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Whittaker and Viesturs Summit Mt. Everest May 19 2009



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Whittaker and Viesturs Summit Mt. Everest May 19, 2009!


RMI'ss first team of climbers reaches highest point on earth!


Ashford, WA May 21, 2009 -- Rainier Mountaineering, Inc. (RMI) are pleased to announce that at 8:00 am Nepal time on May 19, RMI'ss first team of climbers reached the highest point on earth, Mt. Everest, at 29,035's. After twelve days of waiting out inclement weather at Everest Basecamp, Peter Whittaker and Ed Viesturs reached the top of the World!



Peter Whittaker, son of acclaimed mountaineer Lou Whittaker and nephew of Jim Whittaker, who was the first American to climb Mt. Everest in 1963, and Ed Viesturs, the only American to summit all fourteen 8,000-meter peaks without bottled oxygen, reached the summit of Mt. Everest.



The RMI Everest Expedition is led by Peter Whittaker. Team members on the first summit bid included Ed Viesturs, Gerry Moffatt, Jake Norton, and John Griber. After nearly 70 days of expedition life, five RMI team members and their Sherpa team walked the final steps to the summit. The entire team is now safely back at Camp 4, and will continue their descent to Basecamp tomorrow.



The second RMI team, led by Dave Hahn, who has reached the summit of Everest ten times, more than any non-Sherpa, is planning to start their summit push today from Everest Basecamp. If the weather cooperates, it will take five days for the team to reach the summit. Joining Dave are two accomplished RMI Guides Melissa Arnot, and Seth Waterfall.



Rainier Mountaineering, Inc. (RMI) was founded by legendary climber Lou Whittaker and his partners in 1969. Located in Ashford, Washington, at the base of Mt. Rainier, it is the largest professional mountain-guide service in the United States. RMI leads climbing expeditions all over the world, teaching the safe exploration of high mountains and a deep appreciation for the need to preserve our fragile alpine environments. Nearly 65 guides work around the world for Rainier Mountaineering, Inc. on the big mountains of Everest, Rainier, Denali, Cotopaxi (Ecuador), Aconcagua (Argentina), Kilimanjaro, Vinson Massif and others. RMI has long been renowned for its accomplishments on Mt. Everest. These accomplishments include the first RMI Expedition in 1982, and having 35 RMI guides stand on the mountains's summit over the years. Visit www.rmiguides.com for more information.



PETER WHITTAKER Peter is the Team Leader and co-owner of Rainier Mountaineering, Inc. and Whittaker Mountaineering. Peter has been a mountain guide for more than 25 years. Born into what could rightfully be called the first family of American mountaineering, Peter has more than held his own. He made his first ascent of Rainier at the age of 12. In 1995, he organized and led a group of breast-cancer survivors to the summit of Aconcagua, raising $2.3 million for breast-cancer research. He hosted an Emmy-nominated adventure TV series on public television, and he continues to lead trips all over the world.



ED VIESTURS From a boy who grew up on the flatlands of Illinois, Ed has established himself as the premier high-altitude mountaineer in America. He'ss the first American and fifth person to summit all 14 of the world'ss 8000-meter peaks without use of supplemental oxygen. He moved to Seattle in 1977 to study at the University of Washington and then at Washington State University, where he received his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree. He began guiding on Rainier with Rainier Mountaineering, Inc. in 1982 and has participated in 30 Himalayan expeditions since 1987.



DAVE HAHN Dave'ss ten summits of Everest are the most of any non-Sherpa in history. A guide with Rainier Mountaineering, Inc. since 1986, he has received prestigious awards for rescue work. In 2001, he was named Denali Pro Mountaineer of the Year for his aid on Denali. That same year, the American Alpine Club gave him the David A. Sowles Memorial Award for his saves on Everest. During the winter months, Dave works as a ski patroller in Taos, New Mexico.



MELISSA ARNOT Melissa already had a career teaching wilderness medicine when she became a professional mountain guide in 2004. Two years later, she was a lead guide. Melissa'ss summit credits include 72 on Rainier. A native of Montana, she'ss a skilled rock climber and ice leader. Her passions for climbing, teaching, and taking care of others have taken her all over the world, helping people test their limits in the safest way possible while still having fun. As part of Everest Team INSPI(RED), she reached the summit of Mt Everest in 2008 to raise awareness of (RED) and its work to help those suffering from HIV/AIDS in Africa.



SETH WATERFALL Growing up in Vermont, Colorado and California, Seth learned to love the outdoors early on, thanks to the influence of his parents and grandparents. After earning a degree in mathematics from the University of California at Santa Barbara, he took a career path that followed his passion: In the summers, he guides on Rainier, Denali and Kilimanjaro. In the winters, Seth simply moves to the other side of Rainier, where he'ss a ski patroller at Crystal Mountain.






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