Conrad Anker (born November 27, 1962) is an American rock climber, mountaineer, and author. He was the team leader of The North Face climbing team for 26 years until 2018. In 1999, he located George Mallory's body on Everest as a member of a search team looking for the remains of the British climber who was last seen in 1924.
Contents
Career
After discovering George Mallory’s body on Everest in 1999, Anker returned to Everest with British climbing prodigy Leo Houlding in the 2007 Altitude Everest expedition to discover the truth about Mallory and to unravel the mysteries surrounding his disappearance. Anker and his climbing partner retraced Mallory and Irvine's footsteps and took on the Second Step without the use of the fixed ladder; free climbing it with the use of some modern safety precautions (e.g. perlon rope, camming devices, belay devices), to evaluate if Mallory would have been capable of climbing the Second Step himself in 1924.
Anker was the team leader of The North Face climbing team for 26 years until 2018.
Personal life
Anker had a heart attack in 2016 during an attempted ascent of Lunag Ri with David Lama. He was flown via helicopter to Kathmandu where he underwent emergency coronary angioplasty with a stent placed in his proximal left anterior descending artery. Afterwards he retired from high altitude mountaineering, but otherwise he continues his work.
Anker married Jennifer Lowe-Anker in 2001, becoming the stepfather of her three sons—Max, Sam, and Isaac Lowe—from her marriage to the late climber Alex Lowe, who had died on expedition with Anker in 1999. The family’s journey was chronicled in Max Lowe’s National Geographic documentary Torn (2021 film).
They divorced in 2024.
He lives in Bozeman, Montana.
Ascents and expeditions
1987 Southeast Face Gurney Peak, Kichatna Mountains, Alaska Range, Alaska, United States. First Ascent (FA) with Seth 'S.T.' Shaw, Robert Ingle and James Garrett; summit attained May 8, 1987.
1989 Northwest Face Mount Hunter, Alaska Range, Alaska, USA. FA with Seth 'S.T.' Shaw, summit attained July 3, 1989.
1990 Rodeo Queen, Streaked Wall, Zion National Park, Utah, USA. FA with Mugs Stump.
1992 East Buttress, Middle Triple Peak, Kichatna Spires, Alaska, USA, 2nd ascent with Seth Shaw.
1992 Shunes Buttress, Red Arch Mountain, Zion National Park. FFA with Dave Jones.
1994 Badlands (YDS VI 5.10 A3 WI4+, 1000m), Southeast Face, Torre Egger, Patagonia. Conrad Anker, Jay Smith and Steve Gerberding (USA), FA December 12, 1994.
1997 The Northwest Face (V 5.8, 2100m), Peak Loretan, Ellsworth Mountains, Antarctica (solo) Jan 15–16, 1997.
1997 Rakekniven Peak, Queen Maud Land, Antarctica, FA with Alex Lowe and Jon Krakauer. Featured in the cover article of the February 1998 National Geographic Magazine.
1997 Tsering Mosong, Latok II, Karakorum, Pakistan, FA with Alexander Huber, Thomas Huber and Toni Gutsch.
1997 Continental Drift, El Capitan, Yosemite, CA, USA. FA with Steve Gerberding and Kevin Thaw.
1999 Mallory and Irvine Research Expedition, Mount Everest, Nepal / Tibet.
Writings
Anker, Conrad (1988). "Gumbies on Gurney". American Alpine Journal. 30 (62). NYC, NY, USA: American Alpine Club: 69–75. ISBN 0-930410-33-5.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: periodical has ISBN (link)
Anker, Conrad (1990). "Hunter's Northwest Face". American Alpine Journal. 42 (64). American Alpine Club: 36–38. ISBN 0-930410-43-2.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: periodical has ISBN (link)
Anker, Conrad (1998). "With You in Spirit". American Alpine Journal. 40 (72). American Alpine Club: 140–145. ISBN 0-930410-78-5.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: periodical has ISBN (link)
Anker, Conrad; David Roberts (2001) [1999]. The Lost Explorer: Finding Mallory on Mt. Everest. New York, NY, USA: Simon and Schuster / Touchstone. ISBN 0-684-87151-3.
Films
Shackleton's Antarctic Adventure (2001)
Light of the Himalaya (2006). At the heart of the planet's most formidable mountain range live people who suffer from the highest rates of cataract blindness on the planet. The North Face athletes join eye surgeons from Nepal and America in hopes of making a difference. The film follows the doctors' work on the Himalayan Cataract Project all the way to the summit of a 21,000-foot Himalayan giant.
The Endless Knot (2007). Directed by Michael Brown and produced by David D'Angelo, an HDTV documentary film with Rush HD and The North Face. In October 1999, Alex Lowe and Conrad Anker were buried by an avalanche in the Tibetan Himalaya. Anker barely survived the avalanche, but was overcome with Survivor's Guilt. In the months following the tragedy, he worked to comfort Lowe's widow, and eventually they unexpectedly found love.
The Wildest Dream (2010), IMAX, directed by Anthony Geffen, Altitude Films, US distribution, National Geographic Entertainment releasing.
Meru, a 2015 documentary film about climbing the Shark's fin route of Meru Central
National Parks Adventure (2016), a short IMAX film/documentary by MacGillivray Freeman about the National Park Service.
Lunag Ri (2016), a documentary film by Joachim Hellinger about the attempted ascent of the Lunag Ri by Conrad Anker and David Lama
Black Ice (2020), which premiered at the fifteenth Reel Rock festival, features a crew of aspiring ice climbers who travel from the Memphis Rox gym to the frozen wilds of Montana, where mentors Manoah Ainuu, Conrad Anker and Fred Campbell share their love of winter adventure in the mountains.
Torn (2021), a documentary film by Max Lowe about the death of his father, Alex Lowe, and subsequent relationship and marriage between his mother, Jennifer Lowe-Anker, and Anker.
Awards
2008 – Simon Scott-Harden Award for Environmental Design Excellence – Batch 44
2010 – David A Brower Award – American Alpine Club
2015 – George Mallory Award – Wasatch Mountain Film Festival
2016 – Golden Piton Award – Lifetime Achievement – Climbing magazine
2017 – Honorary Doctorate at the University of Utah
2018 – Jack Roberts Lifetime Achievements Award – Cody, WY Ice Festival
