BURSTJim Whittaker, the first American to stand on the summit of Mount Everest and a legendary climber in the golden age of mountaineering, died on April 7 at 97 years old. He passed away at home in Port Townsend, Washington.
Born on Feb. 10, 1929, in Seattle, Whittaker began climbing as a teenager alongside his twin brother, Lou Whittaker. At a young age, the brothers climbed Mount Olympus, the tallest peak in Washington’s Olympic Mountains. In 1948, they began performing mountain rescues in the Cascade Range, and in 1950, they were working as guides on Mount Rainier. Two years later, they became instructors for the U.S. Army’s 10th Mountain Division.
On May 1, 1963, Whittaker and Nawang Gombu reached the summit of Everest during an American expedition led by Norman Dyhrenfurth. Near the top, the pair ran dangerously low on oxygen. But instead of turning back, they continued upward.
In his 1964 Alpine Jounral story Americans on Everest, 1963, Norman G. Dyhrenfurth wrote the following about the moments Whittaker and Gombu reached the summit: And then, as Big Jim approached what appeared to be the final dome, he stopped and waited for Gombu to come up to him:’ You first, Gombu,’ ‘No, you go first,’ was the small man’s reply. Then Jim said’ Let’s go together,’ and side by side they walked the last five feet. Beyond, everything fell away. They hugged each other, fighting to maintain their balance on the storm-swept summit of the world.
Dyhrenfurth continued: It was I p.m., almost seven hours after they had left Camp VI. At the very top Big Jim drove in a four-foot aluminum stake to which he had secured an American flag. And then they took pictures of each other holding various smaller flags. Toward the west and the plains of Tibet in the north the view was clear, but to the south and east everything was obscured by the mountain’s vast snow plume. After Gombu tied a kata, the traditional Buddhist friendship scarf, to the stake, the men began their descent.
In 1965, Whittaker guided Robert F. Kennedy up a remote Canadian peak later named in Kennedy’s honour. Whittaker went on to serve as a state chairman for Kennedy’s 1968 presidential campaign, and supported the family after Kennedy’s assassination.
As a leader, Whittaker led several expeditions, including the successful American ascent of K2 in 1978. In 1981, he also led an expedition on Mount Rainier that included climbers with disabilities, an effort he later described as one of the proudest achievements of his life. In a 1981, the United Press International quoted Whittaker as saying, “There were some sunburned faces, sore lips and stiff thighs, but aside from that everyone is in good shape. Rainier is a tough mountain, and I have seldom climbed with better people. In 1963, the American Everest party trained here, and they couldn’t get to the summit because of the tough conditions. This time we had the weather, and we had the people who had it in their minds that they could do it.”
In 1990, Whittaker brought together climbers from the U.S.A., Soviet Union, and China in a historic joint ascent known as the Peace Climb that saw over 20 climbers reach the summit. Organized in partnership with the Earth Day 20 Foundation, the climbers helped clean up Everest by removing over two tons of trash left by earlier climbers.
After Whittaker’s death, Bob Ferguson, the current governor of the state of Washington, said, “I am deeply saddened by the passing of Jim Whittaker. Jim was one of the great Washingtonians. He inspired many generations of mountaineers to explore the outdoors, including me. I’m grateful for the time I spent with him over the years.”
The American brand Recreational Equipment Inc (REI), of which Whittaker was once the president, released a statement to BBC, which said, “Jim showed the world what’s possible when courage is grounded in purpose.” They described him as “a true trailblazer and generous leader” and one of the most important voices in the history of the company and the broader outdoor community. “He expanded our sense of what exploration can be,” the company added, noting that Whittaker also became a prominent advocate for protecting wild places. “Throughout his life, Jim measured success not by personal achievement, but by the communities he built, the responsibility he modeled, and the countless people he inspired to step outside and discover something larger than themselves.”
For his achievements, Whittaker was awarded the Hubbard Medal by John F. Kennedy, a rare honour that placed him among the great explorers of his generation. He even testified before Congress to help establish North Cascades National Park, Redwood National Park, and the Pasayten Wilderness. Big Jim Mountain in Washington bears his name, as does a wilderness trail near Issaquah, Washington.
“You learn, when you climb a difficult mountain, you leave your ego behind and learn that you’re just a little micro-speck in this life,” Whittaker told the BBC in 2013. “You learn your weaknesses and have a little broader perspective.”
Elliot Almond wrote in his obituary for Whittaker in Cascadia Daily: “Whittaker died at home in a bed with a sweeping view of the region he loved: the Olympic Mountains, Port Townsend Bay, and the Strait of Juan de Fuca, said his son, Leif, who added that the family was pleased to see Whittaker pass gently at the finish line of ‘a remarkable life.'”
Additional photos from Whittaker’s expeditions can be found on his website here, and the Whittaker family has shared dozens more for viewing here. They also mentioned that details for a celebration of life will be shared at a later date.
A Life Well Lived
The post First American to Climb Everest, Jim Whittaker, Dies at 97 appeared first on Gripped Magazine.