A LIFE ON THE EDGE. Memoirs of Everest and Beyond, New Forward by Ed Viesturs
Seattle: The Mountaineers Books, (2013). Second edition. Hardcover. Small 4to. This copy is briefly inscribed by Whittaker on the title page. Jim Whittaker was the first American to reach the summit of Mount Everest. He knows a bit about stretching boundaries. Before ever setting foot on Everest he honed his skills as a climbing guide on Mount Rainier and Denali, and as a member of Olympic Mountain Rescue. Jim was only 34 years old when he stepped onto the summit of Everest at 1:00 pm on May 1, 1963. What could the following fifty years possibly hold to compare? Everest may have been the highpoint topographically, but Jim's life has contained many more peaks and some valleys, too. He built REI from a small mountaineering co-op with one full-time employee to a multimillion-dollar business with stores nationwide. He developed a close friendship with Bobby Kennedy and ran his presidential campaign in Washington state. He led the climbing expedition that put the first Americans on the summit of K2, the world's second-highest mountain. His organization of the 1990 Mount Everest International Peace Climb united Chinese, Soviet, and American climbers in a common goal of reaching Everest's summit while also cleaning up more than two tons of trash left by previous expeditions. He guided a team of nine disabled people to the summit of Mount Rainier. And he set sail in the aptly named Impossible with the woman he loved and their two young sons. The valleys he faced are/were very real but it is that very human Jim who shines through in this updated anniversary edition that commemorates the 50th anniversary of the first American to summit Everest. Includes more than 100 photos with a new afterword by the author. 317 pages with index. A near fine copy in a near fine dust jacket. Item #14684
ISBN: 9781594856662
Price: $75.00