A LIFE ON THE EDGE: MEMOIRS OF EVEREST AND BEYOND

by Whittaker, Jim

Price: $7.49
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Book desription: Seattle, WA: Mountaineers Books. Very Good with no dust jacket. 2000. Paperback. Back upper corner was creased back, and a couple of pages before it. ; Appears to be unread; 0.82 x 8.74 x 5.59; 271 pages; Whittaker, the first American to summit Everest, tells here the story of his life thus far he has managed to reach 70 which has been lived with the kind of intensity that only his adrenal glands can truly appreciate. Whittaker never actively courted peril; indeed, as he tells it, though luck has been his friend, its also ``something you make happenby extending yourself into situations of risk but also by preparing yourself to succeed under those risky conditions. '' He didn't just climb Everest in 1963 (he deadpans his way through the tribulations of that feat) , but had been unknowingly preparing for it as a mountain guide and rescue team member in the Pacific Northwest. Hed been in enough precarious situations to know the difference between objective dangers (avalanches, rock falls) and subjective gamble, when risky business becomes flagrant exposure. Though Whittaker gained wide recognition for his climb of Everest and his expedition to K2, the mountaineering community will also remember him as the force behind REI, the funky climbing-supplies cooperative that did so much to give climbing its antiestablishment, bohemian tone. His personal life has had just the same rugged topography as his preferred landscapes, and he reveals it to his readers in a lean, patient voice. There was divorce and separation from his children, financial ruin, the loss of friends to climbing accidents. And there was remarriage and connecting with his children, both young and old, and so much time outdoors doing what he loved, embracing not just the high peaks but all of nature transient: ``It was just after midnight. The temperature was twenty degrees below zero, a soft quilt of powder snow covered everything, and ice-dust sparkled in the moonlight. I sat in a small aspen grove . . . In awe of the beauty around me. '' Whittaker has a knack for finding such silent, sublime places. Now he's off sailing around the world with his family, trusting again to that angel who has watched over his shoulder. There have been many "firsts" in Jim Whittaker's life. He was the first North American to summit Mount Everest. As the first manager and employee, and ultimately the CEO, of fledgling Recreational Equipment, Inc. (REI) , he guided the company through years of record-setting growth. He guided Bobby Kennedy up the newly named Mount Kennedy, helping him to become the first person to summit the Canadian peak. He lead the first and only International Peace Climb, which put climbers from the U. S. , Russia, and China on the summit of Everest in the name of world peace. Contrary to what many people might think, Jim Whittaker's career neither began nor culminated with that famous first ascent of Everest. His achievement on Everest and his many successes before and after are, rather, the natural outcome of a life driven by a passion for outdoor adventure combined with strong leadership qualities and a commitment to making a difference. In A Life on the Edge, readers will discover a true hero-someone who inspires others to seek challenges in their own lives. .

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