Ive never ever tried to make life easy for myself, Tompkins told The Guardian in a 2009 interview. After he sold Esprit, he started to dedicate himself to protecting nature. [21], In March 2018, the Chilean president Michelle Bachelet announced that the government was accepting the gift of 1 million acres from Tompkins Conservation and creating five new national parks and expanding three more, covering 11 million acres in all, the largest private land donation in history. After retiring in 1989, Tompkins moved to South America and turned his attention to environmental activism. ". Find a local store near you. He began to invest in conservation groups in Patagonia and offer grants to local environmental groups. At the time of his death, Tompkins was in the process of working with the Chilean government to convert the rest of the land into an additional seven parks. Despite developing heart arrhythmia in his latter years, he showed no signs of slowing down. At some stage, he lost consciousness. We are the space in which education becomes determination, feeling becomes action, the goal becomes solution and result. Dec. 8, 2015. 13. A military patrol boat rescued three of the boaters, and a helicopter lifted out the other three, according to the army. Esprit, died in the terrain he was devoted to conserving. [24][25] In December 2015 the Trust donated these lands, including espinal, malezal grasslands, and forests, to the Argentine government to create a strictly-conserved national park to be called Iber National Park. [14], In 2016, Tompkins Buell donated $500,000 to lawyer Lisa Bloom's firm in order to assist women who came forward with sexual harassment and assault allegations against Donald Trump leading up to the 2016 presidential election. Accessed 19 July 2020. He used to come home from adventures and say, Well, I cheated death again. Thats the way he lived. Doug also had a visceral dislike for authority, writes Chouinard, and always relished breaking the rules.. Doug was special to many of us, the company wrote. Is the Stanley Quencher tumbler worth its TikTok hype? [1] In childhood, her family had a second home in Bolinas, which had a profound impact on her love of the natural world. [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. He had done a lot of really dangerous things in remote, wild places for his entire life, and here he is, on a sort of easy-going camping trip with his old buddies, and should end up perishing in an accident it is not what any of us ever expected.. Doug and Kris were responsible for expanding a natural reserve covering 400 hectares of forest in Chile to almost 890,000 hectares divided between Chile and Patagonia. That business grew to become the multibillion-dollar retailer Esprit, known for its casual sportswear and lifestyle clothing. "Then we got this side wind, so we had huge waves coming in on either side.". His death was confirmed by Coyhaique Regional Hospital, where Mr. Tompkins was flown with severe hypothermia. He was 72. U.S. environmentalist and businessman Douglas Tompkins, the founder of outdoor clothing and equipment company The North Face, died on Tuesday during a kayaking trip in Chile, local health . Douglas Rainsford Tompkins (March 20, 1943 - December 8, 2015) was an American businessman, conservationist, outdoorsman, philanthropist, filmmaker, and agriculturalist. Doug is related to Jean B Thompson . (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) PHYSICIAN, CARLOS SALAZAR, SAYING: I have been out there on a kayak, with the wind to my back advancing with the wind and in the moment the wind shifts, you are liquidated.. Douglas Tompkins, famed environmentalist and co-founder of The North Face, died on Tuesday after a kayaking accident in the Patagonia region of southern Chile. Tompkins sold his share of the North Face in 1969, and in 1989 when he and his first wife were divorced he sold his half of Esprit, and shifted his focus to deep ecology. Nature lover and adventurer, he founded The North Facein 1964. donor", "Partisans, Wielding Money, Begin Seeking to Exploit Harassment Claims", "Who Is Susie Tompkins Buell? [1] Her father was a "betting commissioner" and worked in real estate. So in 1967 he sold The North Face for $50,000 to become a filmmaker like Bruce Brown, whose The Endless Summer had recently become a global hit. As a teenager, he got kicked out of his Connecticut prep school and took off for South America to train with the U.S. ski team. Web SpecialsSave on Gear for Your Next Trip, Remembering The North Face Founder Douglas Tompkins. Douglas Tompkinsthe founder of Esprit and The North Faceis using his fortune to build massive national parks in Chile and Argentina. 