| Name: | Jim Wickwire |
| Birthdate: | June 8, 1940 |
| Birthplace: | Wenatchee, Washington |
| Residence: | Seattle, Washington |
| Family: | Wife of 39 years, Mary Lou. Five children: Anne, Cathy, Susan, Bob, David. Twin granddaughters: Ana, Emma |
| Education: | Gonzaga University, BA; Gonzaga University, JD |
| Occupation: | Part-time lawyer in solo practice |
| Work history: | Private law practice in Seattle since 1968. Most recently with the firm of Wickwire, Greene, Crosby, Brewer & Seward, which disbanded Nov. 2000; Legislative assistant to U.S. Senator Henry M. Jackson, Washington, D.C., 1967-1968 |
| Personal Hero: | Naomi Uemura, the great Japanese climber-adventurer who disappeared near the summit of Mt. McKinley in February 1984 after making the first winter solo ascent of the mountain. |
| Accomplishments: | One of the first two Americans to climb K2, the world’s second highest mountain, 1978 |
| How
long I’ve been a mountain climber: |
Since 1960, encompassing over 20 expeditions |
| How I became interested in mountain climbing: | As a teenager reading about mountaineering expeditions to Everest, K2 and Annapurna |
| How
I became part of this expedition: |
After Ed and I got to know each other, he asked me to become the leader of the expedition based on my prior Everest experience in 1982, 1984 and 1993. |
| Responsibilities
on the expedition: |
Leader |
| Goals for the expedition: | To do everything possible to see that Ed realizes his dream to climb Everest. First and foremost is for everyone to have a great experience on the mountain and to return home safe and sound. |
| What
the expedition means to me: |
A chance to be on an expedition with some very good people; to return to Everest and to see Tibet and its people again. |
| How
I know Ed Hommer: |
I read about Ed’s 1998 attempt to summit Mt. McKinley. I contacted him because I had a similar tragic experience on Mt. McKinleys’ Peters Glacier in May 1981. My companion and I fell into a crevasse and he perished. That was the same year as Ed’s crash on Kahiltna Pass. |
| Childhood memory: | How clumsy I was growing up and trying to become a passable athlete. |
| Hobbies: | Avid baseball fan (Seattle Mariners), book collector |
| Favorite Book: | Pale Fire by Vladimir Nabokov |
| Favorite Music: | Classical Music |
| Favorite Movie: | “Blade Runner” |