Douglas Tompkins. The man who went further

0%

Loading the history of Douglas Tompkins

MENU

RU

Douglas Tompkins. The man that went further

Project author: Nunzhenko Ekaterina

Instagram

Portfolio

RU

THE UNKNOWN

BEGINS WHERE

the map ends and the path begins

Douglas Tompkins. The man who went further

49.27195° S
73.04406° W

14 800 000 acre
5 989 348 hectare

Patagonia

20.10.1943
8.12.2015

It’s not about the distance. What matters is what can still be discovered right in front of you

Douglas Tompkins

For Tompkins, mountains were just the beginning. He went further— on skis, on rocks, on expeditions. He looked for new routes

BEEN BEFORE

HAVEN'T (

)

HAVEN'T (

) BEEN BEFORE

GO WHERE

The man who did not recognize borders

HE CREATED A BRAND (

)

FOR THOSE WHO GO FURTHER

(

) FOR THOSE,

HE CREATED A BRAND

WHO GO FURTHER

half dome
37°44′46″N 119°31′59″W

Est. 1966
San Francisco

1966

Douglas Tompkins, together
with Dick English, founded
The North Face

Gear must work where
it can be relied upon

IF YOU HAVE ACHIEVED EVERYTHING YOU WANTED,

WHAT'S NEXT?

1989

Tompkins sold his share
for $ 125 million

The North Face was just the beginning.
The next was Esprit. The company grew into an international business

Douglas
achieved everything

(that one usually strives for their whole life)

The bigger the business became,

the more Tompkins saw its downside

WHICH HE
NO LONGER BELIEVED IN

HE BECAME UNINTERESTED IN WINNING THE GAME,

WHY?

1

2

3

HOW MUCH TIME DOES IT TAKE TO REALIZE:

YOU ARE GOING
THE WRONG WAY?

HOW MUCH TIME DOES IT TAKE TO REALIZE:

YOU ARE GOING THE WRONG WAY?

Douglas Tompkins made a decision

1990

THE MOST RADICAL ACTION IS NOT TO CREATE MORE

BUT TO STOP

Pay rent
for time spent
on the planet

Douglas Tompkins

1990

Douglas left the business world
and moved to Patagonia

He was no longer interested in business,
he dreamed of preserving places that
man had not yet had time to change

IF YOU LOVE A PLACE —

ADMIRING IT

IS NOT ENOUGH (

) SIMPLY

(

) SIMPLY

IF YOU LOVE
A PLACE —

ADMIRING IT

IS NOT ENOUGH

1990–1992

Tompkins began returning
nature's lands to it

Created environmental
foundations, bought wild territories,
restored ecosystems

1990–1992

Tompkins began returning
nature’s lands to it

Created environmental
foundations, bought wild territories,
restored ecosystems

Millions of acres
returned to nature

1990 to present

Douglas Tompkins and his partners
protected about 14.8 million acres^* of wild
nature in Chile and Argentina

*14,800,000 acres ~ 6 millions hectares

PUMALÍN

Area: 402,392 ha
Location: Los Lagos Region, Chile

Here Tompkins began his great work of preserving Patagonia. The park protects ancient forests, fjords, volcanoes, and waterfalls

CORCOVADO

Area: 400,011 ha
Location: Los Lagos Region, Chile

Tompkins transferred more than 84,000 hectares of land to the state to create a national park. The nature here is practically untouched: forests, glaciers, fjords, and a wild coastline

YENDEGAIA

Area: 150,587 ha
Location: Tierra del Fuego Island, Chile

A territory in the far south of Chile, between the Beagle Channel and the Darwin Mountains. The lands acquired by the Tompkinses became the basis for the national park

PATAGONIA

Area: 304,528 ha
Location: Aysén Region, Chile

One of the most striking examples of how Tompkins Conservation not only preserved land but also restored wildlife

CAVESCAR

Area: 2,842,329 ha
Location: Magallanes Region, Chile

One of the largest national parks in Chile. A vast territory of fjords, islands, glaciers, and forests in southern Patagonia