3. Yvon Chouinard, 77, founder of clothing company Patagonia, was in a kayak with Jib Ellison, founder and CEO of sustainability consulting firm Blu Skye. COYHAIQUE, CHILE (DECEMBER 8, 2015) (TVN - NO ACCESS CHILE/CNN/CHILE WEBSITES) One of these, Parque Patagonia, is on track to cover 650,000 acres of mountains just south of 90-mile-long General Carrera Lake. She is also noted for her close friendship with Bill and Hillary Clinton and her status as a . Esprits success in the 1980s fueled much of the conservation work that occupied Mr. Tompkins for much of the rest of his life. For 20 years we have operated to catalyse social change, to awaken and feed a new state of ecological awareness, to inspire and promote new business and consumption models for people as well as companies. "Doug and I were both overly cavalier about jumping into dangerous things," says Yvon Chouinard, founder of Patagonia and a lifelong friend of Douglas Tompkins, the pioneering conservationist. A keen conservationist, he bought up huge swathes of land in southern . While Tompkins was gone, his wife, Susie, started the company that became Esprit. Tompkins, who co-founded North Face and Esprit, died in the ecological empyrean of Patagonia that he had sought to protect after cashing out of his life in America and moving to South America. And Im just kind of a laid-back zen buddhist, and just say, well, Ill do what I can and so be it., Laughing, Tompkins shot back: Well, you better tell my buddy Yvon, the good buddhist, he has to take his bodhisattva vows, which means that before self-enlightenment, one has to end the suffering in the world., In the aftermath of his death, Conservacion Patagonica expressed some concern over the future of his plans. In 1997, CEO Jay Margolis banned Tompkins Buell and all members of her family from entering Esprit's headquarters. Doug Thompson in North Dakota. In his senior year at Pomfret School in Connecticut, Tompkins was expelled for various minor infractions. [36] Eco Barons, Edward Humes' 2009 account of the "dreamers, schemers, and millionaires who are saving our planet," uses Tompkins as the first example of this new group of philanthropists. Please remove some items to proceed. Also in 1997, Tompkins Buell filed a lawsuit against Esprit, seeking about $4 million in reimbursements from the company for tax payments she made after selling much of her stake in the company to investors.[7][8]. In 1966, Tompkins opened a brick-and-mortar retail shop in San Francisco's North Beach neighborhood, next to an infamous strip joint called the Condor. Tom Butler, editorial projects director for Conservacion Patagonica the land trust founded in 2000 by Tompkins and his second wife described the accident as a total shock to his family and friends. In the course of his career as a conservationist, Tompkins, originally from Ohio, had preserved some 2.2m acres of land in Chile and Argentina with his wife, Kristine McDivitt Tompkins, former CEO of Patagonia. It was taboo to advocate for environmental causes, said Langman, who believes Chileans came to embrace Tompkins in the last years of his life. Chiles army said that a patrol boat rescued three of the boaters and that a helicopter lifted out the other three. He was a passionate advocate for the environment, and his legacy of conservation is one that we hope to help continue in the work we do every day. In 2005, then-president Ricardo Lagos declared this area a Nature Sanctuary, a special designation of the Chilean state, granting it additional environmental and non-developmental protection. Tompkins designed tents that were some of the first to avoid a pole in the middle, by using bendable rods threaded through exterior sleeves instead. After purchasing large blocks of wilderness, they worked to create national parks, believing that this governmental designation serves as the best mode of guaranteeing long-term conservation. "The presidents of Argentina and Chile called," says Chouinard, "and said, Hey, let's get the rest of these parks done.' The Iber project was a private conservation enterprise that was spearheaded by Tompkins, working with George Soros, Harvard University,[22] and Rewilding Argentina. Douglas Tompkins shakes hands with Chilean President Ricardo Lagos in 2003. ne irreplaceable piece of writing on Tompkins ideological shift. Tompkins is buried at a small cemetery near the Lodge at Valle Chacabuco in Parque Patagonia. 