Went to Franklin High School Franklin, North Carolina. Nevertheless, she adds, They have protected more land than any other private individuals in history.. Tompkins sold The North Face with the intention of a focus on adventure film making.[13]. It is named in honor of the pumas that roam the parks virgin forests. An early adventure junkie, he opened the North Face in 1964 with his first wife, Susan. Web SpecialsSave on Gear for Your Next Trip, Remembering The North Face Founder Douglas Tompkins. Doug Tompkins - millionaire philanthropist and co-founder of the clothing companies North Face and Esprit - shared a two-person kayak with Rick Ridgeway, 66, a veteran mountain climber and . Douglas Tompkins died at the age of 72, on the 8th of December: billionaire, ecologist and co-founder of The North Face, renowned outdoor apparel brand. When he wasnt able to get the right seeds for tree restoration in nearby nurseries, he opened his own. In particular, many locals in Chile and Argentina expressed resentment and distrust for the duo's massive land purchases. When the storms finally cleared, they made the first ascent of the now-classic California Route, with Tompkins yelling repeatedly at Tejada-Flores, their designated cameraman, "Hey, Fellini, how about getting some footage?" He already loved Chile and Argentina, from all his trips to Patagonia, and land there was cheap, so he and Kristine a former Patagonia CEO who Tompkins married in 1993 began acquiring immense swaths of it. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) DOCTOR, SERGIO GAETE, SAYING: He was very brave and that was his way of being; he always lived very intense, in that anything could happen. He was 72. doug tompkins north face map south america. But in December, the 72-year-old Tompkins and Chouinard, along with climber Rick Ridgeway and three others, were on a five-day, 50-mile kayak paddle in southern Chile when the group ran into what Chouinard calls a perfect trap. They have protected more land than any other private individuals in history.. The kayak capsized and Tompkins fell into the icy water. At his death Mr. Tompkins had been working on creating new parks in Patagonia and in the Iber wetlands in northeastern Argentina. Feeling a growing sense of urgency about proposed dam projects and encroaching oil and gas developments, he then started to plow his money directly into buying up land that was inexpensive and also under threat. The proposed park, which would total 700,000 hectares, would be the largest national park in Argentina and home to hundreds of bird species, giant anteaters, and macaw parrots. Doug was a dear mentor to our company and a good friend to many of us here at Patagonia. The cases of people surviving such serious cases of hypothermia as a result of accidents are extremely rare. [4], Susie Tompkins Buell was born Susan Russell in San Francisco in 1943, to parents Clarabelle and Floyd Russell. 13. He began to invest in conservation groups in Patagonia and offer grants to local environmental groups. When that failed, they swam. Giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla), collared peccary (Peccary tajacu), South American tapir (Tapirus terrestris), pampas deer (Ozotoceros bezoarticus), and red-and-green macaw (Ara chloropterus) have been reintroduced to the wild, and a captive breeding program for jaguars (Panthera onca) was created to support reintroduction of jaguars to the parks.[24]. [10] In 2006, The Washington Post published a story about the Democracy Alliance, calling it an "exclusive donor club" for progressive donors and identifying Tompkins Buell and her husband Mark Buell as members. [15][14] The 2010 film 180 Degrees South: Conquerors of the Useless describes a modern-day recreation of this journey and also highlights the conservation work on which Tompkins had been working. Three members of the group were reportedly rescued by a military patrol boat while a helicopter lifted out the other three. "We spent 31 days in a snow cave, and that's grim," Chouinard recalls. The best result we found for your search is Doug W Thompson age 80+ in North Port, FL. "We just weren't prepared," Chouinard admits now. So I went to do something else.. Other conservation projects that Tompkins spearheaded include: Envisioning "conservation as a consequence of production," Tompkins developed models of sustainable organic farming, which maintain soil health and ecological integrity at the same time that they provide for families and support the local economy. Douglas Thompson. Two weeks later, they loaded a Ford Econoline with surfboards and climbing gear in Ventura, California, and headed south. "Then we got this side wind, so we had huge waves coming in on either side.". In 1968, Tompkins headed off on a six-month road-adventure trip from California to Patagonia, along with Yvon Chouinard, Dick Dorworth, and Chris Jones (calling themselves the "Fun Hogs"), who made the third ascent of Mount Fitz Roy in Patagonia in 1968. Fitz Roy in 1968. He had assembled and preserved the land which became the largest gift of private land to any South American government. In addition