"Highest Adventure," an article in the March issue of American Heritage magazine, tells the stories of the first Americans to summit Mount Everest. History professor Maurice Isserman, who wrote the article, is also the co-author of a forthcoming book on Himalayan mountaineering.
The American Heritage article describes how most Americans were indifferent toward mountaineering as climbers from New Zealand, France, Great Britain and Italy were tackling some of the world's highest peaks in the 1950s. When John F. Kennedy became president of the United States and announced his desire that Americans explore a "new frontier," Swiss immigrant Norman Dyhrenfurth sought to organize an expedition to Everest as the "ultimate frontier." That goal was reached on May 1, 1963, when Jim Whittaker planted an American flag at the summit, 29,035 feet above sea level. Isserman discussed the rise of mountaineering and transformation of the outdoor gear and clothing industry as a result of the successful American expedition to the world's highest mountain. Ironically, REI and Eddie Bauer may have been the most significant beneficiaries of the first American Everest climb.