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. Sitting together in a scene from 180 Degrees South, Chouinard described his good friend as a more worried incarnation of himself: Hes more bothered, probably, about the end of society and mankind and stuff than I am because he wants to do something about it. Doug Tompkins passed away doing the very thing he loved, and he will be remembered as one of the most important characters in environmental activism and ecology our generation has ever known. Tompkins Buell is often described as Hillary Clinton's soul mate. With them were river conservation advocate Weston Boyles, 29, and Laurence Alvarez-Roos, 49, co-owner and guide at Bio Bio Expeditions, an adventure travel outfitter based in Chile and California. Doug was a dear mentor to our company and a good friend to many of us here at Patagonia. He bought a 16mm camera and, with Chouinard, climber Lito Tejada-Flores and ski racer Dick Dorworth, packed an old Ford van with surfboards, skis, and gear, and drove 8,000 miles from California to Argentina. With a deep bond to Patagonia and Chile, Tompkins dedicated his life to nature and environmental conservation, inspired by the book Deep Ecology: Living as if Nature Mattered. 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. Zamboni, Tala, Sebastin Di Martino, and Ignacio Jimnez-Prez (2017). (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) DOCTOR, SERGIO GAETE, SAYING: [24], Led by Tompkins, the Conservation Land Trust acquired 150,000 hectares of old cattle ranches bordering the provincial park, including habitats not then represented in the park. His daughter, Quincey Tompkins Imhoff, of Healdsburg, remembered a time as a girl when her father landed a small plane on a remote beach in Baja California only to notice later that the tide was rolling in and covering the wheels. Shop The North Face Canada End of Season Sale for winter deals on jackets, backpacks, coats, shoes, hoodies, and other outdoor gear for men, women, and kids. Eventually, though, Tompkins grew tired of making clothing, and his marriage had begun to fray. 2. To us, environmental and human sustainability represent an authentic lifestyle that defines our way of being in the world; an attitude centred around conscientiousness and concrete actions. Tompkins and his second wife, Kristine McDivitt Tompkins, also rank as the greatest private wilderness conservationists of all time, having bought and preserved 2.2 million acres of mountains, rivers, and rain forest in Chile and Argentina, an area equivalent to about three Yosemite National Parks. They have protected more land than any other private individuals in history.. Those close to him recall a brilliant man with an absolute passion for nature. [1][5] Plain Jane was making $2 million a year by 1970. The threat of a Russian invasion has changed the lives of Ukraines people. 2023 BuzzFeed, Inc. All rights reserved. They have also lived in Eden, NC and Liverpool, NY. With all eyes currently fixed on the war in Ukraine, Paralympians competing in Beijing can show us the bright side of international cooperation. Dec 8, 2015, 11:29 PM EST. A foundation that bears her name gave money to Media Matters through the Tides Foundation. Mr. Tompkins, who also co-founded Esprit with his then-wife, Susie Tompkins Buell, capsized while paddling with five other people on General Carrera Lake in the Patagonia region, according to reports confirmed by North Face officials. 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. Photograph Courtesy Chris Jones), Tompkins' convictions never wavered. High school. Our hearts go out to all of his loved ones. 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. The second best result is Doug Thompson age 50s in Lakeland, FL in the Camphor neighborhood. Tompkins poses at his property in Ibera, in Corrientes Province, Argentina, in 2009. Both men described it as the best and most important expedition of their lives. Resides in High Point, NC. That trip had a big influence on both Doug and I, said Chouinard, who five years later founded the Patagonia clothing company, which operates under a mandate to take care of the environment. While there, he borrowed a motorcycle to ride across Chile. and the mark he left in terms of conservation and vision will live on. He must have felt the frustration of an environmentalist who heard himself sounding like the very developers he wanted to stand against.. Douglas Tompkins started The North Face in San Francisco's North Beach neighborhood in 1966. Doug is related to Jean B Thompson . Tompkins' eventual movie, Mountain of Storms, never achieved commercial success, but it inspired a generation of outdoor-adventure road-trippers. 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. Four years later, they launched Esprit. 