Jim Wickwire (born June 8, 1940) is a retired attorney in Seattle, Washington, most famous as the first American to reach the top of K2,[1][2] the world's second-highest mountain, and then for surviving the night in the open just below the summit.
His first attempt on K2 was in a 1975 expedition that broke down in disputes and never got above 22,000 ft.
Wickwire reached the summit with Louis Reichardt on September 6, 1978, but while Reichardt went down right away, Wickwire lingered to take photos, and on the descent he became concerned that he was having too much difficulty moving safely in the dark, and so he stayed where he was. This was extremely risky, because at such high elevations, a tent and sleeping bag are essential to fending off hypothermia and frostbite. The next morning, John Roskelley and Rick Ridgeway found him continuing down while on their way to the summit. Wickwire lost parts of two toes and underwent lung surgery.
Nevertheless, Wickwire continued high-altitude climbing.
In 1981, he was on Mount McKinley with Chris Kerrebrock, who fell into a crevasse, pulling Wickwire in after him. Wickwire was able to get out, but unable to rescue Kerrebrock, who was alive but jammed in facedown. With Wickwire having dislocated a shoulder and being unable to move him, Kerrebrock subsequently died of hypothermia.
He made four (unsuccessful) attempts on the north side of Mount Everest (1982, 1984, 1993, and 2003). In the 1982 expedition, he was next to Marty Hoey when her harness came unfastened and she fell to her death.
The film K2 is based loosely on Wickwire and Reichardt's 1978 K2 attempt, although there are significant differences between the film and reality.[1]