Legendary Climber And Conservationist George Whitmore Dies At 89



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This photo by climbing partner Wayne Merry and provided by the Whitmore Family Trust shows George Whitmore dangling off an outcropping during the historic first ascent of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park in 1958.

Wayne Merry/AP




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Wayne Merry/AP

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George Whitmore during a hike at Mariposa Grove in Yosemite National Park in 2018. Whitmore, a member of the first team of climbers to scale El Capitan in Yosemite National Park in 1958 and a conservationist who devoted his life to protecting the Sierra Nevada, has died at 89.

Laura L. Clark/AP


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Laura L. Clark/AP

George Whitmore during a hike at Mariposa Grove in Yosemite National Park in 2018. Whitmore, a member of the first team of climbers to scale El Capitan in Yosemite National Park in 1958 and a conservationist who devoted his life to protecting the Sierra Nevada, has died at 89.

Laura L. Clark/AP

Whitmore helped establish the Kaiser Wilderness — a protected area located 70 miles northeast of Fresno — in 1976, according to the Associated Press. He also helped bring the California Wilderness Act of 1984 into fruition, adding 1.8 million acres into the National Wilderness Preservation System.

He also helped block projects that would disrupt nature, such as dams or proposed highways.

Whitmore was a part of efforts by the Sierra Club and other preservationists to prevent The Walt Disney Company from developing a proposed ski resort at Mineral King in the 1960s and ’70s, AP reported. The project was halted, and the site became part of Sequoia National Park.

He often weighed in on development in the area and spoke to lawmakers about conservation, his wife said.

«The congressional staff people learned to trust him because they knew that he would not just say something off the top of his head. And if he didn’t know, he would say, ‘I don’t know and I’ll find out,’ » she said. «But mostly he knew exactly what he was talking about. He was amazing that way.»

Whitmore and his wife met at a Sierra Club hike and later married in 1979. Nancy, 76, described her husband as non-judgmental, a hard worker and kind to all. And before contracting the virus, she said he never slowed down.

«He enjoyed life to the fullest,» she said. «Everybody just loved him.»

His wife said Whitmore battled cancer for a number of years and was careful to follow COVID-19 safety guidelines and wear a mask. His family has no idea how he contracted the virus, she says.

His mother lived to be to 100, Nancy Whitmore said. If he hadn’t contracted the coronavirus, she believes he might’ve made it to being a century old, too.

«I hope — and he hoped — that people recognize all the work that he did for saving the areas in the Sierra Nevada that he loved,» she said.

«He was a climber but that was secondary,» she added. «His love of the wilderness is the most important legacy that he has.»

  • kaiser wilderness
  • climber
  • nancy whitmore
  • george whitmore
  • COVID-19
  • sierra nevada
  • national park
  • el capitan
  • Sierra Club



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