Cascadia Daily<\/a><\/em>. \u201cHe is truly a man ahead of his time and generation, and ahead of much of my generation, too\u2014a feminist in the best sense of the word.\u201d<\/p>\nIn 1990, Whittaker returned to Everest to lead the Everest International Peace Climb, which brought American, Soviet, and Chinese climbers together for a single ascent and removed over two tons of trash from the mountain\u2019s slopes. A few years later, in 1996, he, Roberts, and their two sons bought a sailboat and spent four years sailing nearly 20,000 miles around the world.<\/p>\n
Off the mountain, Whittaker was a dogged environmental advocate. REI historian Will Dunn told Cascadia Daily<\/em> that Whittaker testified before Congress to help create several wilderness areas in the Pacific Northwest, including North Cascades National Park, Redwood National Park, and the Pasayten Wilderness. Former Washington governor Jay Inslee told the outlet that Whittaker set a gold standard for conservation in the state.<\/p>\n\u201cAnything that I was able to do as governor when it came to protecting orcas and the glaciers and the fish stems from his opening the natural world to Washingtonians,\u201d Inslee said.<\/p>\n
In his later life, Whittaker and Roberts moved to Port Townsend, Washington, where they lived at the time of his death. Whittaker is survived by Roberts and five sons: Carl, Scott, and Bobby from his first marriage, and Leif and Joss from his marriage to Roberts. His brother, Lou, died in 2024.<\/p>\n
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