to his wife and Ms. Walker, Mr. Tompkins is survived by his mother, Faith; his brother, John, and another daughter, Quincey Tompkins Imhoff. [23] Its goal was to strengthen protection and restore habitat and biodiversity in the Iber Wetlands in Corrientes Province, Argentina. After he sold Esprit, he started to dedicate himself to protecting nature. Doug Tompkins, one of the founders of the outdoor clothing brand The North Face, died in a kayaking accident in Chile in 2015. By the time the craft had towed the two to shore, Tompkins had been in the water for more than an hour. Doug also had a visceral dislike for authority, writes Chouinard, and always relished breaking the rules.. Douglas Rainsford Tompkins (March 20, 1943 December 8, 2015) was an American businessman, conservationist, outdoorsman, philanthropist, filmmaker, and agriculturalist. We are the space in which education becomes determination, feeling becomes action, the goal becomes solution and result. To have lost his life in a lake and have nature just sort of gobble him up is just shocking.. At Beijing 2022 politics and superpower rivalry are dominating the headlines. Doug Tompkins, known for founding outdoor gear company The North Face, has died of hypothermia in a kayaking accident in Patagonia. [10] They married in 1964 in San Francisco, where Tompkins borrowed $5,000 from a bank to set up The North Face, now a global retailing company. He was rescued but later died from severe hypothermia. Who was Douglas Tompkins, the founder of The North Face, Deep Ecology: Living as if Nature Mattered, Creative Commons Attribuzione - Non commerciale - Non opere derivate 4.0 Internazionale. We are deeply saddened by the news of Doug Tompkins passing. There wasnt anything he thought he wanted to do that he didnt do.. He then traipsed through the Andes Mountains in South America until his money ran out in 1962, forcing him to return to the United States. These tents have been widely copied throughout the world. The Iber project was a private conservation enterprise that was spearheaded by Tompkins, working with George Soros, Harvard University,[22] and Rewilding Argentina. The path was not always smooth, however. But the way I see it, with land conservation of this type, the risk of something negative coming from this seems to be rather small compared with taking an exploitive approach., Hartmann described Tompkins as a visionary who took risks to experience the life he was certain was worth living. [39][40] He was 72 years old and survived by his second wife, Kristine (McDivitt), two daughters, brother and mother.[13][41]. The route the six men had plotted from Puerto Snchez to Puerto Ingeniero Ibez took them past cathedrals of marble carved over the millennia by the waves. How Dougs death will affect negotiations with the government, I dont know, said Butler. Unable to right their kayak, the pair held on to their boat while the other members of their group attempted to coordinate a rescue.Using a satellite phone, the group called for a helivac while Ellison and Boyles attempted to pull Tompkins from the water. He had the ability to walk his talk. In 1997, CEO Jay Margolis banned Tompkins Buell and all members of her family from entering Esprit's headquarters. To have lost his life in a lake and have nature just sort of gobble him up is just shocking.. It was taboo to advocate for environmental causes, said Langman, who believes Chileans came to embrace Tompkins in the last years of his life. He was flown, by helicopter, to a hospital in nearby Coyhaique, where he died hours later from severe hypothermia. [9] She led Clinton's fundraising efforts for 2008 in the San Francisco Bay area. ", "Kris and Doug Tompkins receive the new - Species award from african rainforest conservancy", http://www.iccfoundation.us/2007Gala/DinnerProgram.pdf, "Environmental Leader of the Year: Douglas Tompkins Preserver of the Land", "Filme de Haroldo Palo Jr. Mostra belezas naturais brasileiras", "Douglas Tompkins, co-founder of North Face, dies after Chile kayak accident", YouTube Playlist - Our Founder: Douglas Tompkins, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Douglas_Tompkins&oldid=1139041029, New Species Award, Good Steward Award, David R. Brower Award, This page was last edited on 13 February 2023, at 01:35. The two had two daughters and co-founded the Esprit clothing company. Douglas Tompkins, the founder of the North Face and Esprit clothing brands and a noted conservationist, died Tuesday after a kayaking accident in the Patagonia region of Chile. Sign up for exclusive offers, original stories, activism awareness, events and more from Patagonia. The pair tried repeatedly to right the boat. That trip's holy grail was Mount Fitz Roy, a 11,000-foot rock tower in Argentina where they were trapped by storms. Where the fuck is that Chouinard! In 1992, he formed the Conservation Land Trust, which created Pumaln Park, a nature sanctuary and Chiles largest public park. VARIOUS EXTERIORS OF THE COYHAIQUE HOSPITAL WHERE NORTHFACE FOUNDER DOUGLAS TOMPKINS WAS TREATED AND PASSED AWAY [12] Buell along with George Soros and other