The Lingering Effect of One Good Person

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“Great things are done when men and mountains meet.” – William Blake

I was eating dinner with Mr. D this past Wednesday night when I couldn’t stop looking at the pictures on my laptop. I have a no device rule at the table but Mr. D kept getting up to do other things during dinner. In his absence, I would flip to the next picture in the slideshow from Lou Whittaker’s obituary in the Seattle Times.

Lou Whittaker, a legendary mountain climber and guide, died on Sunday, March 24 at age 95. In my book, one of the most important accomplishments for a climber is to die of old age.

Lou and his twin brother, Jim, were sometimes referred to as the First Family in American Mountaineering climbing. These two incredibly tall (6’5”) and skinny kids from West Seattle climbed Rainier at age 16, and all the peaks in Washington by age 18.

Lou started Rainier Mountaineering Inc. (RMI) which was the only guiding service on Mt. Rainier for about forty years. When I first attempted Mt. Rainier in 1998, I signed up and climbed with RMI.

Jim started REI (Recreational Equipment, Inc.) and was the first American to climb Everest. Jim is still living.

The Seattle Times obituary captured the brothers relationship well:

“After his brother gained international fame for becoming the first American to climb Everest in 1963, Lou Whittaker — who had declined to join the expedition — said if he had, “Fifty feet from the top, we’d have wrestled there in the snow to see who’d be the first up.”

The Seattle Times

Which isn’t to imply that Lou didn’t do the big peaks too. He climbed Denali, K2, Everest, and more. But more importantly, he trained generations of responsible and thoughtful guides.

My friend, Phil Ershler, the first American who climbed the North side of Everest, trained as a guide with RMI.

As did Ed Viesturs, another Seattle boy, who guided for RMI for many years. Also he climbed fourteen 8,000 meter peaks, the world’s highest mountains, without supplemental oxygen and starred in the IMAX film about Everest released in 1998.

I never met Lou but I’ve climbed with and encountered at least 40-50 guides from his company while spending time on Mt. Rainier. To a person, they were helpful people who wanted to teach others about climbing, respect and appreciation of the mountains, and safety. They made the mountain a safer place by participating in rescues and maintaining marked routes.

More than any other accomplishment, and Lou had many, it is that company ethic that stands out to me. There is a whole generation of guides and mountaineers that will likely die of old age because RMI taught them how to be safe and respectful in the mountains. And tens of thousands of mountaineers who know how to handle garbage, waste, and their impact in the mountains because of the lessons taught by RMI.

Lou’s amazing summit pictures celebrate the high points in life. But I thought it worth also memorializing the long effort and incredible impact one guide and leader can have.

(featured photo from Pexels)

P.S. I love telling stories about the remarkable guides that I’ve met or climbed with and the life lessons they passed along. Here are some of my favorites:

  • The time that Ed Viesturs reached the central summit on Shishapangma at 26,273 (8,008m) feet climbing alone. He looked over the 100 meter traverse to the true summit (26,335 feet) and decided it was too dangerous. He had to return eight years later to claim the summit in a safe way.
  • The story of Beck Weathers being left for dead on Everest and Ed Viesturs and filmmaker, David Breashears, giving up their own summit plans to help Beck descend the mountain.
  • My friend, guide, and amazing climber, Phil Ershler who taught me about objective versus subjective risks.
  • The lasting impact Phil had teaching me how to walk lightly in the mountains and in life.
  • How I learned from Phil about how different things look on the return trip.

42 thoughts on “The Lingering Effect of One Good Person”

  1. Thank you. I spent the first part of this morning reading the news; it’s not an easy read these days. Then I opened my emails and found the link to your article. Thank you for sharing. It is the pick me up I needed today. You have to be determined to to begin a climb, to achieve, and that requires an element of desire but desire doesn’t mean you cannot be humble or taking that further selfish or lawless. There is too much of that going on on the world. Thank you for reminding me of the good.

    Liked by 2 people

  3. Thanks, Wynne. You have so many stories and connections to brave people. You are one of them, of course and your statement: “One of the most important accomplishments for a climber is to die of old age” really hit home about all the inherent risks, coupled with nature’s fury and unpredictability. 💔

    Liked by 3 people

    1. Nature’s fury and unpredictability. Well said, Vicki.

      Going with guides or others who elevate safety over summits makes such a difference. Like Ed Viesturs turning back on Shishapangma. He could SEE the summit 300 feet away and only 60 feet higher. And yet he turned back knowing it would take him a whole lot of time and money to return to Tibet to climb it another time but he could be safer. I have to believe there’s at least a little of Lou’s influence there!

      Thanks for the great comment! 🙂 ❤ ❤

      Liked by 1 person

  5. What an amazing life, long long life, lived and a tremendous legacy left behind. I did not realize that the first American to climb Everest was from Seattle. You follow a long tradition of climbing, Wynne!

    I smiled at the image of the two brothers potentially wrestling to reach the top first. Sounds like two brothers indeed. What a family history!

    Liked by 3 people

    1. Oh, it’s like you pitched me a soft ball to brag about climbing in Seattle, Ab. 🙂 Mt Rainier is the most glaciated peak in the lower 48 of the US with 25 permanent glaciers that are the source of 5 major rivers. Our mountain more than looks pretty – she’s quite the training ground.

      Yeah, I loved that bit about wrestling on the top of Everest. Jim went on to guide Bobby Kennedy to the top of Mt. Kennedy in Alaska and lead the expedition on which my friend Phil climbed the North side of Everest. Those twins were trail blazers for sure!

      Hope you have a great weekend!

      Liked by 1 person

  6. I think we have really good examples here of the “ripple effect” created when human beings show goodwill and concern for others’ life experiences. Great leadership should start at the top, Wynne…whether it be in business or on a mountain.🌄

    Liked by 3 people

  7. I echo Bruce@WOTC’s comment. Great leadership should start at the top in all facets of life. These are some inspiring examples. One question, Wynne: If you have a ‘no devices at the table’ rule, why was your laptop there?! 😏😊

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Ah, you caught me, Jane. Before dinner I was showing D the picture of Lou Whittaker and telling him mountain climbing stories. Since he wasn’t sitting still for long, I decided to not enforce my own rule… Kinda poor leadership there. 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  8. What an amazing and inspiring man, and I love that–as others mentioned–he shared his knowledge and expertise with the next generation of mountain climbers. What a legacy!

    Liked by 2 people

  10. A lovely tribute, Wynne. Thank you.

    If you are interested in a musical response to the Blake quotation you used, it is an orchestra work by Charles Ruggles called “Of Men and Mountains: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8_PNHJ6IXs

    If you listen to this short piece, I’d be interested to know how well it captures the flavor of climbing those mountains.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. What an interesting exercise to listen to music and imagine the experience. I suspect that it fits the experience of a first ascent with some harrowing weather thrown in. Thanks for the great suggestion!

      Liked by 1 person

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  18. Wow, what a story, what a man. I love that they taught not only safety when climbing but respect for the mountain, and taking care of the trash we produce. The Girl Scout motto is leave a place nicer than when you arrived. So we always did a garbage sweep of our campgrounds, trails, and adventures and worked hard at not leaving our mark on a place. Such a brilliant legacy. Hugs, C

    Liked by 1 person

  19. There are those who climb mountains and struggle with life, and then there are others who climb and see the deep life lessons from those experiences. You are one of those who have learned the lessons a d who share and teach others! This touches people’s hearts and helps them to grow as well!

    Wonderful post!

    Liked by 1 person

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