Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Credit where credit is due

50 years ago, identical twin brothers came to a crossroads in their lives.  Both were invited on an American expedition to Mt. Everest.  The tallest mountain on earth had been climbed 10 years earlier by New Zealand’s Sir Edmund Hillary but an American had not yet summited. Lou and Jim Whittaker had distinguished themselves as young men by guiding on Mt. Rainier and throughout the mountains of the Pacific Northwest at a time when a mere handful of outdoors people were leading the uninitiated in the white wilderness of the US. They both were strong climbers and were up to the challenge of Everest.

Then two weeks before the expedition was scheduled to depart, Lou had an epiphany. Both of the brothers being gone to the Himalayas would put much of their lives here in jeopardy.  Many people had already been lost on the high mountains, leaving families and livelihoods behind. With a business in the beginning stages and new families to support, Lou made the difficult decision to stay behind to take care of things.  He told Jim that if anything happened to him on the mountain, his family would always be cared for.  It was a hard but very compassionate and thoughtful thing to do. But that’s Lou Whittaker.

Jim went on to become the first American to climb Mt. Everest and to turn his celebrity into a career focused on business. Lou has spent his entire life in the mountains of the world and has established himself as the dean of climbing in America and as a true leader in mountaineering circles around the globe.

It was in a large conference room at the then-new corporate headquarters for Cummins Engine Company that I first met Lou Whittaker, when we were both much younger. He had a great handshake (my grandfather’s first measure of a man) and we were instantly kindred spirits.  I was part of the acquisition team that first bought the K2 Ski Company on Vashon Island and, in order to balance off the seasonality of the ski business, we then purchased JanSport Backpacks. Lou had just signed on as JanSport’s company spokesperson and chief product consultant. This was the first of many forays into the commercial world for Lou and he is now credited with a long list of outdoor products, like soft hiking or trekking shoes with strong soles that we all now wear.  Wherever he saw the need and he would find a company to help him make it a reality.

Few climbers have found a way to succeed or certainly even make a living in pursuit of their passion for the mountains.  Lou Whittaker has been a leader in both the sport and the industry of climbing.  From his earliest days, caution and safety have been at the top of Lou’s list of tenants as he has lived his life on the edge.  The guide service he built has as its first priority to bring everyone down safely from the mountains.  Lou has been a part of hundreds of rescues in mountain ranges around the world that have saved the lives of so many who have gotten themselves in trouble. No one has more respect for nature and the mountains than Lou. It’s the safety of those around him that always comes first.  That’s a lesson for many people yet to learn.

On my first adventure up Mount Rainier, Lou pointed to the ridge across from us and said, “Do you see that guy coming down?  He walks with sort of a stutter step. That’s Willi Unsoeld.” Willi lost his toes on Mt. Everest doing one of mountaineering history’s most legendary climbs with his partner Tom Hornbein (on the left in this picture with Lou and K2 veteran Jim Wickwire). They completed the first ascent of the Mountain’s West Ridge and the first traverse of a major Himalayan peak. It was the highlight of the 1963 American Everest Expedition.

When Lou introduced me to Willi as a former football player from back east, Willi said, “Well these mountains will make a flat-lander like you a little more humble. Don’t take anything for granted. This will be the hardest thing you’ve had to do, I guarantee it. Good luck and have fun.” Thanks to Lou, it was one of those special encounters with people who are bigger than life…and Willi was right…it was very hard.

On a later adventure, I first met Reinhold Messner with Lou in a slightly different way.  Reinhold is somewhat of a mountain god having been first to climb all the world’s tallest peaks without supplemental oxygen and having completed several of those climbs solo when it was said to be impossible.  I invited Reinhold to one of our Mountain Summit events and he accepted. We were at Snowbird Ski Resort in Utah and I’ve always said I should have saved the voicemail that Reinhold left at my Seattle office.  “I am Reinhold Messner.  I have been waiting at the Salt Lake City airport for two hours. If no one is coming to get me, I am returning to my home.” The words don’t do the inflection or the Germanic accent justice. Reinhold was a day early on the schedule he gave us.

When he got to Snowbird, he and I had a toe-to-toe encounter that was pretty high pitched. Just short of the first fist flying, Lou stepped in between us. He’s bigger than we are and he had a smile on his face when he said, “Now let’s calm down, boys. We’re here to have fun.” That’s another great talent of Lou’s.  He knows how to read and handle people in almost any situation. Once our blood pressure reached the normal range, Reinhold and I became friends and we’ve had many great experiences together over the years. And he did finally admit he had gotten his dates wrong.

There are almost as many stories about Lou Whittaker as he tells himself. When he enters a room, everyone’s attention is drawn to him. Two expeditions to Mt. Everest and one to the third highest mountain, Kanchenjunga, raised Lou’s profile around the world in the 80’s and 90’s. The films about Lou’s Everest expeditions won national Emmy Awards and received long television runs in a host of countries. Lou has made a difference in the sport of climbing. The access we have to the mountains. The National Parks management of the mountains. The style of guiding and the equipment we use have Lou’s fingerprints all over them.

Personally, I discovered the mountains through Lou Whittaker. We’ve been to Everest together. We’ve literally been around the world and, thanks primarily to Lou, I’ve come to know many of the legends from Hillary to Bonington to Miura. And Lou’s protégés are the current generation of climbing greats beginning with Ed Viesturs and Phil Ershler. I’m very fortunate to say that Lou also introduced me to one Hungarian…my close friend and colleague Laszlo Pal.

Laszlo is an award-winning producer/director. He is a teacher, a mentor and an icon in the documentary business. We joined together on Lou’s first Everest expedition and have been collaborating ever since. We have now produced 8 documentaries for television and, as a result, have walls and mantels full of awards and trophies, thanks mostly to Laszlo’s creativity and incredible skills as a filmmaker. I feel like a graduate of the Pal School of Film and together we make a pretty formidable team.

Over a year ago, at one of our regular Chinese lunches, we decided that our friend Lou deserved to take the spotlight for a while. In every sport, one name becomes synonymous with the challenge of the endeavor. In baseball, it’s Mickey Mantle. In basketball, Wilt Chamberlain and race car driving, Mario Andretti. A handful of experienced climbers around the world are leaders in the sport of climbing but, in America, no outdoorsman has played a more significant role than Lou Whittaker.

As a labor of love, we've produced a documentary called, “A Life in the Mountains…the Legacy of Lou Whittaker”. It’s our homage to Lou and the impact his career and his personality have had on the sport of climbing in the past half century. We’re headed toward a Seattle premier showing and then the film festival circuit with the program.  Later this week, I’ll announce more details.


Suffice it so say, Lou Whittaker deserves credit where credit is due.  He has quietly led a revolution in the climbing and guiding industry. He has grown one of the most highly regarded guide services in the world, which he is handing over to one of his sons. It’s truly ironic that a person who has dealt with life threatening situations for most of his career is a master storyteller and limerick-ophile…but that’s Lou Whittaker too. As a joke years ago, Lou had a t-shirt made to wear at public events that said “I’m not Jim” on the back. He’s safely put the shirt away for good.  He is not Jim.  Lou is every bit his own man and he commands the respect and adoration of the thousands who have climbed and trekked in the mountains with him as their guide and leader.  I am proud to call him my friend.  Lou, you’re the best.

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