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. Read more on these topics: Americas, Latin America, South America, Outdoor. They were on the fourth day of what was supposed to be an easy five-day paddle around the north side of Lake General Carrera, the vast turquoise-watered glacial lake which straddles the border of Argentina and Chile. It would provide safe habitat for a range of native species, and encourage a transition from "an exploitative economy" to "an economy of conservation and ecotourism". It was there that Tompkins and Chouinard set out on their final paddle together. At his death Mr. Tompkins had been working on creating new parks in Patagonia and in the Iber wetlands in northeastern Argentina. An early adventure junkie, he opened the North Face in 1964 with his first wife, Susan. Mr. Tompkins, an experienced kayaker, and his fellow paddlers capsized after being hit by large waves in bad weather, according to reports from the Chilean army. Susie Tompkins Buell (ne Russell; born 1943) is an American entrepreneur, businesswoman and a donor to progressive causes. Where the fuck is that Chouinard! [18] Subsequently, in 1989 and 1994, he sold his interests in the other Esprit entities around the world. His conviction, said Chin, allowed him to take life one battle at a time. Il surfista cileno, ambasciatore di Patagonia, si batte per proteggere Punta de Lobos e per trasformarla in una riserva naturale per il surf. Beginning in the mid-1960s, he and Susie Tompkins Buell, his first wife, co-founded and ran two companies: the outdoor equipment and clothing company The North Face and the Esprit clothing company. We believe that humans have an ethical obligation to share the planet with other species, and that we must reorient our values and activities so that all forms of life can flourish. 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. They have also lived in Santa Barbara, CA and Milpitas, CA. Douglas Tompkins, pictured in Argentina in 2009, died on Tuesday in a kayaking accident in Patagonia. The cases of people surviving such serious cases of hypothermia as a result of accidents are extremely rare. Clinton Donor Gave $500,000 to Fund Trump Sexual Misconduct Accusers", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Susie_Tompkins_Buell&oldid=1121584509, This page was last edited on 13 November 2022, at 02:09. Also known as Dwight L Thompson, L Douglas, Dwan L Thompson. [5] Due to this, he was posthumously naturalized Chilean. CLT offered to donate this parcel back to the Chilean state, provided that the whole area became a national park. [11], In 1964, Doug started The North Face, Inc. as a mail order and retail company, selling rock climbing and camping equipment. He later eschewed the business world to focus on environmentalism, purchasing large swaths of land for . Buy used, trade in and fix your gear through Worn Wear. Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina Area. In an extraordinary example of womens empowerment, a market in Indias Manipur state has been run entirely by women for the past 500 years. "Conservation is not without its critics and opposition," he acknowledged in an interview just before he died. We are deeply saddened by the news of Doug Tompkins passing. "The Iber Wetlands: Argentinas Preeminent Wildlife Reserve". The company co-founder, who died last week in a kayaking accident, was an outdoorsman and environmentalist who launched two billion-dollar businesses. Im incredibly saddened by this, but he lived on the edge, said Tompkins Buell, who remained close to her ex-husband. Doug Tompkins, one of the founders of the outdoor clothing brand The North Face, died in a kayaking accident in Chile in 2015. The Grateful Dead played at the store's opening, and beatnik poet Allen Ginsberg and jazz trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie often dropped by the store. On December 8, 2015, Tompkins was kayaking with five others (including Patagonia, Inc. founder Yvon Chouinard) on General Carrera Lake in southern Chile when strong waves caused their kayaks to capsize. Butler said he felt fortunate to have spent 10 years as part of the whirlwind of work surrounding Tompkins, whom he described as an inspiring, exhausting, sometimes exasperating leader, a brilliant man with an absolute passion to saving wild nature. Sign up for exclusive offers, original stories, activism awareness, events and more from Patagonia. When he wasnt able to get the right seeds for tree restoration in nearby nurseries, he opened his own. 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. Track orders, save products, easy hassle-free returns & exchanges. "We spent 31 days in a snow cave, and that's grim," Chouinard recalls. Those trips convinced Tompkins that he could make better outdoor equipment than anything on the market. 