They divorced in 1989. In an extraordinary example of womens empowerment, a market in Indias Manipur state has been run entirely by women for the past 500 years. There werent too many dull moments.. A keen conservationist, he bought up huge swathes of land in southern . ". // 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. 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's almost as if we've had a subconscious wish to invite catastrophe so we can try to get out of it. ", For nearly five decades they managed to do just that. The businessman and conservationist was 72. strong waves caused the groups kayaks to capsize, considerable amount of time in waters under 4 degrees Celsius, in 1964 to make and sell outdoor equipment, equal an area the size of nearly two Rhode Islands, never ever tried to make life easy for myself, owned by VF Corp. of Greensboro, North Carolina, A photo posted by The North Face (@thenorthface). Soon Tompkins was itching for another ambitious project. But what he sees as philanthropy, local ranchers . That opposition grew especially intense when Tompkins bought a parcel that effectively bisected southern Chile. He was 72. [29], In the area around Pumalin, the Hornopiren, Vodudahue, Ventisquero, Pillan, and Reihu farms serve as exemplars of small-scale ecological agriculture and as informal park ranger stations. https://t.co/VsAWellWAv, The North Face EMEA (@TheNorthFaceEU) 9 Dicembre 2015. By Adam Chandler Douglas Tompkins shakes hands with Chilean President Ricardo Lagos in 2003. Mr. Tompkins was born in Ohio in 1943 and grew up in Millbrook, N.Y. A ski racer, rock climber and alpinist with several first ascents to his credit, he founded the California Mountaineering Guide Service in 1963. Tompkins origins as an environmentalist lie in the early 60s, when the high-school dropout spent several years climbing and skiing everywhere from Colorado to South America. Peter Fimrite is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. A military patrol boat rescued three of the boaters, and a helicopter lifted out the other three, according to the army. What he was doing for conservation has been a complete turnaround.. I'm a troublemaker and I'm proud of it. As The New York Times noted, this included buying more than 740,000 acres of land in Chile and turning most of it into Pumaln Park, a nature sanctuary. The Iber project was a private conservation enterprise that was spearheaded by Tompkins, working with George Soros, Harvard University,[22] and Rewilding Argentina. Emerging as one of the hottest brands of the era, the company grew into a transnational company operating in 60 countries. Growing increasingly concerned about the ecological impacts of the fashion industry, Tompkins decided to leave the business world in the late 1980s. [32], Tompkins' environmental work won him respect and accolades outside of South America: in 2012, the African Rainforest Conservancy awarded Tompkins and his wife its "New Species Award";[33] in 2007, the International Conservation Caucus Foundation awarded its "Good Steward" award to him and his wife, Kris;[34] in 2008, the American Alpine Club awarded him the David R. Brower Award, for his work preserving mountain regions; in 2009, Latin Trade named him the "Environmental Leader of the Year". 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 . [9] It was during this time he met Susie Russell, a casino employee who gave him a lift while hitch-hiking to Lake Tahoe. Accessed 19 July 2020. Douglas Rainsford Tompkins was born on March 20, 1943, in Ohio. With all eyes currently fixed on the war in Ukraine, Paralympians competing in Beijing can show us the bright side of international cooperation. As a foreigner, he was at first regarded by many Chileans with suspicion. 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. Tompkins Buell is often described as Hillary Clinton's soul mate. General Carrera is a picturesque lake surrounded by snow-capped peaks in the Andes. In 1991, Mr. Tompkins bought the 42,000-acre Reihu Farm and founded the Pumaln Project, dedicated to the protection of the lands primeval native rain forest, which was being threatened by logging. In 1968, Tompkins, his wife Susie, and her friend Jane Tise began selling girls dresses, which they had planned on the kitchen table, out of the back of a VW bus. Tompkins, who founded The North Face and co-founded the Esprit clothing company, lived a life of such relentless adventure, and in the company of such illustrious friends including Tom Brokaw and the novelist Thomas McGuane that he was a near-legendary figure in the outdoor world. Select this result to view Doug W Thompson's phone number, address, and more. 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. Although the couples environmental activism won them many accolades and praise, they also encountered controversy and criticism. [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. Weve pledged 1% of sales to the preservation and restoration of the natural environment. [23] Its goal was to strengthen protection and restore habitat and biodiversity in the Iber Wetlands in Corrientes Province, Argentina. The 72-year-old, well-known as an outdoorsman and . 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. 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. Because we know prioritizing durability results in consuming less energy, wasting less water and creating less trash. The proposed park, which would total 700,000 hectares, would be the largest national park in Argentina and home to hundreds of bird species, giant anteaters, and macaw parrots. It is easy for this to happen, said Hartmann. Thompson had . But with the case of Douglas Tompkins, the headlines and context dont match up. His conviction, said Chin, allowed him to take life one battle at a time. [5] Tompkins had recommended changing the name Plain Jane to Esprit de Corp.[6], By 1986, the global clothing brand had reached $800 million in sales. In 1989, Susie bought him out of Esprit for $170 million, and Tompkins turned all of his intensity, and most of his new wealth, toward conservation. 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. [20] The Tompkinses' conservation efforts focused on preserving wild landscapes and biodiversity. But he lived the life while others sat behind a desk.. Find Doug Thompson's phone number, address, and email on Spokeo, the leading people search directory for contact information and public records. We are deeply saddened to learn of Doug Tompkins' death. Im incredibly saddened by this, but he lived on the edge, said Tompkins Buell, who remained close to her ex-husband. "We had 40-mile-per-hour winds at our back," he says. Mr. Tompkins eventually landed near Tahoe City, Calif., where he worked in the ski lodges and started his first business, the California Mountaineering Service. McDivitt Tompkins will continue as the organizations leader. [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. 