IBERA

Area: approximately 158,000 ha
Location: Corrientes Province, Argentina

The Tompkinses acquired and transferred to the state lands that became the basis of a national park and a large-scale project to reintroduce extinct species

MONTE LEÓN

Area: 62,169 ha
Location: Santa Cruz Province, Argentina

Here the Patagonian steppe meets the Atlantic Ocean. Lands acquired and transferred by the Tompkinses helped create Argentina’s first national park with a coastline

PATAGONIA

Area: more than 106,000 ha
Location: Santa Cruz Province, Argentina

The park protects plateaus and steppes on the border with Chile. One of the main goals was the conservation of the torrent duck—a rare bird that nests only in this part of Argentina

Patagonia, Argentina

Monte Leon

Ibera

Cavescar

Patagonia, Chile

YENDEGAIA

Corcovado

Pumalín

PUMALÍN

Area: 402,392 ha
Location: Los Lagos Region, Chile

Here Tompkins began his great work of preserving Patagonia. The park protects ancient forests, fjords, volcanoes, and waterfalls

CORCOVADO

Area: 400,011 ha
Location: Los Lagos Region, Chile

Tompkins transferred more than 84,000 hectares of land to the state to create a national park. The nature here is practically untouched: forests, glaciers, fjords, and a wild coastline

YENDEGAIA

Area: 150,587 ha
Location: Tierra del Fuego Island, Chile

A territory in the far south of Chile, between the Beagle Channel and the Darwin Mountains. The lands acquired by the Tompkinses became the basis for the national park

PATAGONIA

Area: 304,528 ha
Location: Aysén Region, Chile

One of the most striking examples of how Tompkins Conservation not only preserved land but also restored wildlife

CAVESCAR

Area: 2,842,329 ha
Location: Magallanes Region, Chile

One of the largest national parks in Chile. A vast territory of fjords, islands, glaciers, and forests in southern Patagonia

IBERA

Area: approximately 158,000 ha
Location: Corrientes Province, Argentina

The Tompkinses acquired and transferred to the state lands that became the basis of a national park and a large-scale project to reintroduce extinct species

MONTE LEÓN

Area: 62,169 ha
Location: Santa Cruz Province, Argentina

Here the Patagonian steppe meets the Atlantic Ocean. Lands acquired and transferred by the Tompkinses helped create Argentina’s first national park with a coastline

PATAGONIA

Area: more than 106,000 ha
Location: Santa Cruz Province, Argentina

The park protects plateaus and steppes on the border with Chile. One of the main goals was the conservation of the torrent duck—a rare bird that nests only in this part of Argentina

WHAT REMAINS WHEN A human IS GONE?

LEGACY

He created a company,
and then he left it

He earned millions,
and then invested them in the land

He didn't strive to be someone.
He wanted to change something

WHAT REMAINS WHEN A PERSON IS GONE?

LEGACY

He created a company,
and then he left it

He earned millions,
and then invested them in the land

He didn't strive to be someone.
He wanted to change something

(

) continues

The Tompkins' legacy

continues

Tompkins' (

)

Legacy

Forests continue to grow

Forests that have been logged for years are being restored. Nature is gradually returning to its places

Animals return

Rare species are reappearing in places where they once disappeared. An entire ecosystem is being restored

Rivers remain free

Water continues to flow naturally. Nature remains untouched

People come to national parks

Conserved nature becomes accessible — it can be seen and felt

1990 to present

Tompkins Conservation —
conservation fund

Protects and restores wild lands, creates national parks, and returns lands threatened by development to nature

The idea lives on...

AND WHAT WILL YOU LEAVE?

AND HE LEFT IT TO US

FOUND WILD

HE WAS LOOKING FOR THE UNKNOWN

PROJECT AUTHOR

NuZHNENKO EKATERINA

NuZHNENKO
EKATERINA

contact me

Non-commercial project within the framework of Anna Khodarkovskaya’s mentorship

2026

Saint Petersburg

September

MAIL

INSTAGRAM