Conrad Anker (born November 27, 1962) is an American

rock climber Rock climbing is a sport in which participants climb up, across, or down natural rock formations. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a usually pre-defined route without falling. Rock climbing is a physically an ...

mountaineer Mountaineering or alpinism, is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending tall mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas. Indoor climbing, sport climbing, an ...

, and author. He was the team leader of

The North Face The North Face is an American outdoor recreation products company. The North Face produces outdoor clothing, footwear, and related equipment. Founded in 1968 to supply climbers, the company's logo draws inspiration from Half Dome, in Yosemite ...

climbing team for 26 years until 2018. In 1999, he located

George Mallory George Herbert Leigh Mallory (18 June 1886 – 8 or 9 June 1924) was an English mountaineer who took part in the first three British expeditions to Mount Everest in the early 1920s. Born in Cheshire, Mallory became a student at Winchest ...

's body on Everest as a member of a search team looking for the remains of the British climber. Anker suffered a widow maker heart attack in 2016 during an attempted ascent of Lunag Ri with

David Lama David Lama ( ne, डेभिड लामा; 4 August 1990 – 16 April 2019) was an Austrian sport climber and mountaineer. He won the European Championship in bouldering in 2007 and the European Championship in lead climbing in 2006. He ...

. Anker was flown via air ambulance to

Kathmandu , pushpin_map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#Asia , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Bagmati Prov ...

where he underwent emergent coronary angioplasty with a stent placed in his proximal

left anterior descending artery The left anterior descending artery (also LAD, anterior interventricular branch of left coronary artery, or anterior descending branch) is a branch of the left coronary artery. Blockage of this artery is often called the ''widow-maker infarction' ...

. Afterwards he retired from high altitude mountaineering, but otherwise he continues his work. He lives in

Bozeman, Montana Bozeman is a city and the county seat of Gallatin County, Montana, United States. Located in southwest Montana, the 2020 census put Bozeman's population at 53,293, making it the fourth-largest city in Montana. It is the principal city of th ...

Ascents and expeditions

* 1987 ''Southeast Face'' Gurney Peak,

Kichatna Mountains The Kichatna Mountains are a small mountain range in the northwestern part of Matanuska-Susitna Borough of the U.S. state of Alaska, approximately southwest of Denali. Unlike the major snow peaks of much of the rest of the Alaska Range, the Kicha ...

Alaska Range The Alaska Range is a relatively narrow, 600-mile-long (950 km) mountain range in the southcentral region of the U.S. state of Alaska, from Lake Clark at its southwest endSources differ as to the exact delineation of the Alaska Range. ThBoar ...

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

, United States. First Ascent (FA) with Seth 'S.T.' Shaw, Robert Ingle and James Garrett; summit attained May 8, 1987. * 1989 ''Northwest Face'' Mount Hunter, Alaska Range, Alaska, USA. FA with Seth 'S.T.' Shaw, summit attained July 3, 1989. * 1990 ''Rodeo Queen'', Streaked Wall,

Zion National Park Zion National Park is an American national park located in southwestern Utah near the town of Springdale. Located at the junction of the Colorado Plateau, Great Basin, and Mojave Desert regions, the park has a unique geography and a variety ...

, Utah, USA. FA with

Mugs Stump Terry "Mugs" Stump (August 28, 1949 – May 21, 1992) was a noted American rock climber and mountaineer, active in establishing difficult first ascents in the Alaska Range and the Canadian Rockies. He died from falling into a crevasse while desc ...

. * 1992 ''East Buttress'', Middle Triple Peak, Kichatna Spires, Alaska, USA, 2nd ascent with Seth Shaw. * 1992 ''Shunes Buttress'', Red Arch Mountain, Zion National Park. FFA with Dave Jones. *1994 ''Badlands'' (YDS VI 5.10 A3 WI4+, 1000m), Southeast Face,

Torre Egger Torre Egger is one of the mountains of the Southern Patagonian Ice Field in South America. It is located in a region which is disputed between Argentina and Chile,From Rodrigo Jordan, "Cerro Torre", in ''World Mountaineering'', Audrey Salkeld, ...

