WT18 catalog single pgs

16 / 148

CALL FOR DETAILS 1.800.368.2794 16
PERSPECT I VES ON
A SPEC I AL EVENT WI TH
KRIS TOMPKINS, RICK RIDGEWAY, CONRAD ANKER, AND ALEX HONNOLD
NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2018
Patagonia! This realm of sculpted rock towers at the “uttermost ends of the earth” has drawn the greatest
climbers in the world, who have pioneered breathtaking routes and daring traverses of its sheer walls and
needle-like peaks. Patagonia is stunningly beautiful, but it is also fragile. The late climber Doug Tompkins,
founder of the North Face, and his wife Kris, former CEO of Patagonia, Inc., moved to Chile 25 years
ago with a bold plan to preserve Patagonia’s environment by purchasing vast estancias, “rewilding” them,
and donating the land back to Chile and Argentina as national parks. When big, wild landscapes thrive,
nearby human communities can flourish too, gaining economic vitality from sustainable tourism. Our
celebration of Patagonia is a benefit for Tompkins Conservation, and will bring together climbers who have
accomplished extraordinary feats here, and the visionaries who are preserving this incredible land. At our
symposium in magnificent Los Glaciares National Park, we’ll have fascinating talks, film screenings, hiking
excursions, asados , and time with these inspiring people who dream beyond what is believed to be possible.
Our Guest Speakers
Kris Tompkins is a passionate conservationist and
former CEO of Patagonia, Inc. During her 20 years
there she helped Yvon Chouinard build it into
the beloved “anti-corporation” it is today. Kris and
her husband, the late Doug Tompkins, undertook
an extraordinary conservation project that recently
resulted in “the largest land donation in history
from a private entity to a country,” as one million
acres of land was donated to Chile, realizing Doug
and Kris’ vision of a 1,500-mile “Great Route of
Parks” stretching from Puerto Montt to Cape Horn.
Conrad Anker, one of the world’s most renowned
expeditionary mountaineers, has scaled the three
towers of Patagonia’s famed Cerro Torre group, ascending
new routes on both Torre Egger and Cerro Standhardt.
In the high Himalaya, Conrad has summited Everest
three times, located the body of George Leigh Mallory
on Everest’s North Face, and summited the Shark’s
Fin, as documented in the acclaimed film Meru.
Alex Honnold is known for his free-solo ascents of the
most challenging rock routes in the world, including
his astonishing record-breaking free solo of Yosemite’s
El Capitan in under four hours. With Tommy Caldwell,
Alex made the first successful traverse of Patagonia’s
Fitzroy Massif, and with Colin Haley, set a speed record
for the north-to-south traverse of the sheer granite spires
of Patagonia’s Cerro Standhardt, Punta Herron, Torre
Egger, and Cerro Torre. Rick Ridgeway is one of the
world’s most accomplished mountaineers, having
climbed new routes and explored little-known regions
on six continents. He is also a deeply committed
environmentalist, author, and filmmaker, and was
honored by National Geographic with the “Lifetime
Achievement in Adventure” award. Rick is Vice
President of Environmental Affairs for Patagonia,
Inc., where he oversees sustainability initiatives. He
is the author of six books, including The Shadow of
Kilimanjaro and The Last Step, a mountaineering classic
chronicling his extraordinary experiences on the first
American ascent of K2.
Symposium Trips
• In Patagonia
• Patagonia’s Wild North
• Whales to Jaguars: from Peninsula Valdez to Ibéra
• Chile from Top to Bottom
• Torres del Paine and Tierra del Fuego
Program Cost: TBA
ANDREW BURR
JIMMY CHIN
40
ANNIVERSARY
th