Jim Whittaker
James Warren Whittaker was an American climber and mountain guide. On May 1, 1963, he became the first American to reach the summit of Mount Everest as a member of the American Mount Everest Expedition led by Norman Dyhrenfurth, alongside the Sherpa Nawang Gombu, a nephew of Tenzing Norgay. They ran out of oxygen, but managed to reach the summit.
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- 1929-02-10 · Seattle, WA, USA
- Died
- 2026-04-07
Known for
- Dirtbag: The Legend of Fred Beckey (2017) — Self
- High Tension (2013) — Self
- High and Hallowed: Everest 1963 (2013) — Self
- Return to Mount Kennedy (2018) — Self
- Nawang Gombu - Heart of a Tiger (2013) — self
- Americans on Everest (1965) — Self
- Sherpa: The Proving Grounds (2002) — Self
- This Is Self Arrest (1967) — Narrator
- Pilgrimage to a Mountain Peak (1965) — Self
- Big Jim: An American on Everest (2026) — Self (archive footage)