Patagonia Patagonia () refers to a geographical region that encompasses the southern end of South America, governed by Argentina and Chile. The region comprises the southern section of the Andes Mountains with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and gl ...

. Conrad Anker, Jay Smith and Steve Gerberding (USA), FA December 12, 1994. * 1997 ''The Northwest Face'' (V 5.8, 2100m), Peak Loretan,

Ellsworth Mountains The Ellsworth Mountains are the highest mountain ranges in Antarctica, forming a long and wide chain of mountains in a north to south configuration on the western margin of the Ronne Ice Shelf in Marie Byrd Land. They are bisected by Minnesota ...

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest contine ...

(solo) Jan 15–16, 1997. * 1997 Rakekniven Peak,

Queen Maud Land Queen Maud Land ( no, Dronning Maud Land) is a roughly region of Antarctica claimed by Norway as a dependent territory. It borders the claimed British Antarctic Territory 20° west and the Australian Antarctic Territory 45° east. In addit ...

, Antarctica, FA with

Alex Lowe Stewart Alexander Lowe (24 December 1958 – 5 October 1999) was an American mountaineer. He has been described as inspiring "...a whole generation of climbers and explorers with his uncontainable enthusiasm, legendary training routines, and si ...

and

Jon Krakauer Jon Krakauer (born April 12, 1954) is an American writer and mountaineer. He is the author of bestselling non-fiction books—'' Into the Wild''; ''Into Thin Air''; ''Under the Banner of Heaven''; and '' Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat ...

. Featured in the cover article of the February 1998 ''

National Geographic Magazine ''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widely ...

''. * 1997 ''Tsering Mosong'', Latok II,

Karakorum Karakorum (Khalkha Mongolian: Хархорум, ''Kharkhorum''; Mongolian Script:, ''Qaraqorum''; ) was the capital of the Mongol Empire between 1235 and 1260 and of the Northern Yuan dynasty in the 14–15th centuries. Its ruins lie in the ...

, Pakistan, FA with

Alexander Huber Alexander Huber (born 30 December 1968), is a German rock climber and mountaineer. He became a professional climber in 1997, and was widely regarded as the world's strongest climber in the late-1990s, and is an important figure in rock climbin ...

Thomas Huber Thomas Huber (born 18 November 1966 in Palling, Bavaria) is a German climber and mountaineer. He lives in Berchtesgaden with his family. His brother and climbing partner is Alexander Huber and the two are called "Huberbuam" (Huberboys) in the B ...

and Toni Gutsch. * 1997 ''Continental Drift'',

El Capitan El Capitan ( es, El Capitán; "the Captain" or "the Chief") is a vertical Rock formations in the United States, rock formation in Yosemite National Park, on the north side of Yosemite Valley, near its western end. The El Capitan Granite, granit ...

, Yosemite, CA, USA. FA with Steve Gerberding and

Kevin Thaw Kevin Thaw (born 1967 in Uppermill, Saddleworth, West Riding of Yorkshire) is a British rock climber and mountaineer. Thaw has climbed notable routes and added many first ascents since commencing in Britain’s Peak District then relocating to Ca ...

. * 1999

Mallory and Irvine Research Expedition The goal of the Mallory and Irvine Research Expedition of 1999 was to discover evidence of whether George Mallory and Andrew Irvine had been the first to summit Mount Everest in their attempt of 8–9 June 1924. The expedition was organised by r ...

Mount Everest Mount Everest (; Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) is Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border runs across its summit point. Its elevation (snow heig ...

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...

. * 1999

Shishapangma Shishapangma, also called Gosainthān, is the 14th-highest mountain in the world, at above sea level. In 1964, it became the last of the 8,000-metre peaks to be climbed. This was due to its location entirely within Tibet and the restrictions ...

American Ski Expedition, Tibet. Survived a massive

avalanche An avalanche is a rapid flow of snow down a slope, such as a hill or mountain. Avalanches can be set off spontaneously, by such factors as increased precipitation or snowpack weakening, or by external means such as humans, animals, and earth ...

which killed climbing partner

and

cameraman A camera operator, or depending on the context cameraman or camerawoman, is a professional operator of a film camera or video camera as part of a film crew. The term "cameraman" does not imply that a male is performing the task. In filmmakin ...

