Conrad Anker (born November 27, 1962) is an American
rock climber,
mountaineer, and author. He was the team leader of
The North Face climbing team for 26 years until 2018.[2] In 1999, he located
George Mallory's body on Everest as a member of a search team looking for the remains of the British climber.[3] Anker had a
heart attack in 2016 during an attempted ascent of
Lunag Ri with
David Lama. He was flown via helicopter to
Kathmandu where he underwent emergency
coronary angioplasty with a stent placed in his proximal
left anterior descending artery.[4] Afterwards he retired from high altitude mountaineering, but otherwise he continues his work.[5] He lives in
Bozeman, Montana.[6]
Ascents and expeditions
1987 Southeast Face Gurney Peak,
Kichatna Mountains,
Alaska Range,
Alaska, United States. First Ascent (FA) with Seth 'S.T.' Shaw, Robert Ingle and James Garrett; summit attained May 8, 1987.[7]
1989 Northwest FaceMount Hunter, Alaska Range, Alaska, USA. FA with Seth 'S.T.' Shaw, summit attained July 3, 1989.[8]
1992 East Buttress, Middle Triple Peak, Kichatna Spires, Alaska, USA, 2nd ascent with Seth Shaw.[10]
1992 Shunes Buttress, Red Arch Mountain, Zion National Park. FFA with Dave Jones.[11]
1994 Badlands (YDS VI 5.10 A3 WI4+, 1000m), Southeast Face,
Torre Egger,
Patagonia. Conrad Anker, Jay Smith and Steve Gerberding (USA), FA December 12, 1994.[12]
2002 National Geographic expedition to make an unsupported crossing of the remote
Changtang Plateau in Tibet with
Galen Rowell,
Rick Ridgeway and
Jimmy Chin. The expedition was featured in National Geographic's April 2003 issue and documented in Rick Ridgeway's book The Big Open.[17]
2005 Southwest Ridge,
Cholatse,
Khumbu region, Nepal – summit attained with
Kevin Thaw, John Griber, Kris Erickson and Abby Watkins on May 12, 2005.[18]
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, Philip Henderson, Mark Jenkins, David Lageson,
Hilaree O'Neill. Mayo Team – Dr. Bruce Johnson, Landon Bassett, Derek Campbell, Amine Issa.[20]
Anker has also climbed notable routes in
Yosemite Valley (California), Zion National Park (Utah),
Baffin Island (Canada), and the Ellsworth Mountains in Antarctica.
Writings
Anker, Conrad (1988). "Gumbies on Gurney". American Alpine Journal. 30 (62). NYC, NY, USA: American Alpine Club: 69–75.
ISBN0-930410-33-5.
Anker, Conrad (1990). "Hunter's Northwest Face". American Alpine Journal. 42 (64). American Alpine Club: 36–38.
ISBN0-930410-43-2.
Anker, Conrad (1998). "With You in Spirit". American Alpine Journal. 40 (72). American Alpine Club: 140–145.
ISBN0-930410-78-5.
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 all the way to the summit of a 21,000-foot Himalayan giant.[21]
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,
Alex Lowe and Conrad Anker were buried by an avalanche in the Tibetan Himalaya. Anker barely survived the avalanche, but was overcome with
Survivor's Guilt. In the months following the tragedy, he worked to comfort Lowe's widow, and eventually they unexpectedly found love.
The Wildest Dream (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[23]
National Parks Adventure (2016), a short IMAX film/documentary by
MacGillivray Freeman about the National Park Service.
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
2008 – Simon Scott-Harden Award for Environmental Design Excellence –
Batch 44[24]