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“If you aren't living on the edge,
you're taking up too much space. It has nothing to do with
thrill-seeking. It's about making the most of every moment,
about stretching your own boundaries, about being willing to learn
constantly and putting yourself in situations where learning is
possible - sometimes even critical to your survival. Being out
on the edge, with everything at risk, is where you learn - and grow -
the most.” There have been
many 'firsts' in Jim Whittaker's life. He was the first North American
to summit Mount Everest (1963). As the first manager and employee, and
ultimately the CEO, of Recreational Equipment, Inc. (REI), he led the
company through years of record-setting growth. He organized and led
the first successful expedition to summit K2 - the world's second
highest mountain. In 1965 he guided Bobby Kennedy up the newly-named
Mount Kennedy, helping him to become the first person to summit the
peak. In 1990, he led the historic International Peace Climb, which
put climbers from the U.S., Russia, and China on the summit of Everest
in the name of world peace.
Using his lifetime of climbing and
business experience as the President of REI, Inc., Jim Whittaker's
presentation emphasizes his unique philosophy of life, including the
following themes:
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Keeping
Life Adventurous
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Finding
value in the pain of failure
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Keeping
life adventurous – a lifelong pursuit
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Succeeding
in business by “doing good”
Highlights:
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Internationally famous
mountaineer, adventurer and environmentalist, best known as the
first American to climb Mt. Everest; May 1, 1963
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Visionary business and
community leader; Past President and CEO of one of the country’s
largest outdoor retailers, Recreational Equipment, Inc. (REI)
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Accomplished and inspirational public speaker; has
given presentations to hundreds of corporations and organizations
for more than thirty years
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Author of an
award-winning memoir, A Life
on the Edge: Memoirs of Everest and Beyond
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Former guide and
climbing instructor on Mt. Rainier; as member of the National Ski
Patrol, Mountain Rescue, and the Mountaineers, led life-saving
rescues of skiers, climbers and aircraft
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Drafted into the US
Army; taught mountaineering and skiing to Tenth Special Forces and
Green Berets during Korean War
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Involved in climbing
accident on Mt. McKinley that led to the biggest mountain rescue
effort in U.S. history, including a treacherous helicopter liftoff
from 17,300’ by legendary pilot Link Luckett
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Led
Senator Robert Kennedy on first ascent of Mt. Kennedy, a peak in
the Canadian Yukon named for his slain brother; became close
friends with Bobby and the Kennedy family, joining them often at
Hyannis Port, Hickory Hill (RFK’s home
in
Virginia) and On skiing, river rafting, sailing and other
adventures; Washington State campaign chairman for Senator Kennedy
in. 1968; was at the Senator’s bedside when he died and served
as a pallbearer at Arlington
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In 1978, organized and
led the first American ascent of K2, world’s second
highest—and many say most dangerous—peak, after five American
failures spanning 40 years
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Against formidable
political and logistical odds, organized and led the spectacularly
successful 1990 Mt. Everest Peace Climb, which put twenty men and
women from three superpowers—the US, China and the Soviet
Union—on the summit of Everest to help
focus world attention environmental issues, removed two tons of
garbage left on the mountain by previous expeditions
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Certified scuba diver
and former member of the Northwest Underwater Research Group; has
descended to a depth of 185’
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With his wife,
photographer Dianne Roberts, designed and built a stunning log
home—dubbed by their friends, the ‘Taj Macabin”—overlooking
the Strait of Juan de Fuca in Port Townsend, Washington
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Accomplished
blue-water sailor; twice skippered his own boats on the 2,400-mile
Victoria, Canada to Maui, Hawaii sailing race; raced and cruised
extensively in the Pacific Northwest and inside passage for twenty
years; over, the past four years, sailed his 54’ steel
pilothouse ketch, Impossible, with his wife and, two sons, Joss (19) and Leif (17),
from Port Townsend, Washington to Mexico, the Marquesas Islands,
the Tuamotus, Society Islands (Tahiti, Moorea, Bora Bora), Cook
Islands, American Samoa, Fiji, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, Australia
and back to the United States—a journey of more than 20,000
miles
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