Jim Whittaker, first American to summit Mount Everest, dies aged 97

Jim Whittaker, first American to summit Mount Everest, dies aged 9715 minutes agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleNardine SaadWhittaker Family Photo CollectionJim Whittaker became the first American to reach the summit of Mount Everest on 1 May 1963 - a moment captured by Sherpa climbing partner Nawang GombuJim Whittaker, the first American to reach the summit of Mount Everest, has died aged 97, according to his family. He climbed to the highest point on earth on 1 May 1963 and remained among the most highly regarded mountaineers for decades, returning to Everest with his family when he was 83 years old.Whittaker - the first full-time employee and former president of outdoor company Recreational Equipment Inc (REI) - died on Tuesday at his home in Port Townsend, Washington, surrounded by family and loved ones, his son Leif confirmed to the BBC.An American folk hero, Whittaker lived a life "devoted to adventure, stewardship, service, and family", his family said in an obituary.Getty ImagesJim Whittaker became the first American to summit on Mount Everest in in 1963, ten years after the historic ascent of Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing NorgayWhittaker died at home, in a bed "with a sweeping view of the region he loved: the Olympic Mountains, Port Townsend Bay, and the Strait of Juan de Fuca," Leif Whittaker, the youngest of his five sons, said in the Cascadia Daily News obituary.Known as Big Jim, Whittaker was born in Seattle, Washington, on 10 February 1929 and began climbing with his twin brother Lou Whitakker as Boy Scouts in the 1940s.The brothers summited Washington state's 7,965-foot (2,428m) Mount Olympus - the highest peak in the Olympic Mountains west of Seattle - aged 16.The climber cemented his name in history in 1963 alongside Nawang Gombu Sherpa when they climbed the 29,032-foot (8,849m) peak on the border of Nepal and China - an achievement that would inspire generations of explorers and ignite the modern mountaineering movemen...