We are thrilled to have Conrad Anker co-guiding Mount Vinson with us during the 2022/23 season. If you want to join the team for an epic trip to Antarctica please contact us!

Conrad Anker is a climber’s climber, at home on a faraway alpine wall or the sparkling ice of his home canyon, Hyalite, located in the Gallatin Range of southwestern Montana.

Over decades in the mountains, he has come to value the rarified air of Antarctica, the Himalaya and Montana equally; inspired by the value of immersion in other ecosystems and cultures, he’s become more fully enmeshed in both the physical and communal landscape of his hometown of Bozeman.

Conrad came to climbing by way of his family, learning a deep appreciation for the outdoors from his California childhood, an appreciation and respect that has deepened as climbing took him around the world.

Significant 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 12 December 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, 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.
1999 Shishapangma American Ski Expedition, Tibet. Survived a massive avalanche which killed climbing partner Alex Lowe and cameraman David Bridges.
2001 East Face of Vinson Massif, Ellsworth Mountains, Antarctica. FA with Jon Krakauer. Featured on PBS series NOVA in February 2003.
2005 Southwest Ridge, Cholatse, Khumbu region, Nepal – summit attained with Kevin Thaw, John Griber, Kris Erickson and Abby Watkins on May 12, 2005.
2007 Leads Altitude Everest Expedition, joined by Leo Houlding, Jimmy Chin and Kevin Thaw, retracing Mallory’s last steps on Everest. 2nd summit. First documented free climb of the Second Step.
2011 Shark’s Fin, Meru Peak, FA with Jimmy Chin and Renan Ozturk.
2012 Leads “Everest Education Expedition” with National Geographic, The North Face, Montana State University and Mayo Clinic – 3rd summit, this time without oxygen. With Cory Richards, Sam Elias, Kris Erickson, Emily Harrington, Philip Henderson, Mark Jenkins, David Lageson Ph.D, Hilaree O’Neill. Mayo Team – Dr. Bruce Johnson, Landon Bassett, Derek Campbell, Amine Issa. Base Camp Support Andy Bardon, Travis Courthouts, Anjin Herndon, Max Lowe.

Anker has also climbed notable routes in Yosemite Valley (California), Zion National Park (Utah), Baffin Island (Canada), and the Ellsworth Mountains in Antarctica.