Norman G. Dyhrenfurth, an explorer and filmmaker who in 1963 led the first expedition of Americans to reach the summit of Mount Everest, a feat that inspired generations of mountaineers, died on Sunday in Salzburg, Austria. He was 99.

The death, at a hospital, was confirmed by Michael Bilic, a friend. Mr. Dyhrenfurth had retired to Salzburg.

A climber since his childhood in the foothills of the Swiss Alps, Mr. Dyhrenfurth (pronounced DEER-en-furth) was the financial and organizational catalyst behind the expedition that enabled James W. Whittaker to climb 29,028 feet and plant a flag on the summit of Everest on May 1, 1963. He was the first American to do so.

Although Mr. Dyhrenfurth did not himself reach the summit, he was recognized as the leader of the expedition, a feat that was recognized on the cover of Life and National Geographic magazines and honored by President John F. Kennedy, who awarded the climbers a medal.