In 1963, the world followed the first American Mount Everest Expedition, and watched as "Big Jim" Whittaker became the first American to stand on top of the world. He returned home a hero. My Old Man and the Mountain is Leif Whittaker's engaging and humorous story of what it was like to "grow up Whittaker," as the youngest son of Jim Whittaker and Dianne Roberts, and amid an extended family of accomplished climbers. Readers learn of his first adventures with family in the Olympic Mountains and on Mount Rainier; his close, yet at times competitive, relationship with his brother Joss; his battle with a serious back injury; and his efforts to stand apart from his father's legacy.