Democracy Alliance members John R. Hunting; Paul Rudd (co-founder of Adaptive Analytics); Pat Stryker; Nicholas Hanauer; ex-Clinton administration official Rob Stein; Drummond Pike; real estate developer Robert Bowditch; Pioneer Hybrid International-heir and congressional candidate Scott Wallace; Gail Furman; real estate developer Albert Dwoskin; and Taco Bell-heir Rob McKay, funded the Secretary of State Project, an American non-profit, 527 political action committee focused on electing reform-minded progressive Secretaries of State in battleground states, who typically oversee the election process. Doug Tompkins paced the San Francisco sidewalk, hawking downhill skis to beatniks and groggy sailors. Dec 8, 2015, 11:29 PM EST. The brand was greatly success and he sold it in 1968 in order to dedicate himself to the brand Esprit with his first wife, Jane Tise. The family briefly lived in New York City before settling in Millbrook, N.Y., in the Hudson Valley. Together they founded the North Face as a small ski and backpacking retail shop in the North Beach neighborhood of San Francisco. Last edited on 13 February 2023, at 01:35, 180 Degrees South: Conquerors of the Useless, International Conservation Caucus Foundation, "Douglas Tompkins, 72, Founder of North Face, Dies in Kayak Accident", "This idea proved less wild than it first appeared", Pleistocene Park emerges from Patagonia's rescued grasslands, "Chile's new 'route of parks' aims to save the wild beauty of Patagonia", "Nacionalidad por gracia: Comisin revoca por unanimidad reconocimiento al cardenal Ezzati", "Douglas Tompkins, The North Face Founder, Dies After Kayaking Accident", "The North Face Unveils Global Retail Strategy with Opening of New SoHo Location", "How The North Face Founder Went From High School Dropout to Millionaire Conservationist", "North Face co-founder turned 'eco baron' Douglas Tompkins is killed in Chile kayaking accident", "The Entrepreneur Who Wants to Save Paradise", "North Face founder Douglas Tompkins dies in kayaking accident in Chile", "Kris Tompkins North Face Founder Doug Tompkins' Wife", "Pgina/12:: Sociedad:: Reclamos en los esteros", "Chile creates five national parks over 10m acres in historic act of conservation", "(Re)Born to Be Wild: Coaxing Patagonia Back to Its Natural State", "Founder of The North Face Dies After Kayaking Incident in Chile, Apparently With Other Outdoor Legends", "Pgina Principal Patagonia Chilena Sin Represas! Douglas Tompkins, co-founder of North Face, dies after Chile kayak accident, Patagonias controversial new national park, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. Mr. Tompkins eventually landed near Tahoe City, Calif., where he worked in the ski lodges and started his first business, the California Mountaineering Service. Of all the winning candidates of the 2006 municipal elections, Thompson had the highest percentage of donations coming from corporations (81.9%). At the time in South America, there was no precedent for private individuals much less foreigners spending gargantuan sums to save wilderness. [25], In 2007 the Conservation Land Trust established a rewilding program to reintroduce native species which had been extirpated from the wetlands during the 20th century. His death was confirmed by Coyhaique Regional Hospital, where Mr. Tompkins was flown with severe hypothermia. It still sells high-performance climbing and backpacking equipment. [1] For high school, she attended Lowell High School in the class of 1960 but she did not graduate. These parks are our life's work, not the clothing chains we created, selling people clothes they don't need. Conservation Finance Network. He said that the group was perhaps too confident for the lakes fickle conditions. After four months driving down the Pan-American Highway, the pair reached Mt Fitzroy on the border between Chile and Argentina, where they established a new route to the summit. People named Doug Thompson. Marble Caves at Lake General Carrera, Puerto Tranquilo, Aysen region, Chile. Douglas Tompkins and his wife Kristine pose in the front of their house at the estate "Rincon del Socorro" in Ibera, near Carlos Pellegrini in Corrientes Province, Argentina, on November 5, 2009. In February 2012, Tompkins Buell stopped supporting President Barack Obama, citing disappointment with his leadership on environmental issues including climate change. Several years later the couple, along with a third partner, Jane Tise, started selling plain Jane dresses out of a station wagon. Growing increasingly concerned about the ecological impacts of the fashion industry, Tompkins decided to leave the business world in the late 1980s. Nowhere is this more evident than in the treatment of Eileen Gu, the US-born Chinese freestyle skier that is taking the sport by storm. We are deeply saddened to learn of Doug Tompkins death. Chouinard paddled safely to shore, but Tompkins and Ridgeway, sharing a two-seater, capsized 200 yards from land, in water below 40 degrees. Class of 1960 but she did not graduate ] Its goal was to strengthen protection and restore and. 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