The North Face Co-Founder Douglas Tompkins Died in a Kayaking Accident

The North Face co-founder Douglas Tompkins passed away at the age of 72.

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Douglas Tompkins, a well-known environmentalist and co-founder of The North Face, died after a tragic kayaking accident in Chile today. He was 72.

According to the New York Times, Tompkins had been boating in the Patagonia region with five other foreigners when strong winds caused their kayaks to overturn. Tompkins was taken to the intensive care unit at a hospital in Coyhaique, where he later died due to complications caused by hypothermia. No one else in the group was seriously injured. 

It was in 1964 when Tompkins launched the outdoor apparel brand The North Face, which eventually sparked his interest in conservation efforts. In 1968, he created a casual sportswear brand, Espirit, with then-wife Susie Tompkins Buell. Though the latter company experienced rapid success, quickly reaching $1 billion in sales, Tompkins said he didn’t feel right about his role in consumer culture, according to the New York Times.

After divorcing his wife Susie, he moved to Chilean Patagonia in the 1990s. He later remarried a woman named Kristine, a former chief executive of Patagonia, who helped him run the environmental group Tompkins Conservation.

You can read his full obituary at the New York Times.

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