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. [3] She is also noted for her close friendship with Bill and Hillary Clinton and her status as a Democratic Party mega-donor. At 17 he headed to Colorado, working in Aspen and squirreling away money for a year before flying to Europe to ski the Alps. Text STOP to cancel. A local prosecutor, Pedro Salgado, told radio Bo Bo that the lake was known for unpredictable weather conditions. Instead, he set off in search of adventure. 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. Two weeks later, they loaded a Ford Econoline with surfboards and climbing gear in Ventura, California, and headed south. A foundation that bears her name gave money to Media Matters through the Tides Foundation. [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. Next, Tompkins spent various parts of two years rock climbing in Europe, Colorado, and California. "Then we got this side wind, so we had huge waves coming in on either side.". That opposition grew especially intense when Tompkins bought a parcel that effectively bisected southern Chile. Profile. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) DOCTOR, SERGIO GAETE, SAYING: 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. Select this result to view Doug W Thompson's phone number, address, and more. 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. 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. [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. No one else was seriously injured in the accident. I remember coming here the first time in 1996, and if you were talking about environmental issues you were looked upon as a radical, almost a communist. Lake General Carrera is the size of an inland sea, 21 times larger than Manhattan, with temperatures ranging that dip to 4C (39F), even in the summer months. Dr. Douglas J. Thompson is an oncologist and is affiliated with UNC Health Blue Ridge.He received his medical degree from Medical College of Georgia and has been in practice for more than 20 years. Were in business to save our home planet. 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. (Tompkins, Dorworth, Jones and Chouinard in 1968. He was a very inspired person. South American news stations reported that Mr. Tompkins was in the water for a lengthy period before he was rescued. Doug Tompkins paced the San Francisco sidewalk, hawking downhill skis to beatniks and groggy sailors. 6. 1. He had absolutely no respect for authority.". Marble Caves at Lake General Carrera, Puerto Tranquilo, Aysen region, Chile. 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. See Photos. Iber Provincial Reserve, established in 1983, encompasses 1,300,000 ha of wetlands, grasslands, forest, and rangelands, including both publicly-owned lands and private cattle ranches. Douglas Tompkins, the founder of North Face and Esprit, died in the terrain he was devoted to conserving. 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. Doug is related to Jean B Thompson . 6. [30], In northeastern Argentina, Tompkins managed cattle ranches in Corrientes Province and polyculture grain and fruit farms in Entre Ros Province. He was 72. In February 2012, Tompkins Buell stopped supporting President Barack Obama, citing disappointment with his leadership on environmental issues including climate change. The two had two daughters and co-founded the Esprit clothing company. Includes Address (7) Phone (3) Email (4) See Results. The deep ecologists are purists. [39][40] He was 72 years old and survived by his second wife, Kristine (McDivitt), two daughters, brother and mother.[13][41]. Where the fuck is that Chouinard! Douglas Thompson. Douglas Rainsford Tompkins (March 20, 1943 December 8, 2015) was an American businessman, conservationist, outdoorsman, philanthropist, filmmaker, and agriculturalist. Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina Area. Credit: Daniel Garcia/Getty Images. Web SpecialsSave on Gear for Your Next Trip, Remembering The North Face Founder Douglas Tompkins. Tompkins Buell co-founded the Esprit clothing and The North Face brand with her first husband, Doug Tompkins whom she met when she picked him up while he was hitchhiking. With all eyes currently fixed on the war in Ukraine, Paralympians competing in Beijing can show us the bright side of international cooperation. 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. The high-school dropout turned outdoors-loving mogul turned eco-baron devoted the last quarter of his life to conservation advocacy. Four years later, he started the Esprit clothing company with his first wife, Susie Tompkins Buell. Douglas Tompkins, the founder of North Face and Esprit, died in the terrain he was devoted to conserving. These tents have been widely copied throughout the world. 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 Grateful Dead played at the store's opening, and beatnik poet Allen Ginsberg and jazz trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie often dropped by the store. Doug was a dear mentor to our company and a good friend to many of us here at Patagonia. 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. [13] The Alliance was critical in getting California Secretary of State Debra Bowen and Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie re-elected. Well let you know when more stories drop. 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. 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. We are deeply saddened to learn of Doug Tompkins death. What he was doing for conservation has been a complete turnaround.. donor", "Partisans, Wielding Money, Begin Seeking to Exploit Harassment Claims", "Who Is Susie Tompkins Buell? The good he did in the world will not end.. His beat includes earthquake research, marine biology, wildfire science, nuclear testing, archaeology, wildlife and scientific exploration of land and sea. [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. He founded the Foundation for Deep Ecology in 1990, which supports environmental activism (see deep ecology), and The Conservation Land Trust in 1992, now called Tompkins Conservation, which works to protect wildlands, primarily in Chile and Argentina.[16][19]. Ahead of the trip, Tompkins, 72, had described the planned 30km paddle with his longtime buddies as just for old times sake, to keep our hand in there and get a little bit of muscle tone.. These parks are our life's work, not the clothing chains we created, selling people clothes they don't need. There werent too many dull moments.. Emerging as one of the hottest brands of the era, the company grew into a transnational company operating in 60 countries. Before the rescue, Tompkins spent a considerable amount of time in waters under 4 degrees Celsius, or under 40 degrees Fahrenheit, The New York Times reported, citing a local news story. The pair tried repeatedly to right the boat. Douglas Rainsford Tompkins was born on March 20, 1943, in Ohio. 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. Mr. Tompkins attended Pomfret School in Connecticut but never graduated and did not attend college, said Tom Butler, a spokesman for the Foundation for Deep Ecology, which Mr. Tompkins founded in 1990. Mr. Tompkins was given many environmental awards, but his efforts were not immune to criticism. [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. High school. 3. Esprits success in the 1980s fueled much of the conservation work that occupied Mr. Tompkins for much of the rest of his life. [26][27] In 2018 the Argentine government created Iber National Park from the donated lands, while the provincial park is administered separately. The second best result is Doug Thompson age 50s in Lakeland, FL in the Camphor neighborhood. 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. Learn more about our environmental and social responsibility program. Directory of locations. The health service in the Aysn administrative region said Mr. Tompkins was boating with five others on General Carrera Lake when their kayaks capsized in heavy waves. A small facility in the Pillan farm processes honey and berries for jams, which are sold under the name Pillan Organics. 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. [9] She led Clinton's fundraising efforts for 2008 in the San Francisco Bay area. On Tuesday the fourth day of the trip wind gusts picked up over the course of the morning until the kayakers were battling 2.5-meter swells in 60kmph winds. Flexible shipping options are available. He flew off and there we were on the beach, she said. Mr. Tompkins was described as an adventurer and risk taker who employed his brilliant imagination both in business and in trying to save the Earth. 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. The aircraft dragged them slowly due to the size of the waves and the danger of catching the rope in the machines propeller. Soon enough, he came back and landed and everything was fine. Four years ago, Tompkins and Chouinard made their last first ascent in . This article was amended on 15 December 20 15. The remote expanses of southern Chile, facing ecological threats from human activity like logging, offered opportunities for the type of large-scale conservation envisioned by this husband-and-wife team. [7], Tompkins spent the years between 1960 and 1962 ski racing and rock climbing in Colorado, Europe, and South America. Tompkins was kayaking with five other people in Chilean Patagonia when his boat capsized. [5], Just to the south of Pumalin, Corcovado National Park represents one of Tompkins's completed conservation projects. 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 environmentalist who made the first American ascent of K2. 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