Legendary Mountaineer to Speak at Conservation Alliance Membership Meeting

SALT LAKE CITY– Conrad Anker, accomplished mountaineer and dedicated conservationist, will be the guest speaker at the Conservation Alliance membership meeting, Friday, August 11, 8-9AM, at the Salt Lake City Marriott, Salon F.
Anker’s talk – illustrated with spectacular images from his climbing career will cover his many climbing accomplishments and how his adventures have strengthened his commitment to protecting wild places. In 1999, Anker summited Mt. Everest and discovered the body of George Mallory. He later published a book about the Mallory Expedition. He also pioneered new routes on Latok II in Pakistan, and Vinson Massif in Antarctica.

In 1999, Anker lost two close friends to an avalanche on the south face of Shishapangma, a 26,289-foot peak in Tibet. Miraculously, he was spared. On that day, wrote Anker in a recent Outside Magazine article, “The world as I perceived it changed. Why had I been given a second chance? And what was I going to do with it?”

Still a leading mountaineer, Anker now balances his time climbing with efforts to protect wild places. Anker will take a historical look at the many mountaineers and climbers – from John Muir to David Brower to Yvon Chouinard – who took the skills and insights they learned on the peaks to make important contributions to conservation.

“Conrad is a climber with a strong sense of responsibility to protect the environment,” said John Sterling, Conservation Alliance Executive Director. “We are honored that he will debut this new talk at our Membership Meeting.”

Anker will follow-up his presentation with a book signing at the prAna booth at 11 AM on the same day. He will sell and sign copies of his book The Lost Explorer, about the expedition during which he found the body of George Mallory on Mt. Everest. All proceeds will go to The Conservation Alliance.

In addition to working as a sponsored athlete with The North Face, Anker serves on the Conservation Alliance Board of Directors.

Prior to Anker’s presentation, The Conservation Alliance will provide updates on the key projects supported by Alliance funding, and recognize the companies that have joined the organization since the January OR Show.

“We continue to enjoy incredible growth as more companies recognize the importance of protecting our last wild places,” said Sterling. “There is a growing consensus in the industry that we must do more to protect the lands and waterways on which our business depends.”

The Conservation Alliance is an organization of outdoor businesses whose collective contributions support grassroots environmental organizations and their efforts to protect wild places where outdoor enthusiasts recreate. Alliance funds have played a key role in protecting rivers, trails, wildlands and climbing areas.

Membership in the Alliance is open to companies representing all aspects of the outdoor industry, including manufacturers, retailers, publishers, mills and sales representatives. The result is a diverse group of businesses whose livelihood depends on protecting our natural environment.

Since its inception in 1989, the Alliance has contributed more than $5 million to grassroots environmental groups. Alliance funding has helped save over 34 million acres of wildlands; 25 dams have either been stopped or removed; and the group helped preserve access to more than 16,000 miles of waterways and several climbing areas.

For complete information on the Conservation Alliance, see www.conservationalliance.com. The Conservation Alliance membership meeting is open to the public.