🏋️ Fitness & Wellness Apr 15, 2026 · Maya Silver

A Letter to Jim Whittaker From an Everest Guide He Mentored

Climbing Magazine
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A Letter to Jim Whittaker From an Everest Guide He Mentored
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Jim Whittaker, the first American to summit Everest, passed away on April 7, 2026 at the age of 97. He first stood atop Everest on May 1, 1963. Melissa Arnot Reid, the first American woman to summit and descend Everest without oxygen, knew Jim as a friend and climbing mentor. Here, she remembers Jim by writing a letter to him. 
Dear Jim,
I’ve been thinking so much about you—about the life you lived, so fully and generously, always with that unmistakable touch of whimsy. Sitting here just d

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