Jim Whittaker, the celebrated mountaineer who became the first American to summit Mount Everest, has died at age 97. He passed away Tuesday at his home in Port Townsend, Washington, according to a statement from his family. “Whether at home, in the mountains, or at sea, he sought to share adventure, joy, and optimism with those around him,” the family said in an email from his son Leif Whittaker. “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, came 10 years after the pioneering climb of Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay. The feat spurred interest and a burgeoning industry in U.S. mountaineering, and it made the once-shy climber an instant celebrity. He graced magazine covers and was in demand for public appearances.
Whittaker had joined REI in 1955, hired by co-founder Lloyd Anderson. After his Everest climb raised the company’s profile, he led the cooperative from 1971 to 1979. Under his leadership, membership grew from roughly 250,000 to more than 900,000. REI credited his congressional testimony and other efforts with helping to establish North Cascades National Park and the Pasayten Wilderness in Washington, as well as 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,” the statement said.
Whittaker’s celebrity also brought him into the orbit of the Kennedy family, and he became a close friend of Robert Kennedy, with whom he climbed a 14,000-foot Canadian peak. The peak was later named Mount Kennedy after Kennedy’s murder in 1968. Whittaker was at Kennedy’s bedside when he died and was devastated by the assassination.
Whittaker grew up in Seattle and began climbing with his twin brother Lou Whittaker in the 1940s through the Boy Scouts. At 16, they summited Mount Olympus, the highest peak in the Olympic Mountains west of Seattle. On the return home, they reached Port Angeles to fanfare and celebration, as World War II had just ended. Jim Whittaker once reflected that the beauty and danger of his sport sharpened the senses.
