
Douglas Tompkins, co-founder of North Face, dies after Chile kayak accident - oldo-nicho
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/dec/09/douglas-tompkins-billionaire-behind-north-face-dies-after-kayak-accident
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reustle
Such a shame. I first learned about him and his work in 180 South [1], which
really made me appreciate what he was doing to create and protect the park.
Definitely worth a watch. It was actually one of my life goals to learn
Spanish so that I would be eligible to go down and volunteer with him. Here's
hoping the conservation effort stays strong.

[1] [http://m.imdb.com/title/tt1407927/](http://m.imdb.com/title/tt1407927/)

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pdelsol
In Chile most of the people with power and money are exploiting the land,
mining and building hydro power plants, destroying the planet for their own
benefit. Douglas is a visionary, we are very thankful for his gifts to the
future of the world. More people around here need to be like him. Hopefully
his wife will continue his mission and legacy.

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wicha
Amen to that!

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sizzzzlerz
Like Yves Chouinard, Tompkins made his fortune from his outdoor apparel
business and plowed a lot of the profits into conservation around the world.
He died doing something he loved in an area he has helped which is about as
good a way to go as anybody could hope for.

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Dangeranger
“In response to people who say you can’t go back. Well, what happens when you
get to the cliff? Do you take one step forward or do you make a 180 degree
turn and take . . . one step forward? Which way are you going? Which is
progress?” \-- Douglas Tompkins

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thebear
Cruel death is always near, so frail a thing is man. RIP Douglas Tompkins.

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deadowl
Weird that a guy with the know-hows to prepare for such a situation didn't
survive.

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DrScump
That's unduly harsh. His kayak went over in high winds, according to the
article; he wasn't planning an extended swim.

Given that he died six hours _after_ reaching the hospital, I wonder if their
expertise with modern hypothermia treatment was adequate.

