Facts About American Climber Jim Whittaker

Jim Whittaker, also known as James Whittaker is one of the most accomplished and significant climbers in American history. His decades long career as a climber has had a great influence in the climbing community. Furthermore he’s also known as being the first American to reach the summit of Mount Everest.

Facts About Jim Whittaker:

• Jim Whittaker was part of the American Mount Everest Expedition in 1963. This expedition was led by Norman Dyhrenfurth, but it was Whittaker who reached the summit first.Mr. Whittaker would ultimately plant the American Flag on the summit of Mount Everest as part of the 1963 expedition.
• He also led the first successful American ascent of K-2.
• Whittaker grew up in the Seattle area and spent much of his time there as well. He graduated from both Seattle High School and Seattle University.
• He initially became a full time employee of Recreational Equipment Inc., working there for many years. Ultimately, Whittaker became CEO of the company in the 1960s.
• In 1990, James Whittaker organized a “peace climb” to bring together people of different nationalities. This included climbers who were of American, Russian and Chinese heritage.
• The peace climb would ultimately bring a dozen climbers to the summit of Mount Everest.
• This event became known as the Earth Day 20 Peace Climb. The event was originally intended to promote good relations between different countries that were involved. However, the event also helped to clear off trash that had accumulated around the mountain.
• He has a twin brother, who is named Lou Whittaker(also a climber). They are often mistaken for one another, though it was Jim who made it to the top of Mount Everest first.
• During the course of 1965, Jim Whittaker was able to guide Robert Kennedy up to the top of Mount Kennedy.
• Whittaker produced an autobiography during the course of 1990. This book was entitled “A Life On The Edge: Memoirs Of Everest And Beyond”, which detailed some of the key moments of his life’s career.
• Whittaker reached the summit with a Sherpa by the name of Nawang Gambu. This Sherpa was the nephew of Tenzing Norgay, who was one of the first climbers to initially reach the summit of Mount Everest.
• Jim became the chairman of the board for a company known as Magellan Navigation. This company would ultimately become well known for the global positioning system (GPS) products that it produced.
• Jim later joined his brother Lou in the operation of Rainier Mountaineering, Inc.(RMI), which is a family owned company. RMI has developed some important mountaineering products over the years.
• Since he was the first American to reach the summit of Mount Everest, he was awarded the Hubbard Medal. This medal was awarded to Whittaker by U.S. President John F. Kennedy.