Rick Ridgeway (born August 12, 1949) is a mountaineer and adventurer,
who during his career has also been an environmentalist, writer,
filmmaker and businessman. Ridgeway has climbed new routes and
explored little-known regions on six continents. He was part of the
1978 team that were the first Americans to summit K2, the world's
second-highest mountain. Since 2005 he has overseen environmental
affairs at the outdoor clothing company Patagonia. He has authored six
books and dozens of magazine articles, and produced or directed many
documentary films.Ridgeway started his mountaineering career in the
late '60s and early '70s, making first ascents and new routes on a
series of expeditions to the Peruvian Andes. In 1976 he joined the
American Bicentennial Everest Expedition, and that led to joining the
1978 expedition to K2. Ridgeway and his three teammates were the first
Americans to summit K2, the world's second highest mountain (8,611
m/28,251 ft) located in the Karakoram range. K2 is known for the
inherent danger in climbing it, featuring a steep pyramidal relief and
long sections of rock and ice, and unstable, overhanging serac. On
September 6, 1978, Jim Wickwire and Louis Reichardt reached the summit
of K2 via the Abruzzi Spur. The following day, Rick Ridgeway and John
Roskelley abandoned a direct finish on the NE Ridge, and traversed
under the summit pyramid to reach the summit via the Abruzzi finish.
Ridgeway, Roskelley and Reichardt accomplished the feat without the
use of supplemental oxygen.In the early '80s Ridgeway joined the
original Seven Summits expeditions, and also began to explore little
known regions âˆ' making the first direct coast-to-coast traverse of
Borneo, and exploring remote regions from the Amazon to
Antarctica.During his explorations Ridgeway witnessed the degradations
of the wildlands that had come to define his life: he saw firsthand
remote grasslands in Patagonia turned to tourist cities, and the
glaciers on Kilimanjaro disappear. He also witnessed the wildlife that
inhabited those wildlands decline, and in the mid-'90s he began a
series of journeys that allowed him to communicate, through books and
films, what was happening to these formerly wild regions. In 1996 he
and companions climbed Kilimanjaro and from the summit walked 500
kilometers (310.6 miles) to the sea, giving Ridgeway a vehicle to
report on the fate of Africa’s wildlife. In 2004 he and companions
followed the migration of the endangered chiru, walking without
support 300 miles (482.8 km) across uninhabited grasslands in
northwest Tibet to confirm the locations of the species' calving
grounds. Ridgeway's book, The Big Open, and accompanying National
Geographic television show and magazine article assisted the acclaimed
wildlife conservationist George Schaller to convince the Chinese
government to create a 15,000 square mile protected area around the
calving grounds.
who during his career has also been an environmentalist, writer,
filmmaker and businessman. Ridgeway has climbed new routes and
explored little-known regions on six continents. He was part of the
1978 team that were the first Americans to summit K2, the world's
second-highest mountain. Since 2005 he has overseen environmental
affairs at the outdoor clothing company Patagonia. He has authored six
books and dozens of magazine articles, and produced or directed many
documentary films.Ridgeway started his mountaineering career in the
late '60s and early '70s, making first ascents and new routes on a
series of expeditions to the Peruvian Andes. In 1976 he joined the
American Bicentennial Everest Expedition, and that led to joining the
1978 expedition to K2. Ridgeway and his three teammates were the first
Americans to summit K2, the world's second highest mountain (8,611
m/28,251 ft) located in the Karakoram range. K2 is known for the
inherent danger in climbing it, featuring a steep pyramidal relief and
long sections of rock and ice, and unstable, overhanging serac. On
September 6, 1978, Jim Wickwire and Louis Reichardt reached the summit
of K2 via the Abruzzi Spur. The following day, Rick Ridgeway and John
Roskelley abandoned a direct finish on the NE Ridge, and traversed
under the summit pyramid to reach the summit via the Abruzzi finish.
Ridgeway, Roskelley and Reichardt accomplished the feat without the
use of supplemental oxygen.In the early '80s Ridgeway joined the
original Seven Summits expeditions, and also began to explore little
known regions âˆ' making the first direct coast-to-coast traverse of
Borneo, and exploring remote regions from the Amazon to
Antarctica.During his explorations Ridgeway witnessed the degradations
of the wildlands that had come to define his life: he saw firsthand
remote grasslands in Patagonia turned to tourist cities, and the
glaciers on Kilimanjaro disappear. He also witnessed the wildlife that
inhabited those wildlands decline, and in the mid-'90s he began a
series of journeys that allowed him to communicate, through books and
films, what was happening to these formerly wild regions. In 1996 he
and companions climbed Kilimanjaro and from the summit walked 500
kilometers (310.6 miles) to the sea, giving Ridgeway a vehicle to
report on the fate of Africa’s wildlife. In 2004 he and companions
followed the migration of the endangered chiru, walking without
support 300 miles (482.8 km) across uninhabited grasslands in
northwest Tibet to confirm the locations of the species' calving
grounds. Ridgeway's book, The Big Open, and accompanying National
Geographic television show and magazine article assisted the acclaimed
wildlife conservationist George Schaller to convince the Chinese
government to create a 15,000 square mile protected area around the
calving grounds.
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