Jim Whittaker: Still Climbing at 83

Sometime in the 1970s, I went to a camp fire presentation by Jim Whittaker somewhere outside of Madison, WI (if anyone remembers the name of the place, they had cross-country skiing in the winter with pancake breakfasts and camping in the summer, let me know). Jim Whittaker was the first American to reach the summit of Mount Everest on May 1, 1963. Tonight on the PBS News Hour I found out that today is the 50th anniversary of the ascent and that Whittaker is still going strong.

My only remembrance of Jim Whittaker's camp fire presentation was that someone in the group (it was a very small group, a very relaxed intimate presentation) asked how one could possibly maintain a healthy diet while out backpacking or climbing? Jim paused for a moment, scratched his chin and, to the best of my recollection, said "Well, you aren't going to die from giving up your balanced diet for a few weeks of hiking or climbing. Eat lots of carbs, pack light, you'll be OK".

When you hear Jim speak in the video above, it's the same, no-nonsense guy I remember from 40 years ago. Through force of personality and accomplishment, he has evidently had a similar influence on a lot of people.