Jim Wickwire (born June 8, 1940) was the first American to summit K2, the second highest mountain in the world (8,611 m - 28,251 feet). Wickwire is also known for surviving an overnight solo bivouac on K2 at an elevation above 27,000 ft or 8,200 m; considered "one of the most notorious bivouacs in mountaineering history". Between 1977 and 1982, Wickwire lost four climbing partners to fatal accidents on three separate mountains.