This article is about the mountaineer. For the politician, see Jim Whitaker.James W. Whittaker, also known as Jim Whittaker (born February 10, 1929) is an American mountaineer.As a member of the American Mount Everest Expedition 1963 led by Norman Dyhrenfurth, he was the first American to reach the summit of Mount Everest. He summited on May 1, 1963 with the Sherpa Nawang Gombu (a nephew of Tenzing Norgay). They ran out of oxygen but managed to reach the summit.