Big Open

Rick Ridgeway is a mountaineer, writer, and businessman who currently serves as Patagonia’s vice president of environmental affairs. His books include The Shadow of Kilimanjaro: On Foot across East Africa, The Big Open: On Foot across Tibet’s Chang Tang, and The Last Step: The American Ascent of K2, an account of his experience as one of the first Americans to climb the second-highest mountain in the world.Galen Rowell (1940–2002) was an internationally celebrated photographer, mountaineer, and author. The recipient of an Ansel Adams Award for Conservation Photography, he was a respected writer with 18 books and numerous magazine articles to his name. His work was frequently featured in National Geographic, Life, Sports Illustrated, and Outside.Conrad Anker is a world-renowned mountaineer who has summited Everest three times and climbed many of the other challenging heights around the world. Best known for having discovered the body of early twentieth-century adventurer George Mallory on Everest in 1999, Anker is captain of the North Face Athlete Team and continues to inspire with his climbing prowess and his thoughtful dedication to the people of the Himalaya. He is the author of The Lost Explorer, about finding Mallory, and the primary coauthor of National Geographic's The Call of Everest.