- Jim Wickwire
Jim Wickwire (born
1940 ) is an attorney inSeattle, Washington , most famous as the first American to reach the top ofK2 , the world's second-highest mountain, and then for surviving the night in the open just below the summit.His first attempt on K2 was in a
1975 expedition that broke down in disputes and never got above 22,000 ft.Wickwire reached the summit with
Louis Reichardt onSeptember 6 ,1978 , but while Reichardt went down right away, Wickwire lingered to take photos, and on the descent he became concerned that he was having too much difficulty moving safely in the dark, and so he stayed where he was. This was extremely risky, because at such high elevations, atent andsleeping bag are essential to fending offhypothermia andfrostbite . The next morning,John Roskelley andRick Ridgeway found him continuing down while on their way to the summit. Wickwire lost two toes and part of a lung.Nevertheless, Wickwire continued high-altitude climbing.
In
1981 , he was onMount McKinley withChris Kerrebrock , who fell into acrevasse , pulling Wickwire in after him. Wickwire was able to get out, but unable to rescue Kerrebrock, who was alive but jammed in and unable to move, and subsequently died of hypothermia.He made four (unsuccessful) attempts on the north side of
Mount Everest (1982 ,1984 ,1993 , and2003 ). In the 1982 expedition, he was just belowMarty Hoey when her harness came unfastened and she fell to her death.Books
* "Addicted to Danger: A Memoir about Affirming Life in the Face of Death" (with Dorothy C. Bullitt) (New York: Pocket Books, 1998) ISBN 0-671-01991-0
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