Fred Beckey, Legendary 'Dirtbag' Mountaineer, Dies At 94

SEATTLE, WA - Fred Beckey, 0ne of the most prolific mountain climbers of the last century, died at a friend's home in Seattle Monday. Beckey, 94, pioneered routes up some of North America's most difficult peaks. Beckey was also a guidebook author, including his indispensable "Cascade Alpine Guide" series.

Beckey's friend, Megan Bond, told the New York Times Monday that Beckey died from complications related to congestive heart failure. Bond told Outside magazine the pair was planning a climbing trip to the Himalaya next year.

Beckey was born in 1923 in Dusseldorf, Germany, but came to Seattle with his parents at age 2. He was a graduate of the University of Washington. He began climbing as a Boy Scout, and later joined The Mountaineers to expand on his climbing skills.

At age 15, Beckey joined REI co-founder Lloyd Anderson in making the first ascent up Sinister Peak, a treacherous mountain located in a remote area of the Cascades between Lake Chelan and Darrington. But that was just the beginning: Beckey would go on to make more than 20 first ascents across the globe including the Northwest Buttress rout up Denali and the El Matador route up Devil's Tower in Wyoming.

The 2016 documentary "Dirtbag: The Legend Of Fred Beckey" chronicled Beckey's furious devotion to climbing and his hermit-like lifestyle.

"His pace and commitment were unrivaled. Many mountaineers considered it an honor to climb with him, but a number could not find the energy or time to be involved in more than a few of his ascents," wrote Jim Kjeldsen in the book "Mountaineers: A History."

Read more about Beckey's life and accomplishments in this memoriam by The Mountaineers

Photo: In this photo taken July 26, 2016 in Seattle, Fred Beckey, 93, the legendary mountain climber who has bagged more first ascents than any other mountaineer and wrote the definitive guidebooks to a major North American mountain range, visits with guests during a promotional event for "Dirtbag: The Legend of Fred Beckey," an upcoming documentary feature film about his life in Seattle. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)