Jim Whittaker is interviewed for the fiftieth Anniversary Celebration of the First American Ascent of Mount Everest in Berkeley, Calif., Feb. 22, 2013.
Jeff Chiu/AP
disguise caption
toggle caption
Jeff Chiu/AP
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 outside retailer REI and later as its president and CEO, died Tuesday at his dwelling in Port Townsend, Washington, in line with a press release from his household.
“Whether at home, in the mountains, or at sea, he sought to share adventure, joy, and optimism with those around him,” stated the assertion, which was emailed by Leif Whittaker, considered one of his sons. “His warmth, humility, and belief in the power of nature to bring people together left an enduring legacy of care for our planet and for one another.”
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 trade — in mountaineering within the U.S., and it made the once-shy, rangy climber an prompt superstar. 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 practically 250,000 to greater than 900,000 throughout his tenure, REI famous in a press release Wednesday.
Robert F. Kennedy, left, stands atop Mt. Kennedy after inserting a black flag in memorial to his late brother, President John F. Kennedy, subsequent to, from left, Jim Whittaker, William Allard, and George Senner, March 24, 1965, in Yukon, Canada.
Doug Wilson/AP
disguise caption
toggle caption
Doug Wilson/AP
The co-op credited his congressional testimony and different efforts with serving to to determine North Cascades Nationwide Park and the Pasayten Wilderness in Washington, in addition to and Redwood Nationwide Park in California.
“Long before outdoor advocacy was commonplace, Jim gave his voice — and his leadership — to protecting the places we love, reminding us that wild places endure only if we choose to care for them,” the assertion stated.
Whittaker’s superstar additionally introduced him into the orbit of the Kennedy clan, and he turned a detailed good friend 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 best peak within the Olympic Mountains west of Seattle, Jim Whittaker recounted in his memoir, “A Life on the Edge.” After they reached the city of Port Angeles on their means dwelling, they discovered automobiles honking and other people celebrating: World Conflict II had ended.
Jim Whittaker as soon as mirrored that the wonder and hazard of his sport sharpened the senses: “When you live on the edge, you can see a little 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 report 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 guide, “Lou Whittaker: Memoirs of a Mountain Guide,” that he nonetheless obtained to share in a few of his twin’s glory by filling in when Jim obtained bored with attending parades or different occasions in his honor.
“Only our families and closest friends ever knew the difference,” he wrote.
Lou Whittaker died in 2024 at age 95.
Lou Whittaker, left, and his brother Jim Whittaker, proper, pose for a portrait at Jim’s home, in 1980, in Seattle.
Ann E. Yow/AP/The Seattle Occasions
disguise caption
toggle caption
Ann E. Yow/AP/The Seattle Occasions
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 demonstrate what could be accomplished through cooperation and goodwill,” the household assertion stated.
“Jim was a lifelong advocate for peace and believed deeply in the ability of shared challenges in the natural world to unite people across borders and ideologies,” it stated.
Whittaker himself stated 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 stated later, “that was Mount Everest.”
Whittaker scaled Mount Rainier greater than 100 occasions however didn’t take its acquainted flanks as a right. The caprices of the climate, even on a relatively modest mountain, “can turn a good climber into a beginner” in a matter of hours, he as soon as famous.
Former Washington Gov. Jay Inslee known as Whittaker’s legacy “just as impressive, and just as lasting, as Mount Rainier itself.”
“He pulled many a climber up the peak,” Inslee wrote in a social media submit Wednesday. “He did the same for all our spirits. He still does.”
After years of threat on the world’s most dizzying pinnacles, Whittaker stated in a 1980 interview that he hoped to “die in my sleep with the television on.”
He’s survived by his spouse of 52 years, Dianne Roberts; sons Bob, Joss and Leif Whittaker; three grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.