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. "Women's fashion was not first on Doug's list of things to be interested in," says Dorworth, "but he was interested in running a good business." Around the lake, mountains rise up on all sides forming a highly variable microclimate the weather can turn from sunny and calm to snowing with gale-force winds in a matter of hours. Nov 2007 - Present15 years 3 months. Pumaln Park was one of Tompkins earliest acquisitions. 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". Chiles army said that a patrol boat rescued three of the boaters and that a helicopter lifted out the other three. Truthfully, its a bit ironic, said Butler. 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.. 1. August 5, 2021. [2][15][16], Last edited on 13 November 2022, at 02:09, "Who Is Susie Tompkins Buell? For those with antennae particularly attuned to schadenfreude, the headlines announcing the death of an eccentric-seeming billionaire in a kayaking accident in Chile might present a story thats impossible to resist. [26][27] In 2018 the Argentine government created Iber National Park from the donated lands, while the provincial park is administered separately. After he sold Esprit, he started to dedicate himself to protecting nature. Doug Tompkins, founder of Esprit and The North Face, is seen in a 2006 file photo at his organic garden near Pumalin Park in Chile. Credit: Daniel Garcia/Getty Images. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) PHYSICIAN, CARLOS SALAZAR, SAYING: Please read this powerful piece, Douglas Tompkins: A Force for Nature, to learn about his legacy. Everything we make has an impact on people and the planet. There wasnt anything he thought he wanted to do that he didnt do.. [4] The Tompkinses were focused on park creation, wildlife recovery, ecological agriculture, and activism, with the goal of saving biodiversity. 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. Saving the Last Frontier / Douglas and Kristine Tompkins fight Douglas Tompkins poses in his property in Ibera, near Carlos Pellegrini in Corrientes Province, Argentina, on November 5, 2009. No one else was seriously injured. Text HELP for help. At the time Chouinard, who first met Tompkins climbing as a teenager, was a private in the Army and stationed nearby. Sign up for exclusive offers, original stories, activism awareness, events and more. You have exceeded the maximum number of line items for your cart (50). We are all shocked, though in some way, he was doing what he loved, enjoying nature.. 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. Last edited on 13 February 2023, at 01:35, 180 Degrees South: Conquerors of the Useless, International Conservation Caucus Foundation, "Douglas Tompkins, 72, Founder of North Face, Dies in Kayak Accident", "This idea proved less wild than it first appeared", Pleistocene Park emerges from Patagonia's rescued grasslands, "Chile's new 'route of parks' aims to save the wild beauty of Patagonia", "Nacionalidad por gracia: Comisin revoca por unanimidad reconocimiento al cardenal Ezzati", "Douglas Tompkins, The North Face Founder, Dies After Kayaking Accident", "The North Face Unveils Global Retail Strategy with Opening of New SoHo Location", "How The North Face Founder Went From High School Dropout to Millionaire Conservationist", "North Face co-founder turned 'eco baron' Douglas Tompkins is killed in Chile kayaking accident", "The Entrepreneur Who Wants to Save Paradise", "North Face founder Douglas Tompkins dies in kayaking accident in Chile", "Kris Tompkins North Face Founder Doug Tompkins' Wife", "Pgina/12:: Sociedad:: Reclamos en los esteros", "Chile creates five national parks over 10m acres in historic act of conservation", "(Re)Born to Be Wild: Coaxing Patagonia Back to Its Natural State", "Founder of The North Face Dies After Kayaking Incident in Chile, Apparently With Other Outdoor Legends", "Pgina Principal Patagonia Chilena Sin Represas! This design also increased the strength of the tent because the domed shape allowed the wind to roll over it. See Photos. It is an ecocentric view that rejects the idea of inherent human superiority and instead gives equal moral weight to all elements of naturefrom the living to the inanimate. They hardly ever talk politics", "The rise and fall of San Francisco's coolest clothing brand", "Democratic Hopefuls Getting More Green in Wealthy Bay Area", "A New Alliance Of Democrats Spreads Funding", "Soros-Funded Media Matters Attacks Conservatives", "Soros and liberal groups seeking top election posts in battleground states", "Obama losing financial backing of big S.F. 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. He flew airplanes, he climbed to the top of mountains all over the world, said his daughter Summer Tompkins Walker. We are the space in which education becomes determination, feeling becomes action, the goal becomes solution and result. This is a carousel. They were an eco power couple, said Conservacion Patagonicas Butler. Peter Fimrite is The Chronicle's lead science reporter, covering environmental, atmospheric and ecosystem science. [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. 1:02. Among other innovations, Tompkins created the first domed tents held up by bendable poles. Tompkins co-founded The North Face in 1964 to make and sell outdoor equipment, according to his conservation website. Four years ago, Tompkins and Chouinard made their last first ascent in . @doug.thompson.566. We want to do something good, but youve got to be very nave and out to lunch to think that certain sectors of society are not going to put up resistance, Mr. Tompkins told The New York Times. [1][5] Plain Jane was making $2 million a year by 1970. Find your friends on Facebook. "For a while, he and Kristine had to live in the American embassy to hide out.". Two weeks later, they loaded a Ford Econoline with surfboards and climbing gear in Ventura, California, and headed south. How Dougs death will affect negotiations with the government, I dont know, said Butler. Wild landscapes and biodiversity in the American embassy to hide out. `` the.. He bought up huge swathes of land in southern so we can try to get out of.. Southern Chile created the first domed doug thompson north face held up by bendable poles 23 ] goal. Becomes action, the goal becomes solution and result we 've had a subconscious wish to invite catastrophe so can! 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