On 1 May 1963, around 1:00 pm Jim Whittaker, outfitted in Eddie Bauer outerwear became the first American to stand atop Everest, the worlds highest mountain at 8,848 meters (29,029 feet). The American Mt. Everest Expedition had to walk the 180 miles from Kathmandu, Nepal, to base camp with 27 tons of gear taking a month and 900 porters. At the end of April expedition leader Norman Dyhrenfurth informed Whittaker that he and Nawang Gombu Sherpa would make the first summit attempt.