Climbing legends Lou and Jim Whittaker turned 80 earlier this month. Born in Seattle, Washington in 1929, they were born in the era of Mallory and Irvine and the beginning of Alpine and Himalayan adventure. Both Jim and Lou developed their climbing in the rugged mountains of the Cascades in the Northwest.
By 1963 Jim Whittaker scaled the highest mountain in the world, Mt Everest at 29,028 ft and in doing so was the first American to climb the mountain. On returning from Everest Jim went on to become REI’s first employee then becoming CEO in the late 1960′s.
Lou Whittaker is an accomplished higher-altitude, glacier-travel guide who has summitted Mount Rainier 250 times and founded the guide business Rainier Mountaineering Inc.
At 80 things are not slowing down to much with a trip last year to the Everest Base Camp and a trip to New Zealand. Let’s only hope when we reach the golden age of 80 that I am traversing some Himalayan passage.
Posted by sharonpage on Friday, February 27, 2009 at 6:01 pm
Filed under Travel Adventure |
· Tagged with babes in the backcountry, climbing, diva outdoors, diva trek, divatrek, himayalan climbing, jim whittaker, mt everest, north face soft shell, osprey talen backpack, outdoor divas, outdoors, rock climbing
Posted by sharonpage on Monday, February 16, 2009 at 5:49 pm
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