Jim Whittaker, the first American to summit Mount Everest, dies at 97

SEATTLE — The celebrated mountaineer Jim Whittaker, the primary American to summit Mount Everest, has died. He was 97.

Whittaker, who additionally served as the primary full-time worker of the out of doors retailer REI and later as its president and CEO, died Tuesday at his house in Port Townsend, Washington, based on an announcement from his household.

“Whether or not at house, within the mountains, or at sea, he sought to share journey, pleasure, and optimism with these round him,” mentioned the assertion, which was emailed by Leif Whittaker, considered one of his sons. “His heat, humility, and perception within the energy of nature to carry individuals collectively left an everlasting legacy of take care of our planet and for each other.”

Whittaker’s 1963 ascent of Everest alongside Nawang Gombu got here 10 years after the pioneering climb of Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay. The feat helped spawn curiosity — and an business — in mountaineering within the U.S., and it made the once-shy, rangy climber an on the spot celeb. He was featured on journal covers and in demand for public appearances.

Whittaker had been working for REI since 1955, when he was employed by the co-op’s co-founder, Lloyd Anderson. The corporate’s reputation surged after Whittaker’s Everest climb, and Whittaker went on to guide the enterprise from 1971 to 1979. Its membership grew from almost 250,000 to greater than 900,000 throughout his tenure, REI famous in an announcement Wednesday.

The co-op credited his congressional testimony and different efforts with serving to to ascertain North Cascades Nationwide Park and the Pasayten Wilderness in Washington, in addition to and Redwood Nationwide Park in California.

“Lengthy earlier than out of doors advocacy was commonplace, Jim gave his voice — and his management — to defending the locations we love, reminding us that wild locations endure provided that we select to take care of them,” the assertion mentioned.

Whittaker’s celeb additionally introduced him into the orbit of the Kennedy clan, and he grew to become a detailed buddy of Robert Kennedy, with whom he climbed a 14,000-foot (4,267 meters) Canadian peak. The height was later named Mount Kennedy after the presidential contender’s homicide in 1968.

Whittaker was at Kennedy’s bedside when he died and was devastated by the assassination.

Whittaker grew up in Seattle and started climbing along with his twin brother Lou Whittaker within the Forties with the Boy Scouts. At 16, they summited 7,965-foot (2,428-meter) Mount Olympus, the very best peak within the Olympic Mountains west of Seattle, Jim Whittaker recounted in his memoir, “A Life on the Edge.” Once they reached the city of Port Angeles on their manner house, they discovered automobiles honking and folks celebrating: World Struggle II had ended.

Jim Whittaker as soon as mirrored that the wonder and hazard of his sport sharpened the senses: “If you stay on the sting, you’ll be able to see slightly farther,” he as soon as mirrored.

His achievements on the distant, snowy slopes of Mount Everest and close by K2, the world’s second-tallest peak, assured him a distinct segment within the file books. He was shocked when Lou determined to skip the 1963 Everest expedition in favor of opening a sporting items retailer in Tacoma.

However Lou Whittaker wrote in his personal e book, “Lou Whittaker: Memoirs of a Mountain Information,” that he nonetheless bought to share in a few of his twin’s glory by filling in when Jim bought uninterested in attending parades or different occasions in his honor.

“Solely our households and closest pals ever knew the distinction,” he wrote.

Lou Whittaker died in 2024 at age 95.

Jim Whittaker led many extra climbs, together with the 1990 Mount Everest Worldwide Peace Climb, which introduced collectively climbers from the U.S., the Soviet Union and China “to display what could possibly be achieved via cooperation and goodwill,” the household assertion mentioned.

“Jim was a lifelong advocate for peace and believed deeply within the capacity of shared challenges within the pure world to unite individuals throughout borders and ideologies,” it mentioned.

Whittaker himself mentioned considered one of his proudest moments got here in 1981, when he led 10 handicapped climbers up 14,410-foot Mount Rainier. For them, he mentioned later, “that was Mount Everest.”

Whittaker scaled Mount Rainier greater than 100 instances however didn’t take its acquainted flanks as a right. The caprices of the climate, even on a relatively modest mountain, “can flip a very good climber right into a newbie” in a matter of hours, he as soon as famous.

Former Washington Gov. Jay Inslee referred to as Whittaker’s legacy “simply as spectacular, and simply as lasting, as Mount Rainier itself.”

“He pulled many a climber up the height,” Inslee wrote in a social media put up Wednesday. “He did the identical for all our spirits. He nonetheless does.”

After years of danger on the world’s most dizzying pinnacles, Whittaker mentioned in a 1980 interview that he hoped to “die in my sleep with the tv on.”

He’s survived by his spouse of 52 years, Dianne Roberts; sons Bob, Joss and Leif Whittaker; three grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.