Who Was Jim Whittaker? A Take a look at the Lifetime of America’s First Mount Everest Climber
Jim Whittaker, the first American to reach the summit of Mount Everest, died Tuesday, April 7, at his home in Port Townsend, Wash. He was 97.
His death closes a chapter in American mountaineering. From the summit of Everest to the halls of Congress to the helm of REI, Whittaker helped build the outdoor industry and advocated to protect the public lands that defined it.
The Day Jim Whittaker Made American History
Whittaker summited Everest in 1963 alongside Nawang Gombu, a decade after Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay became the first people to reach the top.
The achievement made him an instant celebrity, landing him on magazine covers and generating demand for public appearances. It also helped spark American interest in mountaineering and the growth of the outdoor industry in the U.S.
Whittaker grew up in Seattle and began climbing in the 1940s with the Boy Scouts alongside his identical twin brother, Lou Whittaker. At 16, the two summited Mount Olympus (7,965 feet), the highest peak in Washington’s Olympic Mountains. Returning from that climb, they arrived in Port Angeles to celebrations marking the end of World War II.
What Jim Whittaker Accomplished Beyond Mount Everest
Whittaker climbed K2, the world’s second-tallest peak, and scaled Mount Rainier more than 100 times.
In 1990, he led the Mount Everest International Peace Climb, uniting climbers from the U.S., Soviet Union and China.
One of his proudest moments, he said, came in 1981, when he led 10 handicapped climbers up Mount Rainier (14,410 feet). “For them, that was Mount Everest,” he said, per PBS.
He cautioned against underestimating any mountain, noting that even modest peaks’ weather “can turn a good climber into a beginner” in hours.
His identical twin, Lou, was himself a world-class climber who led the first American expedition to scale Everest’s north face.
Lou sometimes filled in for Jim at parades and events when Jim grew tired of appearances. “Only our families and closest friends ever knew the difference,” Lou wrote in his memoir, “Lou Whittaker: Memoirs of a Mountain Guide.”
Lou Whittaker died in 2024 at age 95.
How Jim Whittaker Shaped REI and Conservation
Whittaker was REI’s first full-time employee, hired in 1955 by co-founder Lloyd Anderson. He served as president and CEO from 1971 to 1979. During his tenure, membership grew from nearly 250,000 to more than 900,000, a surge powered in part by his Everest celebrity.
His influence extended well beyond retail. His congressional testimony and advocacy helped establish North Cascades National Park and Pasayten Wilderness in Washington and Redwood National 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,” his family said in a statement.
What Jim Whittaker Believed About Risk and Nature
Whittaker was one of the many people who pushed back on the idea of requiring climbers to wear electronic locators.
“If you take all of the risk out of life, you lose a lot. You’re removing a personal liberty from somebody who wants to go and explore without having a safety net,” he told the Associated Press in 2007.
In a 1981 interview, he described the spiritual pull of the mountains: “You’re in nature, participating in God’s creation … it’s such a high, such a spiritual thing.”
“When you live on the edge, you can see a little farther,” he added.
Whittaker is survived by his wife of 52 years, Dianne Roberts; sons Bob, Joss and Leif Whittaker; three grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.
“Whether at home, in the mountains, or at sea, he sought to share adventure, joy, and optimism with those around him,” his son Leif wrote in a statement. “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.”