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Our Roots
“Everything I know, everything I believe in, I’ve learned from the mountains.”
––Lou Whittaker
“Being out on the edge, with everything at risk, is where you learn and grow the most.”
–– Jim Whittaker
“When we say this is a way of life, it really is in our blood. My family and I have been guiding and climbing for over a half century and have collaborated with industry leading manufacturers along the way to improve the gear we use. After 65 years of teaming with manufacturers, and tagging a few summits along the way, we decided it was time to build our own gear. Exactly the way we need it to function.”
–– Peter Whittaker

1950s

Lou and Jim begin climbing and guiding on Mt. Rainier

1963

Jim becomes the 1st American to summit Everest in Eddie Bauer expedition down

1964

Jim consults and partners with Vibram soles

1969

Lou buys Rainier Guide Service and forms Rainier Mountaineering, Inc. (RMI)

1970

Lou and RMI partner with JanSport and test products on Rainier

1972

Lou and JanSport create the first freestanding dome tent

1975

Peter begins guiding on Rainier

1978

Jim leads first American ascent of K2, 2nd highest mountain in the world

1984

Lou leads the first American ascent of Everest’s North Face. Peter’s first Everest Expedition

1985

Peter launches Summits Adventure Travel, an international guide service, outfitting and guiding over 250 trips

1990

Peter (PW) partners with Marmot to collaborate on gear and apparel

1992

PW guides oldest man and woman (at the time) up Mt. Vinson, Antarctica

1996

RMI pioneers the use of a shuttle service in Mt. Rainier National Park (MRNP) to reduce parking congestion and environmental impact, which becomes industry standard for concessionaires in MRNP

2000

PW and Buck Knives form a licensing partnership to develop a speciality line

2001

Buck/Whittaker adventure knife series is launched with 24 products. Multiple products win industry awards

2006

PW buys RMI Expeditions from Lou and takes the lead as CEO

’02-’07

PW collaborates, designs, tests, and markets mountain products with Mountain Hardwear, Buck Knives, JanSport, and Timberland. Industry awards are given for the Whittaker/JanSport pack and Buck/Whittaker Approach knife

2009

May, First Ascent is launched as PW and his guide team summit Everest in the product they built

2009

Final test of all products on Everest by PW and his guide team

’10-’11

PW and his guide team collaborate with Eddie Bauer building First Ascent gear

2012

First Ascent annual sales exceed $40 million

2018

MtnLogic changes its name to Bight Gear, adds new styles to complete the alpine kit, and sets a trajectory to hit 100 million vertical feet in testing by the end of the year

1960s

Lou on the summit of Denali, prototyping Eddie Bauer expedition down

1965

Jim guides Bobby Kennedy up Mt. Kennedy in honor of his brother John F. Kennedy (JFK)

1971

Peter’s first summit of Rainier, age 12

1975

Lou and Jim on first American K2 expedition…suns out guns out!

1980

Lou partners with New Balanceand creates the first lightweight trekking boot by putting a Vibram sole on a tennis shoe.

1980s

Lou and Peter guide and operate RMI Expeditions with multiple gear partners including: Helly Hansen, JanSport, New Balance and The North Face

1989

Lou leads first successful American expedition of Kangchenjunga, 3rd highest mountain in the world

1995

PW co-founds Expedition Inspiration with Laura Evans, partners with JanSport and Marmot and leads 17 breast cancer survivors on Aconcagua raising $2.3 million for research and awareness

1998

PW collapses Summits Adventure Travel and launches Whittaker Mountaineering, an outdoor speciality retail store at the base of Rainier

1999

PW partners with Mountain Hardwear who becomes the official sponsor of RMI Expeditions and the primary partner of Whittaker Mountaineering

2002

PW and RMI lead the collaboration of National Park Service stakeholders and concessionaires from 4 national parks to develop the LNT Alpine Principles which is now a model for responsible resource management

2008

PW assembles a select RMI Expeditions guide team to build 50 First Ascent products testing them on Rainier, Cotopaxi, and Aconcagua

2013

PW’s Eddie Bauer contract converts from licensing to consulting

2016

April, PW begins next chapter building mountain gear and launches MtnLogic

2017

Focused on building product and dialing it in, MtnLogic racks up over 40 million vertical feet of product testing and validation on Mt. Rainier

All product names and brands are property of their respective owners. All company, product and service names used in this website are for identification purposes only. Use of these names and brands does not imply endorsement, or ongoing partnership.
EDDIE BAUER is a registered trademark of EDDIE BAUER LICENSING SERVICES LLC in the United States and/or other countries. RMI EXPEDITIONS is a trademark of RAINIER MOUNTAINEERING, INC in the United States and/or other countries. VIBRAM is a trademark of VIBRAM S.P.A. in the United States and/or other countries. JANSPORT is a trademark of JANSPORT APPAREL CORP. in the United States and/or other countries. NEW BALANCE is a trademark of New Balance Athletics, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. HELLY HANSEN is a trademark of HELLY HANSEN AS. in the United States and/or other countries. THE NORTH FACE is a trademark of NORTH FACE APPAREL CORP., in the United States and/or other countries. MARMOT is a trademark of Marmot Mountain LLC in the United States and/or other countries. WHITTAKER MOUNTAINEERING is a trademark of WHITTAKER MOUNTAINEERING, INC. in the United States and/or other countries.
SUMMITS is a trademark of SUMMITS ADVENTURE TRAVEL, INC. in the United States and/or other countries. EXPEDITION INSPIRATION is a trademark of EXPEDITION INSPIRATION FUND in the United States and/or other countries. MOUNTAIN HARDWEAR is a trademark of Mountain Hardwear, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. BUCK KNIVES is a trademark of Buck Knives, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. TIMBERLAND is a trademark of TIMBERLAND COMPANY, in the United States and/or other countries. FIRST ASCENT is a trademark of EDDIE BAUER LICENSING SERVICES LLC in the United States and/or other countries. BIGHT GEAR is a trademark of Whittaker Mountaineering, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries.

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