Jim Whittaker was the first American to stand atop Mount Everest in 1963---and those of us who are privileged to call him a friend know he stands equally tall at sea level.

     President Kennedy met Jim in 1963 when he honored him and his Mount Everest team at the White House. Other members of the Kennedy family met Jim in 1965 when he agreed to lead a National Geographic and Boston Museum of Science survey expedition up the tallest unclimbed mountain in North America, which had recently been named in honor of President Kennedy by the Canadian government.  Robert Kennedy was part of the team that climbed Mount Kennedy with Jim, and Jim and Bobby knelt at the summit in memory of my brother. I had intended to make the climb too, but was unable to do so in the wake of the plane crash that nearly took my life in June of 1964. Bobby was fascinated by Jim's leadership, good humor, and courage on that expedition, and by the time they descended they had become friends.

     Jim and his family were wonderful company on Christmas ski trips and river-rafting summer vacations, and Jim was a terrific organizer during Bobby's 1968 presidential campaign. I saw an example of Jim's courage and concern for others first-hand during a ski holiday in Sun Valley. One snowy day he was riding up in the chair lift and saw a fallen skier at the foot of the chair tower ahead of him, who looked shaken up. As he 
got closer he suddenly realized that it was my son Teddy. Without a thought about his own safety, he immediately slid off the chair, hung by his hands for a second and let go. He fell twenty feet and his skis were knocked off, but fortunately he was not hurt. Jim then skied down to Teddy, made sure he was not injured, and helped him get back down to the Roundhouse. In a sense, I inherited Jim from Bobby, and we have been great friends ever since. 

     Jim's extraordinary life has been filled with many significant milestones, and this memoir lets the world relive the amazing adventures that have shaped this remarkable man. He vividly describes the awe, terror, and exhilaration of climbing the highest mountains in the world and gives us insight into the unique physical and organizational skills that make these ascents successful. As a young man, he started climbing with his 
brothers in the pristine beauty of the Pacific Northwest. His inner compass-an awareness of the beauty and the power of nature and a visceral realization of the importance of preserving the environment-led him ever upward to the roof of the world. As his skiing and mountaineering abilities grew, he also took on the responsibility of a mountain rescue service with his twin brother, Louie. He had numerous harrowing moments, and readers are likely to come away feeling it is a miracle Jim Whittaker is still alive. For many 
others, Jim was himself the miracle who kept them alive. 

     As a family man, Jim has made his wife Dianne a partner in his endeavors and has also supported her as she reached for her own goals. He has encouraged his children to explore and appreciate the diversity of the world. As a businessman, Jim has devoted his life to introducing people to the wonders of nature and providing the equipment to enjoy it. As a mountaineer, he also reached out in inspiring ways, such as leading an expedition of people with disabilities to the top of his beloved Mount Rainier and the achievement of their dream, and persuading the Soviet and Chinese governments to allow their climbers to join Americans on a successful Mount Everest Peace Climb. He knew that the fellowship and trust developed on the steep face of a glacier could lead to closer ties between nations, and it did. He was our first high-altitude diplomat. 

     Jim has always been determined to succeed at what was thought to be im- possible. In fact, that is what he named his sailboat-Impossible. The rugged individualist is alive and well in Jim Whittaker. The life story well told in these pages is a reminder of all the enduring virtues of our time and all time. He is himself a profile in courage-an Everest of integrity, determination, and loyalty. 

-Edward M. Kennedy 

Copyright (c) 2001 by Jim Whittaker.  All rights reserved. Reproduced with permission from Jim Whittaker.