In the late 1950s he was a leading climbing guide in the Grand Teton Mountains. He climbed Mt. Rainier over 200 times. Unsoeld and Tom Hornbein ascended Everest's difficult West Ridge route in May 1963 on a National Geographic Society sponsored expedition while Barry Bishop and Lute Jerstad followed Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay’s South Col route established during their 1953 climb. It was the first simultaneous attempt from two directions. The grueling expedition cost Unsoeld nine of his toes and required several months of recovery in the hospital. Unsoeld and the team reunited in July 1963 when they were presented with the National Geographic Society’s highest honor, the Hubbard Medal, by John F. Kennedy.
Later career
After his stint in the Peace Corps, Unsoeld joined Outward Bound and traveled about the country giving speeches and promoting the organization. After leaving Outward Bound he became one of the founding faculty at The Evergreen State College in Washington State. He was highlighted prominently in the first recruiting video in 1971, advising that "not every student should come to Evergreen". It was at The Evergreen State College where he conceived an Outdoor Education Program. This program consisted of four distinct Habitat Groups, one of which was the Winter Mountaineering Group. Academic programs at the college at the time were designed to last a year or less.
Personal life
Unsoeld married Jolene Unsoeld in the 1950s; they had two daughters and two sons. Jolene Unsoeld and their two sons, Krag and Regon, reside in Olympia, Washington. Their daughter Terres Unsoeld lives in California. Jolene Unsoeld served three terms in the U.S. Congress from 1989 to 1995. In 1976, Unsoeld and his daughter Nanda Devi were on an expedition to climb her namesake mountain Nanda Devi, the second highest peak in India. His daughter died during the climb, which was plagued by accidents and eventual tragedy. The reason for her death was blood clotting caused by the high altitude of the mountain. Asked at his home how he could continue climbing after losing his daughter, Willi responded: "What, you want me to die of a heart attack, drinking beer, eating potato chips, and watching a golf tournament on TV?"
Death
Unsoeld died in an avalanche during an Outdoor Education Winter Expedition climb of Mt. Rainier on March 4, 1979, at the age of 52. He was leading over a dozen students from The Evergreen State College on an ascent of Mt. Rainier at the time. He died during the descent from their high camp in Cadaver Gap along with one student, Janie Diepenbrock from Sacramento, California. A later analysis of the mishap, excerpts of which were published by the American Alpine Club, said in part: "There are many guides who would not have taken on this particular climb with this particular group, but this is a matter of personal preference rather than a determination as to whether this climb was proper to attempt or not."
Legacy
Known as "The Father of Experiential Education," Willi Unsoeld influenced the growth of outdoor education, inspiring educational leaders like Simon Priest. His philosophical approach to living and global perspective mentored environmental visionaries like Caril Ridley. His philosophy focused on experiencing the sacred in nature, the importance of risk in education and getting personal experience rather than relying on the experience of others. His dynamic style of mentoring inspired thousands of followers.
Why don’t you stay in the wilderness? Because that isn’t where it is at; it’s back in the city, back in downtown St. Louis, back in Los Angeles. The final test is whether your experience of the sacred in nature enables you to cope more effectively with the problems of people. If it does not enable you to cope more effectively with the problems – and sometimes it doesn’t, it sometimes sucks you right out into the wilderness and you stay there the rest of your Life – then when that happens, by my scale of value; it’s failed. You go to nature for an experience of the sacred...to re-establish your contact with the core of things, where it’s really at, in order to enable you to come back to the world of people and operate more effectively. Seek ye first the kingdom of nature, that the kingdom of man might be realized.
Evergreen's annual Willi Unsoeld Seminar is held as a living memorial to Unsoeld as a mountaineer, a philosopher and a theologian.
