A Seattle native who made history on top of the world has died. Jim Whittaker was the first American to summit Mount Everest.

The mountaineer, REI visionary, and environmental advocate was the defining figure of 20th-century American climbing.

Jim Whittaker, the first American to summit Mount Everest in 1963, has died at 97, his family said, leaving a legacy in ...

For many climbers, standing on the summit of Mount Everest feels like the finish line. But in May 1996, the real disaster ...

Whittaker’s ascent of Everest made him an instant celebrity who ultimately ended up changing the climbing world forever ...

As an executive with the outdoor-supply retailer REI and an experienced climber, he conquered Mount Everest in 1963, when ...

The legendary mountaineer Jim Whittaker, the first American to summit Mount Everest, has died at the age of 97.

Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Jim Whittaker, who became the first American mountaineer to summit Mt. Everest in 1963, died April 7. He was 97. Born in Seattle ...

Jim Whittaker, the first citizen of the United States to reach the top of Mount Everest, died at his home in Port Townsend, ...

Jim Whittaker, the pioneering climber who became the first American to reach the summit of Mount Everest in 1963, has died at ...