Meet Leif Whittaker

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Leif Whittaker is a seasoned mountaineer, coach, and storyteller with a passion for helping individuals reach their peak potential—both on and off the mountain. Growing up near Olympic National Park in Port Townsend, Washington, Leif developed an early love for the outdoors, inspired by his father, Jim Whittaker, the first American to summit Mount Everest.

At 15, Leif embarked on his first independent wilderness adventure, a 20-mile hike into the Olympic backcountry to climb Mount Olympus. This formative experience ignited a lifelong journey that has taken him across the globe to ascend iconic peaks, including Aconcagua, Mount Vinson, Denali, and Mount Everest—twice.

Leif served for 10 years as a climbing ranger for the US Forest Service on Mount Baker, where he was dedicated to preserving wilderness areas and ensuring the safety of visitors. He brings a diverse range of outdoor experience, including skiing, rock climbing, kayaking, sailing, and whitewater rafting.

After graduating with honors from Western Washington University, Leif pursued his passion for writing and storytelling. His writing has been featured in outdoor publications worldwide. He is the author of My Old Man and the Mountain (Mountaineers Books, 2016), an award winning memoir praised for its humor and honesty. He is also a sought-after motivational speaker, having inspired audiences from leading businesses, tech companies, nonprofits, and educational institutions.

Leif’s coaching philosophy is centered around empathy, positivity and communication. His approachable demeanor and consistent encouragement helps athletes build a strong foundation of physical and mental resilience. He specializes in preparing athletes for the challenges of high-altitude mountaineering and many other endurance pursuits. His coaching philosophy emphasizes:

Consistent communication, positive encouragement, and accountability.
Expert training guidance tailored to your specific needs, whether you’re tackling your first peak or summiting Everest.
Practical advice based on years of mountaineering and coaching experience.

Kind words from Leif's athletes

As a non-competitive ultrarunner and climber, I thought, ‘I don't need a coach.’ I was wrong. It took a life-or-death situation for me to figure it out. An especially bad case of Covid attacked my respiratory system and left me with acute respiratory distress. After 30 days in the ICU, I had lost over 40% of my lung capacity to scarring and neurological damage. I spent another 16 weeks in intensive rehab learning to walk again. It took me another 9 months to extend that to a mile, and then I plateaued. I spent 9 more months trying to build up to running an aerobic mile at any pace, but I just couldn't get there. I'd followed Scott Johnston since reading Training for the New Alpinism and reached out to him in desperation. Scott connected me to Leif. To say Leif steepened the recovery curve would be an understatement. Within 8 weeks, I ran my first aerobic mile since the hospital. 10 weeks after that I led a rock climb again and finished a 50K trail race. Leif has invested the time to get to know me physically and psychologically. He often pushes me when I want to ease up and enforces some recovery when I'm running on all cylinders and getting greedy for more. I think it's equal parts science and intuition, but both are backed with his investment in analyzing me and my performance data to make day-to-day individualized coaching decisions. For the first time in a long while, I'm dreaming big again—and that's priceless!

Joel McCarty

Coached by Leif Whittaker

Climbing Mount Baker has been a dream of mine for years. And even though with most things I am confident I can work hard and achieve the goal, I put this off for many years because I was scared of what mountaineering would be like and I knew I'd have to be in great shape. Getting to work with Leif made me feel confident that I could do it. I knew I could trust in the plan he laid out to get me where I needed to be. I would not have managed these climbs (or even been confident enough to sign up for them) without Leif doing the advance planning and keeping me accountable. I hope he realizes what an impact he has in helping people achieve their wildest outdoor dreams!