Louis Winslow Whittaker (February 10, 1929 – March 24, 2024) was an American mountaineer, mountain guide, and businessman. He and his twin brother,

Jim Whittaker James W. Whittaker (born February 10, 1929), also known as Jim Whittaker, is an American climber and mountain guide. Born and raised in Seattle, Washington. On May 1, 1963, he became the first American to reach the summit of Mount Everest as ...

, also a renowned mountaineer and guide, were born and raised 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 ...

Biography

Lou Whittaker was born in

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

, on February 10, 1929. He and his twin brother Jim began climbing mountains at age 12. The Whittakers completed their first summit 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 ...

at age 16 and had climbed all of the major peaks in Washington by age 18. Besides his worldwide mountain climbing experience, Whittaker became the most experienced

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 ...

-travel guide by climbing to the summit of Mount Rainier over 250 times. He also established Rainier Mountaineering, Inc. (now RMI Expeditions), developed a group of successful climbing-related businesses at the Rainier Base Camp in Ashford, adjacent to

Mount Rainier National Park Mount Rainier National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States located in southeast Pierce County, Washington, Pierce County and northeast Lewis County, Washington, Lewis County in Washington (sta ...

. There he led the training of several generations of Rainier guides, many of whom continue to guide and climb elsewhere. He also led the first American ascent of the

North Col __NOTOC__ The North Col (; ) refers to the sharp-edged pass carved by glaciers in the ridge connecting Mount Everest and Changtse in Tibet. It forms the head of the East Rongbuk Glacier. When climbers attempt to climb Everest via the North Rid ...

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 1984.Lou Whittaker's page
on the Rainer Mountaineering site Whittaker recorded his experiences in ''Lou Whittaker — Memoirs of a Mountain Guide'', written with Andrea Gabbard. Big Lou, a mountain in

Chelan County, Washington Chelan County (, ) is a List of counties in Washington, county in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 79,074. The county seat and largest city is Wenatchee, Was ...

is named for him. He and his wife Ingrid had two sons, who also summited Mount Rainier at the age of 12. Lou Whittaker died from congestive heart failure in Ashford, Washington on March 24, 2024, at the age of 95.

References

External links

Lou Whittaker: Memoirs of a Mountain Guide
at Google Books 1929 births 2024 deaths Alpine guides Mountain climbers from Seattle American twins {{US-climbing-bio-stub