Conrad Anker, has climbed some of the most technically challenging terrain
on earth. This search has taken him from the icefalls of Alaska and Antarctica
to the big walls of Patagonia, from mixed climbs in the Alps and Russia to the
massive peaks of the Himalaya. In the United States, Anker is known for his
numerous speed records in his ascents of El Capitan.
In 1997 he traveled to Antarctica with fellow climbers Alex Lowe and Jon
Krakauer to climb Rakekniven, a 2,500-foot wall in Queen Maud Land. This
incredibly remote climb was covered by the National Geographic Society for both
a magazine article and a documentary film. In May 1999, as a member of the
Mallory & Irvine Research Expedition on Mount Everest, Anker discovered the
body of George Mallory, the preeminent Everest explorer of the 1920s. Anker and
David Roberts wrote about this experience in their book, The Lost Explorer:
Finding Mallory on Mt. Everest. In 2002- again with National Geographic - he
traversed China's high Tibetan Chang Tang Plateau on foot with Rick Ridgeway,
Jimmy Chin and the late Galen Rowell to find the calving grounds of the
endangered chiru antelope.
Active in numerous charitable causes, Anker serves on the board of the
Conservation Alliance, the American Alpine Club, the Rowell Fund for Tibet and
the Alex Lowe Charitable Foundation. "My involvement with these organizations
is intrinsically rewarding," Anker says "and it's among the most important work
I do. It feels good to be able to give back to our community of humans and the
natural world."
Conrad and his good friends mountaineers David Bridges and Alex Lowe were
climbing in Tibet in October 1999 when an avalanche carried Bridges and Lowe to
their deaths. Conrad honors his good friend Alex Lowe with the Alex Lowe
Charitable Foundation which is dedicated to preserving his legacy by providing
direction and financial support to sustainable, community-based humanitarian
programs designed to help the people who live in remote regions of the
world.