David Bridges. * 2001 ''East Face'' of

Vinson Massif Vinson Massif () is a large mountain massif in Antarctica that is long and wide and lies within the Sentinel Range of the Ellsworth Mountains. It overlooks the Ronne Ice Shelf near the base of the Antarctic Peninsula. The massif is located ...

, Antarctica. FA with Jon Krakauer. Featured on

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

series ''

NOVA A nova (plural novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", which is Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. Causes of the dramati ...

'' in February 2003. *2002 National Geographic expedition to make an unsupported crossing of the remote Changtang Plateau in Tibet with

Galen Rowell Galen Avery Rowell (August 23, 1940 – August 11, 2002) was a wilderness photographer, adventure photojournalist and mountaineer. Born in Oakland, California, he became a full-time photographer in 1972. Early life and education Rowell was intr ...

Rick Ridgeway Rick Ridgeway (born August 12, 1949) is an American mountaineer and adventurer, who during his career has also been an environmentalist, writer, filmmaker and businessman. Ridgeway has climbed new routes and explored little-known regions on six co ...

and

Jimmy Chin Jimmy Chin (born ) is an American professional mountain athlete, photographer, film director, and author. Chin has been a professional climber and skier on The North Face Athlete team for over 20 years. In 2006, Chin achieved the first succes ...

. The expedition was featured in National Geographic's April 2003 issue and documented in Rick Ridgeway's book ''The Big Open''. * 2005 ''Southwest Ridge'', Cholatse,

Khumbu Khumbu (also known as the Everest Region) is a region of northeastern Nepal on the Nepalese side of Mount Everest. It is part of the Solukhumbu District, which in turn is part of Province No. 1.Bradley, Mayhew; "Trekking in the Nepal Himalaya"; ( ...

region, Nepal – summit attained with

, John Griber, Kris Erickson and Abby Watkins on May 12, 2005. * 2007 Leads Altitude Everest Expedition 2007, joined by

Leo Houlding Leo Houlding (born 28 July 1980) is a British rock climber and mountaineer. Early life Houlding began rock climbing at the age of 10. In 1996, he became the British Junior Indoor Climbing Champion. He spent the summer of 1997, aged 17, living in ...

and

, retracing Mallory's last steps on Everest. 2nd summit. First documented free climb of the Second Step. * 2011 ''Shark's Fin'', Meru Peak, FA with

and

Renan Ozturk Renan is a name present in Portuguese, Spanish, French, Turkish and Breton as an alternative form of Ronan. It may refer to: People Arts * Ary Renan (1857–1900), French painter and activist * Emile Renan (1913–2001), American operatic b ...

. * 2012 Leads "Everest Education Expedition" with National Geographic, The North Face, Montana State University and Mayo Clinic – 3rd summit, this time without oxygen. With Cory Richards, Sam Elias, Kris Erickson,

Emily Harrington Emily Harrington (born August 17, 1986) is an American professional rock climber and mountaineer. She is a five-time US National Champion in sport lead climbing, runner-up in the 2005 IFSC Climbing World Championships, and has made the female f ...

, Philip Henderson, Mark Jenkins, David Lageson PhD, Hilaree O'Neill. Mayo Team – Dr. Bruce Johnson, Landon Bassett, Derek Campbell, Amine Issa. Base Camp Support Andy Bardon, Travis Courthouts, Anjin Herndon, Max Lowe. Anker has also climbed notable routes in

Yosemite Valley Yosemite Valley ( ; ''Yosemite'', Miwok for "killer") is a U-shaped valley, glacial valley in Yosemite National Park in the western Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada mountains of Central California. The valley is about long and deep, surroun ...

(California), Zion National Park (Utah),

Baffin Island Baffin Island (formerly Baffin Land), in the Canadian territory of Nunavut, is the largest island in Canada and the fifth-largest island in the world. Its area is , slightly larger than Spain; its population was 13,039 as of the 2021 Canadia ...

