Jim Whittaker, the pioneering climber who became the first American to reach the summit of Mount Everest in 1963, has died at 97. His family confirmed he passed peacefully at his home in Port Townsend, Washington.
Whittaker’s Everest triumph came 10 years after the legendary Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay first scaled the peak.
That daring climb turned the once-shy mountaineer into an instant celebrity, in demand for public appearances and causes he cared about.He also gained entrée into high-profile circles, including a lifelong friendship with the Kennedy family.
Whittaker guided Robert F. Kennedy up a 14,000-foot Canadian peak later named Mount Kennedy after the senator’s assassination.“Bobby Kennedy was one of the grittiest little guys you’ve ever seen,” the 6-foot-5 Whittaker said in 2015. “It’s not how big you are but how tight you are wound that counts.”
He had also served as a state chairman for Kennedy’s campaign, showing he could navigate politics as deftly as mountain cliffs.
Jim’s identical twin, Lou Whittaker, a legendary mountaineer and founder of Rainier Mountaineering Inc., passed away at 95 in March 2024.
Together, the brothers cemented their status among the world’s elite climbers.
But Jim considered one of his proudest moments leading 10 climbers with disabilities to the summit of Mount Rainier in 1981, a feat he called their personal Everest.In 1980, he told an interviewer he hoped to “die in my sleep with the TV on,” reflecting his blend of daring and humor.
27 years later, he opposed mandatory electronic locators for climbers, insisting that “if you take all of the risk out of life, you lose a lot.”
Whittaker also left a huge mark on the outdoors world.
As REI’s first full-time employee and later CEO, he helped build the co-op into a global force for outdoor gear.