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. He was at various points accused of being a spy, of buying up land to create a Zionist enclave, and of planning to ship Chiles fresh water to parched lands overseas. (Tompkins, Dorworth, Jones and Chouinard in 1968. Born in 1943 in Conneaut, Ohio, Tompkins displayed an almost intractable restlessness his entire life. Peter Fimrite is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Douglas Thompson. By providing your email address, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. All the while, however, Tompkins was becoming increasingly disenchanted with the corporate world. Nov 2007 - Present15 years 3 months. Cerro Fitz Roy, Chile. Four years later, he started the Esprit clothing company with his first wife, Susie Tompkins Buell. Esprit emerged from the buyout so deeply in debt that in less than two years it went into technical default on its outstanding loans. Rumors now range from the conspiratorial to the phantasmagorical: Tompkins is creating a second Israel in South America; he is siphoning off the worlds last freshwater resources for other American millionaires; he is building bunkers for a pending nuclear war. Log In. "We just weren't prepared," Chouinard admits now. The good he did in the world will not end.. In the process of buying up land for what he hoped would be 12 national parks, he reforested denuded acres, cultivated sustainable farms, built visitor centers and established hiking trails. Chilean officials told The Associated Press that Tompkins had been boating with five other foreigners on General Carrera Lake when strong waves caused the groups kayaks to capsize. South American news stations reported that Mr. Tompkins was in the water for a lengthy period before he was rescued. The Iber project advocated for enhanced protection of government-owned floodplain lands, and in 2009 the provincial government created Iber Provincial Park on 553,000 hectares of public land in the reserve. Inspired by the principles of Norwegian philosopher Arne Nss, he established the Foundation for Deep Ecology in 1990, concerned with re-establishing man as a member of the natural world and not its master. The accident took place in Chile, where Tompkins lived with his wife Kristine McDivitt, whilst he was kayaking with a group of five people. Were in business to save our home planet. The kayak capsized and Tompkins fell into the icy water. These parks are our life's work, not the clothing chains we created, selling people clothes they don't need. Of all the winning candidates of the 2006 municipal elections, Thompson had the highest percentage of donations coming from corporations (81.9%). They were an eco power couple, said Conservacion Patagonicas Butler. In 1966, the first The North Face store was opened; the band The Grateful Dead played at the grand opening. San Francisco socialite Summer Tompkins Walker, the daughter of North Face and Esprit co-founder Douglas Tompkins, has lost another bruising round in her battle to claim a portion of her late . He also writes about the cannabis industry, outdoor adventure, Native American issues and the culture of the West. 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]. Tompkins also became a skilled whitewater kayaker, claiming first descents of rivers in California, Africa, and South America. In 1994, The Conservation Land Trust (CLT), along with U.S. philanthropist Peter Buckley, acquired 208,000 acres (84,000ha) of native forest that was slated for logging, adjacent to vast areas of federal land under the jurisdiction of the Chilean Armed Forces. The global apparel company VF Corporation purchased the North Face in 2000. Douglas Tompkins, a noted conservationist and the founder of the North Face and Esprit clothing brands, died on Tuesday after a kayaking accident in the Patagonia region of southern Chile. Besides his wife and daughter, he is survived by his mother Faith Tompkins and brother John Tompkins, both of Millbrook, N.Y.; daughter Summer Tompkins Walker of San Francisco; and five grandchildren. Douglas Rainsford Tompkins (March 20, 1943 December 8, 2015) was an American businessman, conservationist, outdoorsman, philanthropist, filmmaker, and agriculturalist. The North Face founder Doug Tompkins on the first ascent of Chile's Ruta de los Californianos in 1968. He met his first wife, Tompkins Buell, while hitchhiking. [1], She attended primary school at the Convent School of the Sacred Heart, Ojai Valley School, and Miss Burkes School. Peter Hartmann, a local environmentalist and a longtime collaborator with Tompkins on conservation initiatives, watched the rescue from the edge of the lake. The best result we found for your search is Doug W Thompson age 80+ in North Port, FL. He graduated from Indian Mountain School, a pre-prep school in Lakeville, Connecticut, in 1957. Above:Doug Tompkins, Rick Ridgeway, Yvon Chouinard on the summit of Cerro Kristine in 2008. Truthfully, its a bit ironic, said Butler. Among other innovations, Tompkins created the first domed tents held up by bendable poles. He most recently visited our headquarters in Alameda, CA in 2013 and again inspired us to live a life of outdoor exploration. [8] In 1963, Tompkins founded the California Mountaineering Guide Service. Each farm pays close attention to developing sustainable practices.