Jim Whittaker, First American to Climb Mount Everest, Dies at 97 in Washington
Jim Whittaker, the towering mountaineer who became the first American to reach the summit of Mount Everest and went on to shape the nation’s outdoor culture for decades, died Tuesday, April 7, at his home in Port Townsend, Washington.
He was 97.
He 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 an email, per NPR.
“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,” he added.
Jim Whittaker’s Historic Climb Atop Mount Everest
Whittaker summited Everest in 1963 alongside Nawang Gombu. The historic climb made him the first American to do so — 10 years after Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay became the first people to reach the world’s highest peak.
The achievement made Whittaker an instant celebrity — he was featured on magazine covers and became widely sought for public appearances.
It also helped spark American interest in mountaineering and fueled the growth of the outdoor industry in the United States.
But his mountaineering journey began two decades earlier when he and his brother discovered their love of climbing.
Jim Whittaker Had a Twin Brother Named Lou
Whittaker grew up in Seattle and began climbing in the 1940s with the Boy Scouts alongside his identical twin brother, Lou Whittaker.
At age 16, the brothers summited Mount Olympus, the 7,965-foot highest peak in Washington’s Olympic Mountains.
Whittaker’s climbing résumé extended far beyond Everest. He climbed K2, the world’s second-tallest peak, and scaled Mount Rainier more than 100 times.
In 1981, he led 10 handicapped climbers up Mount Rainier’s 14,410-foot summit — an experience he called one of his proudest moments, saying that “for them, that was Mount Everest.”
In 1990, he led the Mount Everest International Peace Climb, uniting climbers from the U.S., Soviet Union and China.
As for Lou, he became a mountaineer legend in his own right. He led the first American expedition to scale Everest’s north face, but skipped the 1963 expedition to open a sporting goods store in Tacoma.
He 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 own memoir, Lou Whittaker: Memoirs of a Mountain Guide.
Lou died in 2024 at age 95.
Jim Whittaker’s REI Legacy, Friendship With RFK
In 1955, Whittaker was hired by REI co-founder Lloyd Anderson, making him the outdoor retailer’s first full-time employee.
He later served as president and CEO from 1971 to 1979 and was a big reason why membership grew from nearly 250,000 to more than 900,000. His historic climb atop Mount Everest coincided with a meteoric popularity surge for REI.
Whittaker was also close friends with Robert F. Kennedy. The two climbed a 14,000-foot Canadian peak together that was later named Mount Kennedy after President John F. Kennedy’s assassination.
Whittaker once described the 5-foot-something RFK as “one of the grittiest little guys you’ve ever seen” — a striking observation from a man who stood 6-foot-5.
He later served as state chairman for RFK’s presidential campaign and was at Kennedy’s bedside when he died in 1968.
This article was created by content specialists using various tools, including AI.
