Wilderness Travel 2018 Catalog of Adventures

PERSPECT I VES ON

Climbing & Conservation in Patagonia

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.

ANDREW BURR JIMMY CHIN

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

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