SEATTLE — Jim Whittaker, the celebrated mountaineer who became the first American to reach the summit of Mount Everest, has died at 97. He died Tuesday at his home in Port Townsend, Washington, his family said.
Whittaker, who was also the first full-time employee of outdoor co-op REI and later served as its president and CEO, died after a long life of climbing, conservation and public service. In a statement emailed by his son Leif Whittaker, the family said, “Whether at home, in the mountains, or at sea, he sought to share adventure, joy, and optimism with those around him. 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 ascent of Everest in 1963, alongside Nawang Gombu, came a decade after Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay’s pioneering climb and helped spur interest in mountaineering in the United States. The feat made Whittaker a national figure; he appeared on magazine covers and was in demand for public appearances.
He had begun working at REI in 1955 after being hired by co-founder Lloyd Anderson. REI said the company’s popularity rose after Whittaker’s Everest climb, and that under his leadership from 1971 to 1979 membership grew from nearly 250,000 to more than 900,000.
The co-op credited Whittaker’s congressional testimony and advocacy with helping establish North Cascades National Park and the Pasayten Wilderness in Washington, and Redwood National Park in California. “Long before outdoor advocacy was commonplace, Jim gave his voice — and his leadership — to protecting the places we love,” the family statement said.
Whittaker developed a close friendship with Robert F. Kennedy and climbed a 14,000-foot Canadian peak with him; the peak was later named Mount Kennedy after RFK’s assassination in 1968. Whittaker was at Kennedy’s bedside when he died and was deeply affected by the assassination.
Born and raised in Seattle, Whittaker began climbing with his twin brother Lou in the 1940s through the Boy Scouts. He and Lou summited 7,965-foot Mount Olympus at 16, an episode he recalled in his memoir, A Life on the Edge. He often said the beauty and danger of climbing sharpened his senses: “When you live on the edge, you can see a little farther,” he reflected.
Beyond Everest, Whittaker climbed K2 and led many expeditions, including the 1990 Mount Everest International Peace Climb, which brought together climbers from the U.S., the Soviet Union and China “to demonstrate what could be accomplished through cooperation and goodwill,” the family said. He described himself as a lifelong advocate for peace who believed shared challenges in nature could unite people across borders and ideologies.
One of his proudest achievements, he said, was leading 10 handicapped climbers up 14,410-foot Mount Rainier in 1981 — an ascent he called, for them, “that was Mount Everest.” He climbed Rainier more than 100 times and warned that mountain weather could quickly humble even seasoned climbers: it “can turn a good climber into a beginner” in hours, he noted.
Former Washington Gov. Jay Inslee praised Whittaker’s legacy as “just as impressive, and just as lasting, as Mount Rainier itself,” saying Whittaker had lifted many climbers and spirits. In a 1980 interview, Whittaker quipped that he hoped to “die in my sleep with the television on.”
He is survived by his wife of 52 years, Dianne Roberts; sons Bob, Joss and Leif Whittaker; three grandchildren; and one great-grandchild. His twin brother Lou Whittaker, who also became a noted mountaineer, died in 2024 at age 95.