North Face co-founder dead of hypothermia after accident
Digital Reporter
Wednesday, December 9, 2015, 4:27 PM - Douglas Tompkins, co-founder of outdoor product company North Face and clothing retailer Esprit, is dead after falling into a lake in southern Chile. He was 72.
Media reports suggest Tompkins was take to a hospital in Coyhaique with acute hypothermia Tuesday.
High winds apparently flipped his kayak into the chilly waters of Lake General Carrera in Patagonia. He died about six hours after arriving at the hospital.
For the past 25 years, Tompkins has given millions of dollars to help support national parks, saving an estimated 800,000 hectares of land in South America. He has worked with local environmentalists to save local forests and wetlands.
“Doug was a passionate advocate for the environment,” The North Face said in a statement.
“His legacy of conservation will help ensure that there are outdoor spaces to be explored for generations to come.”
Tompkins, who founded his companies in the U.S. before retiring to Patagonia in 1989, was an avid hiker and kayaker.
“For the environmental movement, not just in Chile but internationally, [Tompkin's death] is a huge loss,” Sara Larrain, a long-time friend of Tompkins and leader of a Chilean environmental group, told the Associated Press.
“This is somebody who put all his energy, all his fortune and his spirit in preserving ecosystems.”
Source: The Associated Press
