4 ms·

Douglas Tompkins, co-founder of North Face, dies after Chile kayak accident

79 points by oldo-nicho 11y ago

deadowl 11y ago
Weird that a guy with the know-hows to prepare for such a situation didn't survive.
- DrScump 11y ago
  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.
  - fdovila 11y ago
    Indeed, old-school hypothermia is so much easier to treat.
- cshimmin 11y ago
  Well, he was also 72 years old. I'll be happy if I can even swim at all if/when I'm that age!
- saiya-jin 11y ago
  you don't know much about outdoors, do you...
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]
- bcook 11y ago
  He is human.
reustle 11y ago
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/
sipherhex 11y ago
Given that the cause of death was hypothermia was someone at the the guardian having some fun with that headline???
thebear 11y ago
Cruel death is always near, so frail a thing is man. RIP Douglas Tompkins.
pdelsol 11y ago
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.
- wicha 11y ago
  Amen to that!
sizzzzlerz 11y ago
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.
Dangeranger 11y ago
“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
kjf5091 11y ago
Who in their right mind would use a Chile as a kayak?

79 points by oldo-nicho 11y ago

deadowl 11y ago

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

DrScump 11y ago
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.
- fdovila 11y ago
  Indeed, old-school hypothermia is so much easier to treat.
cshimmin 11y ago
Well, he was also 72 years old. I'll be happy if I can even swim at all if/when I'm that age!
saiya-jin 11y ago
you don't know much about outdoors, do you...
deleted 11y ago
[deleted]
bcook 11y ago
He is human.

reustle 11y ago

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/

sipherhex 11y ago

Given that the cause of death was hypothermia was someone at the the guardian having some fun with that headline???

thebear 11y ago

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

pdelsol 11y ago

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.

wicha 11y ago
Amen to that!

sizzzzlerz 11y ago

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.

Dangeranger 11y ago

“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

kjf5091 11y ago

Who in their right mind would use a Chile as a kayak?