Ed Webster was a renowned American mountaineer, photographer, and author who made history in 1988 by climbing the Kangshung Face of Mount Everest, one of the most difficult and isolated routes on the world’s highest peak. He died suddenly on November 22, 2022, at his home in Harpswell Neck, Maine, of natural causes. He was 66 years old.
A Passion for Climbing
Webster was born on March 21, 1956, in Boston and grew up in Massachusetts. He developed a passion for climbing at an early age and honed his skills in the mountains of New Hampshire and Colorado, where he earned a degree in anthropology in 1978. He was known as a compassionate climber who mentored countless people over the years. He had an impressive record of first ascents across western and eastern U.S.A., as he was part of a group of leading climbers who established cutting-edge lines and then documented them in now classic guidebooks, such as Rock Climbs in the White Mountains of New Hampshire and Climbing in the Magic Islands to the Lofoten Islands of Arctic Norway.
The Everest Challenge
Webster’s greatest achievement came in 1988, when he joined an Anglo-American team of four climbers to attempt the first ascent of the Kangshung Face of Everest, a massive wall of rock and ice that rises more than three kilometers from the Tibetan plateau. The team consisted of Webster, Robert Anderson, Stephen Venables, and Paul Teare. They decided to climb without radios, weather forecasts, sherpas, fixed ropes, or supplemental oxygen, relying only on their own strength and skill. They also chose to climb in the post-monsoon season, when the weather was more unpredictable and the mountain was less crowded.
The team spent two months on the mountain, overcoming numerous obstacles and hardships. They climbed a difficult mixed spur that led them to the South Col, where they joined the normal route from Nepal. Venables became the first Briton to summit Everest without bottled oxygen, while Webster led the way to safety with no food for four days in an effort that Sir Chris Bonington hailed as “one of the greatest survival stories in the history of Himalayan mountaineering.” The team’s ascent was widely regarded as one of the most bold and innovative climbs ever done on Everest.
A Legacy of Inspiration
Webster suffered severe frostbite on his hands and feet during the expedition, which resulted in the amputation of several fingers and toes. He also contracted hepatitis B from a blood transfusion in Nepal. Despite these setbacks, he continued to climb, photograph, and write about his adventures. He published his memoir Snow in the Kingdom: My Storm Years on Mount Everest in 2000, which received critical acclaim and won several awards. He also gave lectures and slideshows around the world, sharing his stories and inspiring others to pursue their dreams.
Webster was also an award-winning photographer, whose work was featured in Rock & Ice, Rolling Stone, and The New York Times. He was also one of only three mountaineers cited in Trivial Pursuit, with his Everest frostbite injuries being noted in the “Best of the 80s” edition.
Webster is survived by his wife Donna Webster, his son James Webster, his daughter Sarah Webster, his brother John Webster, and his sister Anne Webster. He will be remembered as a legend of mountaineering who defied the odds on Everest and left a lasting legacy of inspiration for generations to come.