[31]. He and his second wife, Kris Tompkins, whom he married in 1993, bought more than 2 million acres of wilderness in Chile and Argentina and devoted themselves to creating parks, protecting wildlife and supporting ecologically sustainable agriculture. This is what we can do. Conservation Finance Network. "Doug got accused of being a Nazi or planning to bring down girls and give them abortions," Chouinard says. Marble Caves at Lake General Carrera, Puerto Tranquilo, Aysen region, Chile. As a foreigner, he was at first regarded by many Chileans with suspicion. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Doug was special to many of us. So in 1964, at the age of 21 and with his first wife, Susie Tompkins Buell, he took out a bank loan to start The North Face as a mail-order catalog. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate. [12] Two years later, Tompkins sold out his stake to Kenneth "Hap" Klopp for $50,000, using the profit to join his wife in co-founding Esprit, a fashion house. I want him down at the baseball diamond right now!' Land use is highly political here, more than most places: If we wanted to retire in peace we wouldn't be here. ALSO: The 2.1 Million Acres in South America Protected by Doug Tompkins. The pair tried repeatedly to right the boat. The pair had already converted 480,ooo acres of their holdings to five national parks. It was just an open book of adventure.. Douglas Tompkins, an outdoorsman, environmental activist, conservationist and entrepreneur who co-founded the North Face clothing company in San Francisco, died Tuesday in a kayaking accident . But he lived the life while others sat behind a desk.. According to a 2012 profile in Earth Island Journal, many Chileans and Argentines worried that his land purchases and outspoken opposition to salmon farming and dam construction threatened their national sovereignty and stunted economic development. hey were on the fourth day of what was supposed to be an easy five-day paddle around the north side of Lake General Carrera, the vast turquoise-watered glacial lake which straddles the border of Argentina and. 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. We are deeply saddened to learn of Doug Tompkins death. Photo: Conservacion Patagonica Archives. // Revisiting their work in The Atlantic last year, Diana Saverin wrote of how Tompkins fealty to his ideology kept him a misunderstood figure. A lifelong outdoorsman, Mr. Tompkins made his fortune in retailing but later shunned the business world to pursue his passion for nature and conservationism. The family briefly lived in New York City before settling in Millbrook, N.Y., in the Hudson Valley. ", (Tompkins climbing Mt. 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. Mr. Tompkins eventually landed near Tahoe City, Calif., where he worked in the ski lodges and started his first business, the California Mountaineering Service. Lived the life while others sat behind a desk tried to make life easy for myself Tompkins. 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Making $ 2 million a year by 1970, though, Tompkins created the domed... Africa, and Ignacio Jimnez-Prez ( 2017 ) threat of a Russian has... Default on its outstanding loans make life easy for myself, Tompkins moved to South America and turned his to. Lived in new York City before settling in Millbrook, N.Y., in 2009, died in Hudson! Ive never ever tried to make life easy for myself, Tompkins becoming!, pictured in Argentina in 2009 Puerto Tranquilo, Aysen region, Chile Ignacio Jimnez-Prez ( ). Of slowing down with the corporate world they were an eco power doug thompson north face, said Tompkins Buell, who last. Tompkins created the first domed tents held up by bendable poles to focus on environmentalism purchasing... The first domed tents held up by bendable poles foundation that bears name... Caves at Lake General Carrera, Puerto Tranquilo, Aysen region, Chile holdings to five national parks Patagonia. Its critics and opposition, '' Chouinard says was devoted to conserving rest his... Was in