Jim Wickwire
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Jim Wickwire (born June 8, 1940) is the first
American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...
to summit K2, the second highest mountain in the world (summit at ). Wickwire is also known for surviving an overnight solo bivouac on K2 at an elevation above ; considered "one of the most notorious bivouacs in mountaineering history".


Early life

Wickwire was raised in the small town of
Ephrata, Washington Ephrata ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Grant County, Washington, United States. Its population was 8,477 at the 2020 census. History Ephrata was officially incorporated on June 21, 1909 and was given the county seat for the newly crea ...
, by James and Dorothy Wickwire. He played football for Ephrata High School and
Columbia Basin College Columbia Basin College (CBC) is a public community college in Pasco, Washington. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. The college offers English as a second language and General Educational Development (GED) ...
in
Pasco, Washington Pasco ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Franklin County, Washington, United States. The population was 77,108 at the 2020 census, and estimated at 80,038 in 2023. Pasco is one of three cities (the others being Kennewick and Richland) t ...
, where he was part of an unbeaten team in 1961 that was later invited to the Junior Rose Bowl. Wickwire chose to leave football and enroll in
Gonzaga University Gonzaga University (GU) ( ) is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit university in Spokane, Washington, United States. It is Higher education accreditation in the United States, accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges ...
, where he graduated law school. He trained and has practiced as a lawyer.


Mount Rainier and the Willis Wall

Wickwire made several pioneering ascents of
Mount Rainier Mount Rainier ( ), also known as Tahoma, is a large active stratovolcano in the Cascade Range of the Pacific Northwest in the United States. The mountain is located in Mount Rainier National Park about south-southeast of Seattle. With an off ...
's foot Willis Wall in the 1960s and 1970s, which had remained unclimbed until 1961. His ascent in 1963, was the first up the wall's East Rib. In 1970, he completed the first winter ascent of the Willis Wall. Wickwire's other ascents of the Willis Wall occurred in 1971 and 1974.


K2: summit and bivouac

K2 has been termed the "Savage Mountain" in writings about its high altitude climbing. Its dangers include notorious weather conditions, stretches of technical climbing on rock and ice, marked cliff exposures, and enormous, high-altitude
serac A serac () (from Swiss French ''sérac'') is a block or column of glacial ice, often formed by intersecting crevasses on a glacier. Commonly house-sized or larger, they are dangerous to mountaineers, since they may topple with little warning. ...
. It has the second-highest fatality rate among the " eight thousanders" for those who climb it; of every four people who have reached the summit, one has died trying. When Wickwire finally climbed K2 for the first time, seven climbers had already died there. His first attempt on K2 was in a 1975 expedition that broke down in disputes and never got above . Wickwire reached the summit of K2 with
Louis Reichardt Louis French Reichardt (born June 4, 1942) is a noted American neuroscientist and mountaineer, the first American to summit both Everest and K2. He was also director of the Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative, the largest non-federal su ...
on September 6, 1978.''American Alpine Journal'', 1979, pp. 1–18 The pair took photos on the summit, and then Reichardt started his descent immediately because he had made the climb without supplemental oxygen. Wickwire lingered a little longer, with the intention of catching up. Upon his descent it was beginning to get dark however, and Wickwire did not have a
headlamp A headlamp is a lamp attached to the front of a vehicle to illuminate the road ahead. Headlamps are also often called headlights, but in the most precise usage, ''headlamp'' is the term for the device itself and ''headlight'' is the term for t ...
. Concerned about being able to move safely in the dark, he decided to spend the night where he was, which was below the summit but above .Wickwire; Bullitt; — p. 120. Wickwire had done bivouacs before and knew he just needed to gut it out until daylight, which was risky because of the thin air and severe cold. Risks included hypoxia,
hypothermia Hypothermia is defined as a body core temperature below in humans. Symptoms depend on the temperature. In mild hypothermia, there is shivering and mental confusion. In moderate hypothermia, shivering stops and confusion increases. In severe ...
,
frostbite Frostbite is a skin injury that occurs when someone is exposed to extremely low temperatures, causing the freezing of the skin or other tissues, commonly affecting the fingers, toes, nose, ears, cheeks and chin areas. Most often, frostbite occ ...
,
cerebral edema Cerebral edema is excess accumulation of fluid ( edema) in the intracellular or extracellular spaces of the brain. This typically causes impaired nerve function, increased pressure within the skull, and can eventually lead to direct compres ...
,
pulmonary edema Pulmonary edema (British English: oedema), also known as pulmonary congestion, is excessive fluid accumulation in the tissue or air spaces (usually alveoli) of the lungs. This leads to impaired gas exchange, most often leading to shortness ...
, and falling. Wickwire did not have a tent, sleeping bag, or water. His oxygen ran out halfway through the night, and his gas stove became inoperable. His only protection, other than his immediate winter clothing, was a thin nylon bivvy sack, which is uninsulated but windproof and helps to retain body heat. He shivered uncontrollably from the extreme cold (estimated to be -35 °F) and kept slowly sliding down the slope. He was forced to get out of his sack to remedy the problem and discovered that he was at risk of sliding over an edge that rolled off to drop below. "No one had ever survived a solo bivouac above twenty-seven thousand feet". The next morning, John Roskelley and Rick Ridgeway found him continuing down while on their way to the summit. Wickwire lost parts of two toes and underwent lung surgery due to blood clots on his lungs (
pulmonary emboli Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a blockage of an artery in the lungs by a substance that has moved from elsewhere in the body through the bloodstream (embolism). Symptoms of a PE may include shortness of breath, chest pain particularly upon breathin ...
); he also caught
pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...
and
pleurisy Pleurisy, also known as pleuritis, is inflammation of the membranes that surround the lungs and line the chest cavity (Pulmonary pleurae, pleurae). This can result in a sharp chest pain while breathing. Occasionally the pain may be a constant d ...
. The
Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...
i army helicoptered Wickwire right from the glacier at the bottom of the mountain, and Wickwire immediately underwent lung surgery. The surgeon expressed uncertainty about Wickwire's ever climbing at high altitudes again. Nevertheless, Wickwire continued high-altitude climbing a couple of years later, climbing the slopes of Alaska's
Denali Denali (), federally designated as Mount McKinley, is the highest mountain peak in North America, with a summit elevation of above sea level. It is the tallest mountain in the world from base to peak on land, measuring . On p. 20 of Helm ...
in preparation for his climbing expedition on
Mount Everest Mount Everest (), known locally as Sagarmatha in Nepal and Qomolangma in Tibet, is Earth's highest mountain above sea level. It lies in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas and marks part of the China–Nepal border at it ...
.


