Academic Preparation:

With a certificate of Education from the University of London, 1975, a Master of Arts in Education, 1979, and Athletic Administration, 1981, both from Idaho State University, Whittaker is pursuing a PhD at Colorado State University. Working as a professor in Adventure Education at Prescott College in Arizona, he is recognized as a visionary leader and program innovator.Whittaker lectures internationally.

Professional Experience:

Spanning 23 years, Whittaker has worked as a professional guide and educator, teaching all aspects of outdoor pursuits. He has worked at all levels, from instructor to executive director, from university outdoor programs to Outward Bound schools in Canada and the U.K. He has guided commercially and for five years owned and operated an outdoor retail store. He is a product tester for The North Face, Hoechst Celanese, Flex-Foot, and Perception. In addition, he has worked, featured, and produced a number of outdoor adventure films, including "A River Runs Through It" for Robert Redford.

However, Whittaker is best known for his innovative work building a fourwheel drive attitude in people with disabilities. In 1981, Whittaker created the Cooperative Wilderness Handicapped Outdoor Group (C.W.HOG) at Idaho State University and directed the program for ten years. This is a remarkable organization which seeks to rebuild hope, courage, and self confidence in disabled people through the medium of outdoor adventure, and a supportive peer group.

Mountaineering Experience:

A widely experienced mountaineer of 25 years, with numerous first ascents on both rock and ice, Whittaker is currently a member of the prestigious North Face Climbing Team. As a Himalayan mountaineer he has spent more than six months in Nepal and Tibet. In 1989 and 1995 Tom was instrumental in successful ascents of the South Col and North Ridge routes on Mt. Everest. As leader of the 1995 Everest Expedition he was the first disabled person to break the coveted 8,000 meter mark in mountaineering. On May 27,1995, Whittaker reached 27,500 feet on the rocky North Face of Mt.Everest, breaking the existing altitude record by more than 3,000 feet.Whittaker aborted his bid for the summit of the world's tallest mountain (29,028 ft.) upon realizing his oxygen supplies would not last.

Going back in 1998 Whittaker believes that Everest Challenge'98 is powerless to change the circumstance of disability but can do a great deal to change attitudes. He wants people to realize that disability is as much an attitude as it is a condition.