Renowned Alpinist CONRAD ANKER Presents for The Nature Conservancy in California
/Conrad Anker presents on climbing and climate change at the Menlo Circus Club for The Nature Conservancy in California’s 2020 kick off event in February.
by Rebecca Martin
Photographs courtesy The Nature Conservancy in California
Celebrated alpinist and Exploration Connections speaker Conrad Anker presented on climbing and climate change to a sold-out audience at the Menlo Circus Club in February for The Nature Conservancy in California’s 2020 kick off event. With more than 100 people in attendance at the presentation and dinner in Atherton—just south of San Francisco—Anker recounted his experiences growing up in northern California with parents who fostered his deep connection to wild places through frequent hiking and camping trips. He credited these early experiences for his lifetime passion for exploring, as well as his ongoing engagement in conservation. The evening prior to the event, Anker emphasized the importance of TNC’s global efforts, posting on Facebook, “Did you know that @nature_org [The Nature Conservancy], founded in the U.S. in 1953, is the biggest conservation organization in the world,” then touching on TNC’s priorities of tackling climate change, protecting land and water, and building healthy cities, among several other key goals.
Anker converses with The Nature Conservancy California’s Executive Director, Mike Sweeney, who opened the evening with remarks on the organization’s ongoing conservation efforts in California..
Anker’s early accomplishments in the climbing realm soon led to him to join The North Face athlete team—a relationship he has enjoyed for more than 30 years. In addition, he served as longtime athlete team captain for The North Face until 2019.
Gracious and humble in nature, Anker is perhaps best known for discovering the remains of the legendary British climber George Leigh Mallory on Mt. Everest in 2000. Mallory and his climbing partner, Sandy Irvine, vanished on the upper reaches of the iconic mountain in 1924, leaving the mountaineering world to long wonder whether the duo could have possibly reached the summit, subsequently perishing on their descent.
Anker was also one of the central characters in the acclaimed 2015 feature documentary Meru, directed by recent Academy Award winners Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi. He has appeared in numerous films about climbing and exploration, and has authored several books.
“Conrad’s presence at our event made for an evening that was deeply engaging, informative and inspiring for everyone attending.”
Conrad Anker with TNC California’s Director of Individual Giving, Lindsay Hower.
The audience, which included a number of children and teens and others who enthusiastically follow Anker’s pursuits and posts on social media, listened intently to his compelling accounts of climbs in California, Alaska, and the Himalaya. But then Anker’s talk took a more serious turn to focus on climate change. A longtime conservation advocate who holds a M.S. from Montana State University in climate studies, Anker spoke to climate-based changes underway in the higher climes—including the glacial recession he has helped document in the Himalaya—and also to the catastrophic fires that have plagued the state of California in recent years, a casualty of a warming planet.
Lindsay Hower, Director of Individual Giving for TNC’s Northern California region, commented on the occasion, “The Nature Conservancy in California could not have
Anker’s wife, artist Jenni Lowe-Anker, joined for the evening.
been more pleased to commence 2020 with this evening featuring Conrad Anker, who is admired for both his extraordinary achievements in exploration and alpinism, as well as his unwavering commitment to conservation of wild places. Conrad’s presence at our event made for an evening that was deeply engaging, informative and inspiring for everyone attending.”
Follow Conrad Anker on Instagram and Twitter.
You can learn more about the work of The Nature Conservancy in California here.