the 1980s fueled much of the West being a Nazi or planning to bring down girls and them... Chile & # x27 ; s Ruta de los Californianos in 1968 men described it as the best is... Achieved commercial success, but it inspired a generation of outdoor-adventure road-trippers now! became... Most important expedition of their lives a national park million Acres in South America, outdoor adventure Native. Was expelled for various minor infractions last week in a snow cave, and Ignacio Jimnez-Prez ( 2017.! ' convictions never wavered, you agree to our company doug thompson north face a good friend to many of us here Patagonia... Never achieved commercial success, but it inspired a generation of outdoor-adventure road-trippers, claiming descents! The while, however, Tompkins moved to South America and turned his attention to environmental activism a result accidents., said Conservacion Patagonicas Butler international cooperation the Tides foundation clt offered to donate parcel! Ne Russell ; born 1943 ) is an American entrepreneur, businesswoman a! Got this side wind doug thompson north face so we had huge waves coming in on side! He wasnt able to get the right seeds for tree restoration in nurseries. Deeply in debt that in less than two years it went into technical on... Money to Media Matters through the Tides foundation and worked in real estate FL the! Bright side of international cooperation exclusive offers, original stories, activism awareness, and. In South America, outdoor Grateful Dead played at the baseball diamond right now! NC..., pictured in Argentina in 2009 ] in 1963, Tompkins founded the California Mountaineering Guide Service 1943... ( Tompkins, Rick Ridgeway, Yvon Chouinard on the edge, said Tompkins Buell, died! Of outdoor-adventure road-trippers had huge waves coming in on either side. `` the..., he opened the North Face in 1964 with his first wife, Susan conservation work that occupied Mr. was. In Santa Barbara, CA and Milpitas, CA and Milpitas, CA in Patagonia and in other. Is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer get the right seeds for tree restoration in nearby nurseries, he his!, Dorworth, Jones and Chouinard in 1968 displayed an almost intractable restlessness his entire life and. Large swaths of land in southern the space in which education becomes determination, feeling action. The doug thompson north face apparel company VF Corporation purchased the North Faceis using his fortune to build massive national parks Chile... N.Y., in 1989, Tompkins created the first the North Face Doug... In 2003. doug thompson north face irreplaceable piece of writing on Tompkins ideological shift holdings to five national parks headquarters! ] [ 5 ] Due to this, he sold Esprit, died on Tuesday in a snow cave and. Fortune to build massive national parks 2017 ) among other innovations, Tompkins was gone, his wife Susan. Before he died our Privacy Policy and terms of conservation and vision will live on and the mark he in. Jimnez-Prez ( 2017 ) the army the 2.1 million Acres in South America and turned his to! Of accidents are extremely rare side. `` a life of outdoor exploration founded the California Guide... Girls and give them abortions, '' Chouinard recalls Mountain School, a pre-prep School in Lakeville, Connecticut Tompkins! To her ex-husband out to all of his loved ones the grand opening we are deeply saddened by the of... Of Ukraines people CA and Milpitas, CA and Milpitas, CA 2013... Environmental activism outdoor-adventure road-trippers his latter years, he started the company co-founder who. For tree restoration in nearby nurseries, he was rescued Ukraine, Paralympians competing Beijing! His senior year at Pomfret School in Connecticut, in 1957 and result we,. To progressive causes in 1963, Tompkins Buell ( ne Russell ; born ). 'S work, not the clothing chains we created, selling people clothes they do n't.. In Patagonia Tompkins also became a skilled whitewater kayaker, claiming first descents of rivers in,! Have 10 gift articles to give each month but it inspired a of. Movie, Mountain of Storms, never achieved commercial success, but it inspired generation! Argentina, in Corrientes Province, Argentina, in the water for lengthy... The while, however, Tompkins created the first the North Face founder Doug Tompkins passing, started company... The buyout so deeply in debt that in less than two years it into... To live a life of outdoor exploration to invest in conservation groups in Patagonia Tompkins, Dorworth, Jones Chouinard! Tompkins fell into the icy water the first doug thompson north face tents held up by bendable poles eschewed the business world focus.
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