Conrad Anker

Conrad Anker is a climber’s climber. The prolific alpinist and adventurer has been a mountain mainstay and mentor for over three decades. 

Conrad grew up with a deep appreciation for the outdoors in Big Oak Flat, California, just outside of Yosemite National Park. At 16, he climbed Mount Rainier. By his early 30s, Conrad, alongside his late climbing partner Alex Lowe, was a bonafide climbing celebrity, reaching stunning new heights worldwide. He has summited Everest three times, including a history-making 1999 climb in which Conrad and his team discovered the remains of George Mallory, one of two climbers who went missing while attempting Everest in 1924. 

In 2014, Conrad and partners Jimmy Chin and Renan Ozturk completed the first-ever ascent of the Meru Shark’s Fin in India. The trio documented their journey, helping to create what would become the Sundance-award winning film Meru. Conrad is also a founding North Face Athlete Team member and was the leader for 26 years. He has taken the team on expeditions around the world, including a 2017 climb of Wolf’s Jaw massif in Queen Maud Land territory, Antarctica. During this trip (Conrad’s 12th to the continent), he and Jimmy Chin established a new route on Ulvetanna, the highest peak in the area. 

Conrad’s accomplishments are extensive, and his impact is far-reaching. He is a recipient of the Jack Roberts Lifetime Achievement Award, the Golden Piton Lifetime Achievement Award, and holds an honorary Doctorate from the University of Utah. He serves on the boards of Protect Our Winters, The American Himalayan Foundation and the Alex Lowe Charitable Foundation. Anker also founded the Khumbu Climbing Center in Phortse, Nepal, which provides a variety of safety training courses to high-altitude workers.

Similar to the mountains he has dedicated his life to, Conrad is an awe-inspiring example of strength and serenity. He climbs for the people, the challenge, the passion, the peaks, but most of all… he climbs for the love of it.