Douglas Tompkins, co-founder of North Face and Esprit, dies in kayaking accident

(Image credit: Facebook.com/TheNorthFace)

last updated 9 December 2015

Douglas Tompkins, conservationist and co-founder of The North Face and Esprit brands, died Tuesday after a kayaking accident in Chile. He was 72.

Local media reports say that Tompkins and five others were paddling on General Carrera Lake in the Patagonia region when their kayaks capsized. The water was below 39 degrees Fahrenheit, and Tompkins was confirmed dead at the Coyhaique Regional Hospital; the Health Ministry says his body temperature was just 66 degrees. None of the other kayakers were hurt.

Tompkins founded The North Face in 1966 as a small ski and backpacking retail and mail order company, and launched the clothing and accessories line Esprit in 1968, along with his wife, Susie. After Tompkins retired in 1989, he became involved in conservation and created Pumalin Park, 716,606 acres of forest and lakes stretching from the Andes to the Pacific in Chile, NBC News reports. In a statement, The North Face called Tompkins a "passionate advocate for the environment" and said his "legacy of conservation is one that we hope to help continue in the work we do every day."

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

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