Barry Corbet Explained

Barry Corbet (August 1, 1936 – December 18, 2004) was an American mountaineer, film-maker and author. He was a member of the 1963 American Mount Everest West Ridge Expedition, which was the first U.S. Team to climb Mount Everest. Corbet produced or co-produced more than 100 films, and he was also the editor of New Mobility, a magazine on disability culture and lifestyle.^[1] He wrote extensively on disability related issues. His book, Options: Spinal Cord Injury and the Future, was published in 1980.^[2]

Corbet was born on August 1, 1936 in Vancouver, British Columbia. He dropped out of Dartmouth College and moved to Wyoming to pursue his love of skiing and mountaineering. Corbet passed away on December 18, 2004, which was far later than medics had predicted after a helicopter crash in 1968 which left paralyzed from the waist down.

Places and events named after him

• Corbet Peak is a 4,822-metre-high (15,820 ft) peak, at the north edge of the ice-covered Vinson Plateau in the Sentinel Range of the Ellsworth Mountains, Antarctica. The peak was named by US-ACAN in 2006 after Corbet, who was a member of the 1966–67 American Antarctic Mountaineering Expedition that made the first ascent of Mount Vinson.
• Corbet's Couloir is an expert ski run located at the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort in Teton Village, Wyoming. When he was a Jackson Hole ski instructor and mountain guide, Corbet spotted the narrow crease of snow shaped like an inverted.^[3]
• The 'Barry Corbet Film Festival', which showcases feature films on skiing, surfing, and climbing.^[4]

Filmography

• Full Circle tells the intertwining stories of Corbet and Trevor Kennison (an adaptive paraplegic skier who found fame in 2019 after being the first sit skier to ski Corbet's Couloir).

References

• Web site: The Remarkable Life and Uncommon Courage of Barry Corbet ’58 Dartmouth . home.dartmouth.edu . en . 6 November 2023.
• Web site: Barry Corbet: Nothing Missed, No Regrets . New Mobility . 7 November 2023 . 1 September 2013.
• Web site: AAC Publications - Barry Corbet, 1936-2004 . publications.americanalpineclub.org . 7 November 2023.

Notes and References

1. News: Barry Corbet . LA Times. 22 December 2004 .
2. Web site: 2004-12-24 . J. BARRY CORBET, 68 . 2023-11-04 . Chicago Tribune.
3. News: Martin . Claire . J. Barry Corbet, pioneering Everest Climber . The Denver Post .
4. News: Knight . Wendy . Adventure Film Festivals: Would-You-Dare Movies . The New York Times . 6 January 2006 .