Jim Whittaker, the first American to reach the summit of Mount Everest, has died at 97, his family confirmed. He passed away at his home in Port Townsend, Washington, surrounded by loved ones, with a sweeping view of the Olympic Mountains and Port Townsend Bay.
Born in Seattle on 10 February 1929, Whittaker, known as “Big Jim,” began climbing with his twin brother Lou as Boy Scouts in the 1940s. At 16, the brothers summited Mount Olympus, the highest peak in Washington’s Olympic Mountains.
Whittaker cemented his place in history on 1 May 1963, when he and Nawang Gombu Sherpa reached the 29,032-foot (8,849m) summit of Everest. Awarded the Hubbard Medal by President John F. Kennedy, he later described mountaineering as a lesson in humility and perspective. He returned to Everest in 2013 with his son Leif, who is also a climber.
Beyond climbing, Whittaker played a pivotal role in the outdoor community. He was REI’s first full-time employee in 1955 and served as its president from 1971 to 1979, helping shape the company into a leading outdoor retailer. He also testified before Congress in 1968, advocating for the creation of North Cascades National Park, Pasayten Wilderness, and Redwood National Park.
Whittaker maintained close ties to the Kennedy family, serving as state chairman for Robert F. Kennedy’s presidential campaign and climbing what would later be named Mount Kennedy. Throughout his life, he remained active with The Mountaineers club in Washington and chronicled his adventures in his memoir, A Life on the Edge.
His family remembered him as a man devoted to “adventure, stewardship, service, and family.” Washington Governor Bob Ferguson called him “one of the great Washingtonians,” while REI hailed him as “a true trailblazer and generous leader” whose courage and vision inspired countless people to explore the outdoors.
