Richard Bass

Richard Bass (1929 to 2015) was an American businessman, rancher and mountaineer, born in Tulsa, Oklahoma and raised in Texas. A Yale geology graduate, he ran the family oil, gas and ranching businesses, invested in the Vail ski resort and opened the Snowbird resort in Utah in 1971, which he owned until 2014. With Frank Wells he set out to climb the highest mountain on each of the seven continents, and on 30 April 1985, guided by David Breashears, he reached the summit of Everest on his third attempt. He was the first man to complete the Seven Summits and, at 55, the oldest person to have climbed Everest at that time. His list of seven peaks became known as the Bass List, and he co-wrote the book Seven Summits.