Crevasse on Denali

In 1981, Wickwire was traversing a
glacier A glacier (; or ) is a persistent body of dense ice, a form of rock, that is constantly moving downhill under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires ...
on
Denali Denali (), federally designated as Mount McKinley, is the highest mountain peak in North America, with a summit elevation of above sea level. It is the tallest mountain in the world from base to peak on land, measuring . On p. 20 of Helm ...
, with 25-year-old
Mount Rainier Mount Rainier ( ), also known as Tahoma, is a large active stratovolcano in the Cascade Range of the Pacific Northwest in the United States. The mountain is located in Mount Rainier National Park about south-southeast of Seattle. With an off ...
guide Chris Kerrebrock in the lead.''The Kansas City Star'', 18 Feb 1999, Eric Adler They were roped together and dragging a sled. Glaciers often have deep
crevasses A crevasse is a deep crack that forms in a glacier or ice sheet. Crevasses form as a result of the movement and resulting stress associated with the shear stress generated when two semi-rigid pieces above a plastic substrate have different rate ...
, which can be concealed by thin layers of snow. A crevasse opened up beneath Kerrebrock who fell in headfirst, pulling Wickwire and the sled in on top of him, since they were roped together. Wickwire was able to slowly climb out with an ice axe but was unable to rescue Kerrebrock, who was alive but wedged in tightly, still wearing his
backpack A backpack, also called knapsack, schoolbag, rucksack, pack, booksack, bookbag, haversack, packsack, or backsack, is in its simplest frameless form, a fabric sack carried on one's back and secured with two straps that go over the shoulders; b ...
and upside down. (Kerrebrock couldn't feel his hand when Wickwire touched it.) Wickwire had broken his shoulder, but slowly scaled the ice walls of the crevasse, six inches at a time, with his
ice axe An ice axe is a multi-purpose hiking and climbing tool used by mountaineers in both the ascent and descent of routes that involve snow or ice covered (e.g. ice climbing or mixed climbing) conditions. Its use depends on the terrain: in its si ...
and
crampons A crampon is a traction device attached to footwear to improve mobility on snow and ice during ice climbing. Besides ice climbing, crampons are also used for secure travel on snow and ice, such as crossing glaciers, snowfields and icefields, as ...
. Once upon the rim surface he attempted to dislodge Kerrebrock, who was still very much conscious, by pulling forcefully on the rope. Wickwire then descended on rope anchored to a snow picket, and attempted moving Kerrebrock's tightly wedged backpack from within the crevasse, but all efforts were futile. Resigned to Kerrebrock's fate, the two men said their goodbyes. Kerrebrock subsequently died late in the night.Wickwire; Bullitt; — p. 1-7. (Kerrebrock had instructed Wickwire to leave it up to his father to decide whether to leave his body in the crevasse or not. Wickwire led
park rangers A ranger, park ranger, park warden, field ranger, or forest ranger is a person entrusted with protecting and preserving parklands and protected areas – private, national, state, provincial, or local parks. Their duties include (but are not limi ...
to the site, and they extracted Kerrebrock from the location.) Upon getting down from the mountain, which took several days and was fraught with more crevasse dangers, Wickwire was burdened by his guilt for months for being unable to save Kerrebrock. He thought about quitting the upcoming expedition to Mount Everest stating, "the furthest thought in my mind was Everest at that point". His wife convinced him to think about it for a length of time before deciding one way or the other, so there would be no regrets down the road. Wickwire heeded his wife's advice, and in 1982, he was climbing Everest's slopes with the planned group for the expedition.


