- Richard McGowan
Richard "Dick" McGowan (
July 12 ,1933 –February 27 ,2007 ) was an Americanexplorer ,mountaineer , and entrepreneur, who helped start the modernadventure travel industry. He is best remembered today for hisMt. Everest expedition in 1955, during which he climbed theKhumbu Ice Fall , thus becoming the first American to set foot on Mt. Everest.McGowan was a key figure in the development of modern outdoor gear, and was the first employee of Recreation Equipment Incorporated (REI). He was managing partner of the outfitter Mountain Travel from 1976-1992. He left the firm after the merger that created industry leader
Mountain Travel Sobek .Expeditions
* Team member on 11 major expeditions, including the International Everest expedition in 1955. On this expedition, Dick was the first American to set foot on Mt. Everest itself, though the team did not reach the summit.
* First ascents of major peaks inAlaska ,Washington , Canada'sYukon and in Pakistan'sKarakorum (K-1)
* Ten years as chief guide onMount Rainier .
* Led the first guided climb onMt. McKinley (a.k.a.Denali , the highest peak inNorth America )Personal life
McGowan grew up in
Seattle , and graduated with a bachelor's degree inGeography from theUniversity of Washington . McGowan is survived by his wife and long time business partner Louise, and children Richard Jr., Devi and Kili.McGowan spent many years as a Director of the
American Himalayan Foundation , where he served with longtime friendSir Edmund Hillary .References
*Fimrite, Peter. " [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/04/27/BAGNMPGKR91.DTL&type=printable Richard McGowan - mountaineer] ", "
The San Francisco Chronicle ",2007-04-27 . Accessed2007-12-20 .
* [http://www.mountaineers.org/main/pubarchive/Mtr6-07.pdf "Dick McGowan, Mountaineer icon and entrepreneur"] , "The Mountaineer ", June, 2007. Accessed2007-12-20 External links
* [http://nextadventure.com/about/richard-mcgowan-founder.html Web page dedicated to McGowan, run by the family:]
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