(Canada), and the Ellsworth Mountains in Antarctica.

Writings

* * * *

Films

* ''

Shackleton's Antarctic Adventure ''Shackleton's Antarctic Adventure'' is an IMAX film about the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition led by Ernest Shackleton between 1914 and 1917. Directed by George Butler, the film was released in February 2001 and was narrated by Kevin Spacey ...

'' (2001) * ''Light of the Himalaya'' (2006). At the heart of the planet's most formidable mountain range live people who suffer from the highest rates of cataract blindness on the planet. The North Face athletes join eye surgeons from Nepal and America in hopes of making a difference. The film follows the doctors' work on the

Himalayan Cataract Project The Himalayan Cataract Project (HCP) was created in 1994 by Dr. Geoffrey Tabin and Dr. Sanduk Ruit with a goal of establishing a sustainable eye care infrastructure in the Himalaya. HCP empowers local doctors to provide ophthalmic care through s ...

all the way to the summit of a 21,000-foot Himalayan giant. * ''The Endless Knot'' (2007). Directed by Michael Brown and produced by David D'Angelo, an HDTV documentary film with Rush HD and The North Face. In October 1999,

and Conrad Anker were buried by an avalanche in the Tibetan Himalaya. Anker barely survived the avalanche, but was overcome with

Survivor's Guilt Survivor guilt (or survivor's guilt; also called survivor syndrome or survivor's syndrome and survivor disorder or survivor's disorder) is a mental condition that occurs when a person believes they have done something wrong by surviving a traumati ...

. In the months following the tragedy, he worked to comfort Lowe's widow, and eventually they unexpectedly found love. * ''

The Wildest Dream ''The Wildest Dream'' is a 2010 theatrical-release feature documentary film about the British climber George Mallory who disappeared on Mount Everest in 1924 with his climbing partner Andrew Irvine. The film interweaves two stories, one about clim ...

'' (2010), IMAX, directed by Anthony Geffen, Altitude Films, US distribution, National Geographic Entertainment releasing. * ''Meru'', a 2015 documentary film about climbing the Shark's fin route of Meru Central * ''National Parks Adventure'' (2016), a short IMAX film/documentary by MacGillivray Freeman about the National Park Service. * ''Lunag Ri'' (2016), a documentary film by Joachim Hellinger about the attempted ascent of the Lunag Ri by Conrad Anker and

*''Black Ice'' (2020), which premiered at the fifteenth Reel Rock festival, features a crew of aspiring ice climbers who travel from the Memphis Rox gym to the frozen wilds of Montana, where mentors Manoah Ainuu, Conrad Anker and Fred Campbell share their love of winter adventure in the mountains. *''Torn'' (2021), a documentary film by Max Lowe about the death of his father, Alex Lowe, and subsequent relationship and marriage between his mother, Jennifer Lowe-Anker, and Anker.

Awards

* 2010 – David A Brower Award –

American Alpine Club The American Alpine Club (AAC) is a non-profit member organization with more than 24,000 members. Its vision is to create "a united community of competent climbers and healthy climbing landscapes." The Club is housed in the American Mountaineerin ...

*2015 – The George Mallory Award �
Wasatch Mountain Film Festival
* 2016 – Golden Pitons: Lifetime Achievement – ''Climbing'' magazine * 2017 – Honorary Doctorate Degree at the

University of Utah The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of De ...

* 2018 – Jack Roberts Lifetime Achievements Award – Cody, WY Ice Festival

References

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

: ''

Desert Island Discs ''Desert Island Discs'' is a radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4. It was first broadcast on the BBC Forces Programme on 29 January 1942. Each week a guest, called a " castaway" during the programme, is asked to choose eight recordings (usu ...

'
/ Conrad Anker
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Anker, Conrad 1962 births Living people American mountain climbers American rock climbers American non-fiction outdoors writers American male non-fiction writers Sportspeople from Bozeman, Montana American summiters of Mount Everest Ice climbers

Ascents and expeditions

Writings

Films

Awards

See also

References

External links