North face Everest attempts

Wickwire made four (unsuccessful) attempts on the north side of
Mount Everest Mount Everest (), known locally as Sagarmatha in Nepal and Qomolangma in Tibet, is Earth's highest mountain above sea level. It lies in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas and marks part of the China–Nepal border at it ...
, in: 1982, 1984, 1993, and 2003. During the 1982 expedition, Wickwire formed a relationship with female climber
Marty Hoey Marty Hoey (1951 – May 15, 1982) was a mountaineer and mountain guide who took part in a 1982 expedition to Mount Everest. During an attempted ascent that would have made her the first American woman to summit Everest, she plunged over the edge o ...
. While ascending Everest, one day Wickwire and Hoey were taking a brief rest on a slope within a steep and icy
couloir A couloir (, "passage" or "corridor") is a narrow gully with a steep gradient in a mountainous terrain.Whittow, John (1984). ''Dictionary of Physical Geography''. London: Penguin, p. 121. . Geology A couloir may be a seam, scar, or fissure, o ...
at . When the two climbers above needed more rope Hoey got up to allow Wickwire to move into position to ascend. As she did so, something went wrong. As Wickwire explains: Wickwire looked back at the fixed rope and saw Hoey's open climbing waist harness still attached via a
jumar An ascender is a device (usually mechanical) used for directly ascending, or for facilitating protection, with a fixed rope when climbing on steep mountain terrain. A form introduced in the 1950s became so popular it began the term "Jumar" for ...
. He couldn't compute at first what had happened, but later realized that her harness strap had not held, because Hoey hadn't threaded "the end of her belt back through the buckle (the only way to assure it would not come loose)". Retracing the route down, Wickwire found one of her
crampons A crampon is a traction device attached to footwear to improve mobility on snow and ice during ice climbing. Besides ice climbing, crampons are also used for secure travel on snow and ice, such as crossing glaciers, snowfields and icefields, as ...
, but her body was lost below in the mountain's
bergschrund A bergschrund (from the German for ''mountain cleft''; sometimes abbreviated in English to "schrund") is a crevasse that forms where moving glacier ice separates from the stagnant ice or firn above. It is often a serious obstacle for mountaineer ...
. After Hoey's death, the three remaining climbers of the expedition's first summit team turned back.


Other notable attempts

In 1995, Jim Wickwire, John Roskelley,
Tim Macartney-Snape Tim Macartney-Snape (born 5 January 1956) is an Australian mountaineer and author. On 3 October 1984 Macartney-Snape and Greg Mortimer were the first Australians to reach the summit of Mount Everest. They reached the summit, climbing without ...
, Stephen Venables, and Charlie Porter attempted a new route on
Monte Sarmiento Monte Sarmiento is a pyramidal peak with a glaciated saddle-shaped summit located within Alberto de Agostini National Park, in the Chilean portion of Tierra del Fuego. It rises abruptly from the east shore of the Magdalena Channel and marks the ...
, on the western shores of
Tierra del Fuego Tierra del Fuego (, ; Spanish for "Land of Fire", rarely also Fireland in English) is an archipelago off the southernmost tip of the South America, South American mainland, across the Strait of Magellan. The archipelago consists of the main is ...
. Wickwire and Porter were injured on the climb and did not reach the summit with Roskelley, Macartney-Snape, and Venables.


Personal life

At the time of Kerrebrock's death, Wickwire had been working for 20 years to become "one of the world's most accomplished mountain climbers". After his adventures came to a halt, Wickwire was still able to return to have a relationship with his wife, children, and now his grandchildren. His wife had supported him during the years that he was a risk taker in the mountains. Wickwire is now a retired attorney living in
Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
, Washington.


In media


Books

* Wickwire has published an autobiography, ''Addicted to Danger: A Memoir about Affirming Life in the Face of Death'' (with Dorothy C. Bullitt).


Film

The film ''K2'' (1991) is based very loosely on Wickwire and Reichardt's 1978 K2 summit; there are significant differences between the film and reality.


References


External links


Jim Wickwire in a 2022 talk about climbing Mount Rainier's Willis Wall
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wickwire, Jim 1940 births Living people Mountain climbers from Seattle People from Ephrata, Washington Gonzaga University School of Law alumni Summiters of K2