Jim Whittaker: Mountaineering Legend Passes

0:00It's April 8th. Vancouver News Today starts now, AI-powered and ready. Jim Whitaker, the first American to summit Mount Everest back in 1963, has passed away at 97. He died Tuesday at his home and poured towns in Washington, family confirmed. That climb came a full decade after Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norge made history on the world's highest peak. Whitaker's feet turned the shy mountaineer into a celebrity overnight, landing him gigs at public events and pulling him into elite circles like the Kennedys. He bonded tight with Robert Kennedy, even leading a climb up the 14,000-foot-mount Kennedy in Canada after Bobby's assassination. Whitaker called him one gritty dude, proving heartbeat size every time. From Boy Scout Days tackling Washington's Olympics to world-class peaks like K2, Whitaker lived for the edge. His identical twin Lou, who conquered Everest's North Face, passed earlier this year at 95. Did Jim's proudest win? Guiding ten climbers with disabilities to the top of 14,410-foot Mount Rainier in 1981.

1:06He always said, mountains sharpen your senses and connect you to something spiritual, but they don't play favors with risks. Late in life, Whitaker pushed back on mandatory electronic locators for spots like Oregon's Mount Hood, arguing it strips the wild's mystique and personal freedom. Whitaker's legacy reminds us that facing the heights with all their raw beauty and danger lets you see farther straight into what life's really about.