Lou Whittaker
{{Short description|American mountaineer (1929–2024)}}
{{for|the baseball player|Lou Whitaker}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2024}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Lou Whittaker
| image = Lou Whittaker on Mt. Rainier.jpg
| image_size = 220
| caption = Whittaker (left) in 1996 on Mount Rainier
| birth_date = {{birth date |1929|02|10}}
| birth_place = Seattle, Washington, U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|2024|03|24|1929|2|10|mf=y}}
| death_place = Ashford, Washington, U.S.
| occupation = Mountaineer
| spouse={{marriage|Patricia Wales|||end=div.}}
{{marriage|Ingrid Widmann|1976}}
| children=3
}}
Louis Winslow Whittaker (February 10, 1929 – March 24, 2024) was an American mountaineer, mountain guide, and businessman. He and his twin brother, Jim Whittaker, also a renowned mountaineer and guide, were born and raised in Seattle.{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=cFMiAAAAIBAJ&pg=4139%2C1217967 |work=Reading Eagle |agency=Associated Press |title=Brothers synonymous with mountain climbing in Northwest|date=March 13, 1983 |page=43}}
Biography
Lou Whittaker was born in Seattle, Washington, on February 10, 1929.{{cite news |last=Card |first=Skip |date=October 5, 2007 | url = http://www.thenewstribune.com/1008/story/174154.html| archive-url = https://archive.today/20110522115723/http://www.thenewstribune.com/1008/story/174154.html| url-status = dead| archive-date = May 22, 2011| title = Lou Whittaker: A mountaineering pioneer| work=The News Tribune}} He and his twin brother Jim began climbing mountains at age 12. The Whittakers completed their first summit of Mount Rainier at age 16 and had climbed all of the major peaks in Washington by age 18.{{cite news |last1=Girgis |first1=Lauren |last2=Phair |first2=Vonnai |date=March 27, 2024 |title=Lou Whittaker, legendary mountaineer and Rainier guide, dead at 95 |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/obituaries/lou-whittaker-legendary-mountaineer-of-mt-rainier-dead-at-95/ |work=The Seattle Times |accessdate=March 27, 2024}}
Besides his worldwide mountain climbing experience, Whittaker became the most experienced glacier-travel guide by climbing to the summit of Mount Rainier over 250 times. He also established Rainier Mountaineering, Inc. (now RMI Expeditions), developed a group of successful climbing-related businesses at the Rainier Base Camp in Ashford, adjacent to Mount Rainier National Park. There he led the training of several generations of Rainier guides, many of whom continue to guide and climb elsewhere. He also led the first American ascent of the North Col of Mount Everest in 1984.[http://www.rmiguides.com/about/guides/lou_whittaker.html Lou Whittaker's page] on the Rainer Mountaineering site
Whittaker recorded his experiences in Lou Whittaker — Memoirs of a Mountain Guide, written with Andrea Gabbard.
Big Lou, a mountain in Chelan County, Washington is named for him.{{cite bivouac|id=38451|name=Big Lou Mountain|accessdate=August 4, 2020}}
He and his wife Ingrid had two sons, who also summited Mount Rainier at the age of 12. Lou Whittaker died from congestive heart failure in Ashford, Washington on March 24, 2024, at the age of 95.{{cite news|title=Lou Whittaker, renowned mountaineer and Rainier guide, dies at 95|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2024/03/29/lou-whittaker-dead-mountaineer/|date=March 29, 2024|last=Smith|first=Harrison|newspaper=Washington Post|access-date=April 1, 2024}}{{cite news |last1=Wang |first1=Deborah |title=Lou Whittaker, mountaineering legend, dies at 95 |url=https://www.kuow.org/stories/lou-whittaker-mountaineering-legend-dies-at-95 |access-date=March 27, 2024 |publisher=KUOW |date=March 26, 2024}}
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://books.google.com/books?id=giwgcfS8g9IC&dq=%22lou+whittaker%22+%22north+col%22&pg=PP1 Lou Whittaker: Memoirs of a Mountain Guide] at Google Books
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Whittaker, Lou}}
Category:Mountain climbers from Seattle
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