive director of the non-profit Central Asia Institute as well as the founder of the educational charity Pennies for Peace...
, the co-author of Three Cups of Tea
Three Cups of Tea
Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace ... One School at a Time is a book by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin published by Penguin in 2006. For four years, the book remained on the New York Times nonfiction bestseller's list...
.
National Geographic Society
In May, 1959, on the strength of his photographs from Antarctica and the Bugaboos, Bishop was hired by the National Geographic SocietyNational Geographic Society
The National Geographic Society , headquartered in Washington, D.C. in the United States, is one of the largest non-profit scientific and educational institutions in the world. Its interests include geography, archaeology and natural science, the promotion of environmental and historical...
as Picture Editor for National Geographic
National Geographic Magazine
National Geographic, formerly the National Geographic Magazine, is the official journal of the National Geographic Society. It published its first issue in 1888, just nine months after the Society itself was founded...
. He rose quickly with the magazine, becoming a photographer for the magazine in 1960, and had his first published photography in 1962. His 1963 photography work on the American Everest Expedition earned him a National Press Photographers Association Special Award. Eventually he would become a vice president and Chairman of the Committee for Research and Exploration.
Himalayan expeditions
Bishop's work on shear moraines brought him to the attention of Sir Edmund Hillary, who invited him to join the Himalayan Scientific and Mountaineering Expedition of 1960–1961, where he served as the expedition's official glaciologist and climatologist. Though he was not sponsored by National Geographic on the trip, his photographic, scientific, and mountaineering accomplishments cemented his career with the Society. With fellow expedition members Mike Gill, Mike Ward and Wally Romanes, Bishop made the landmark first ascent of Ama DablamAma Dablam
Ama Dablam is a mountain in the Himalaya range of eastern Nepal. The main peak is , the lower western peak is . Ama Dablam means "Mother's necklace"; the long ridges on each side like the arms of a mother protecting her child, and the hanging glacier thought of as the dablam, the traditional...
, which was also the first winter ascent in the Himalayas.
Barry's success with the Hillary expedition and his work with National Geographic led to an invitation to join the 1963 American Everest Expedition, which aimed to make the first American ascent of Mount Everest
Mount Everest
Mount Everest is the world's highest mountain, with a peak at above sea level. It is located in the Mahalangur section of the Himalayas. The international boundary runs across the precise summit point...
. He was transferred to the National Geographic editorial staff and wrote an account of the expedition for the magazine, accompanied by his photography. On nearing the mountain, the expedition decided to attempt the unclimbed West Ridge, and Bishop helped establish a route up to the summit pyramid at 25100 feet (7,650.5 m) before transferring to the portion of the team attempting the South Col. Via that route, Jim Whittaker
Jim Whittaker
James W. Whittaker, also known as Jim Whittaker is an American mountaineer.As a member of the American Mount Everest Expedition 1963 led by Norman Dyhrenfurth, he was the first American to reach the summit of Mount Everest. He summited on May 1, 1963 with the Sherpa Nawang Gombu...
summitted on May 1, becoming the first American to do so. In the following weeks, Tom Hornbein
Tom Hornbein
Thomas "Tom" Hornbein is a well-known American mountaineer.Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Hornbein developed an interest in geology as a teenager. His study of geology led to a fascination with mountains. Eventually he also became interested in medicine; he studied and worked as an anesthesiologist...
and Willi Unsoeld continued the attempt on the West Ridge, and Bishop and Lute Jerstad
Lute Jerstad
Luther G. Jerstad was an American mountaineer and mountain guide who was a member of the 1963 American Mount Everest Expedition. He reached the summit of Mount Everest by the South Col route on May 22, 1963 with Barry Bishop. Three weeks earlier, on May 1, Jim Whittaker and Sherpa mountaineer...
attempted the South Col. After a stove accident early on the morning of May 22, the pair began the summit attempt, reaching the South Summit at 2:00 p.m. and the main summit at 3:30. They waited on the summit for signs of Hornbein and Unsoeld, who were also due to reach the summit that day, but short of oxygen and seeing no sign of them, they began the descent at 4:15. As darkness fell around 7:30, they made voice contact with Hornbein and Unsoeld, who had summitted and were descending the South Col. After rendezvousing and descending further, the four decided to bivouac
Bivouac
Bivouac may refer to:* Bivouac Peak, a mountain in the Teton Range, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming, USA* A military camp** Bivouac shelter** Bivouac sack, or "bivy sack" or bivy bag, an extremely lightweight alternative to traditional tent systems...
. During the night, temperatures reached −18 °F, and Bishop sustained frostbite that would result in the loss of all his toes and the tip of his little finger.
On July 8, 1963, the team was awarded the Hubbard Medal
Hubbard Medal
The Hubbard Medal is awarded by the National Geographic Society for distinction in exploration, discovery, and research. The medal is named for Gardiner Greene Hubbard, first National Geographic Society president.-Recipients:...
by president John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
for their achievement.
Later career
The loss of his toes marked the end of Bishop's technical climbing career, and in the late 1960s he refocused his energies on academics, enrolling in the University of ChicagoUniversity of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
's Ph.D. program in geography in 1966, assisting in high-altitude physiology
Physiology
Physiology is the science of the function of living systems. This includes how organisms, organ systems, organs, cells, and bio-molecules carry out the chemical or physical functions that exist in a living system. The highest honor awarded in physiology is the Nobel Prize in Physiology or...
studies, and planning and executing the field research for his dissertation, a cultural-ecological analysis of the Karnali Zone
Karnali Zone
Karnali Zone in the Mid-Western Development Region of Nepal. The headquarters is Jumla.Karnali Zone is one of the poorest and most remote regions of Nepal, not very accessible by road yet. There are airfields in all districts except Kalikot which is connected by seasonal roadways to Jumla...
of western Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
. The dissertation was eventually published in 1980 and in book form as Karnali Under Stress (1990).
Through the 1980s and early 90s, Bishop continued both his administrative duties with the National Geographic society as Vice Chairman and then Chairman of the Committee for Research and Exploration and Chief of the Geographic Liaison Office, and his research and service, leading Himalayan research expeditions in 1983 and 1985 and continuing to write for National Geographic. He retired in 1994 and moved to Bozeman, Montana
Bozeman, Montana
Bozeman is a city in and the county seat of Gallatin County, Montana, United States, in the southwestern part of the state. The 2010 census put Bozeman's population at 37,280 making it the fourth largest city in the state. It is the principal city of the Bozeman micropolitan area, which consists...
.
On September 24, 1994, Bishop was on his way to deliver a lecture in San Francisco when he apparently veered onto the shoulder of the highway, lost control of his car, and was killed. He was survived by his wife Lila, who suffered minor injuries in the accident, and by his son Brent and daughter Tara. The National Geographic Society honored him posthumously with the Distinguished Geography Educator award in recognition of a life that "reflected National Geographic's mission of increasing and diffusing geographic knowledge."