Richard "Dick" McGowan (July 12, 1933 – February 27, 2007) was an American explorer, mountaineer, and entrepreneur, who helped start the modern

adventure travel Adventure travel is a type of niche tourism, involving exploration or travel with a certain degree of risk (real or perceived), and which may require special skills and physical exertion. In the United States, adventure tourism has grown in r ...

industry. He is best remembered today for his Mount Everest expedition in 1955, during which he climbed the

Khumbu Ice Fall The Khumbu Icefall is located at the head of the Khumbu Glacier and the foot of the Western Cwm, which lies at an elevation of on the Nepali slopes of Mount Everest, not far above Base Camp and southwest of the summit. The icefall is considered ...

, thus becoming the first American to set foot on Mount Everest. McGowan was a key figure in the development of modern outdoor gear, and was the first employee of Recreation Equipment Incorporated (

REI Rei or REI may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Rei, a story arc of the anime ''Higurashi When They Cry'' *Rei, a shapeshifting godlike dragon in the Australian webcomic series ''Vainglorious'' *Rei I, II and III, episodes of ''Neon Genesis Eva ...

). In the 1960s and early 1970s he owned a group of stores in the northwest that sold climbing and ski gear named The Alpine Hut. He was managing partner of the outfitter Mountain Travel from 1976 to 1992. He left the firm after the merger that created industry leader Mountain Travel Sobek.

Expeditions

* Team member on 11 major expeditions, including the International Everest expedition in 1955. On this expedition, Dick was the first American to set foot on Mount Everest itself, though the team did not reach the summit. * First ascents of major peaks in Alaska, Washington, Canada's Yukon and in Pakistan's Karakorum (K-1). * Ten years as chief guide on

Mount Rainier Mount Rainier (), indigenously known as Tahoma, Tacoma, Tacobet, or təqʷubəʔ, is a large active stratovolcano in the Cascade Range of the Pacific Northwest, located in Mount Rainier National Park about south-southeast of Seattle. With a s ...

. * Led the first guided climb on Mount McKinley (a.k.a. Denali), the highest peak in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

Personal life

McGowan grew up in Seattle, and graduated with a bachelor's degree in geography from the University of Washington. McGowan is survived by his wife and longtime business partner Louise, and children Richard Jr., Devi and Kili. McGowan spent many years as a director of the American Himalayan Foundation, where he served with longtime friend Sir Edmund Hillary.

References

*Fimrite, Peter
"Richard McGowan - mountaineer"
'' San Francisco Chronicle'', 2007-04-27. Accessed 2007-12-20.
McGowan, Mountaineer icon and entrepreneur"
''

The Mountaineer ''The Mountaineer'' is a newspaper based in Waynesville, North Carolina Waynesville is a town and the county seat of Haywood County, North Carolina. It is the largest town in North Carolina west of Asheville. Waynesville is located about sout ...

'', June 2007. Accessed 2007-12-20

External links

Web page dedicated to McGowan, run by the family:
{{DEFAULTSORT:McGowan, Richard 1933 births 2007 deaths Businesspeople from Seattle University of Washington College of Arts and Sciences alumni American mountain climbers American explorers Place of death missing 20th-century American businesspeople