I walked into the Great Outdoor Provision Store in Cameron Village a half hour ago and immediately saw who I was looking for. GOPC’s Chuck Millsaps was talking to a guy at the counter; I walked over and waited. Chuck had invited me down to meet Conrad Anker, one of the world’s top alpinists, who was in Raleigh for a speaking gig. As I waited, I scanned the store to see if Anker had arrived.
“Joe,” said Chuck. “Conrad Anker.”
Funny, I was expecting someone scruffier.
In fact, yesterday morning I’d been watching a segment of The North Face’s Never Stop Exploring TV series on cable. The segment, “Meru Sharks Fin,” featured Anker and fellow climbers Jimmy Chin and Renan Ozturk. (“Mount Meru: The Center of the Universe,” is the subject of Anker’s presentation tonight at Kings, which is part of The North Face Never Stop Exploring Speaker Series. Alas, the event is sold out.) In “Meru Sharks Fin” the three try a new route up the Himalayan peak. Hampered by bad weather and a lack of basic tonsorial services at high altitude, the three grow a bit … scruffy.
In civilization, Anker has a bit of a Richie Cunningham thing going, both in appearance and in affable demeanor. It’s a mix that serves him well for his job off the mountain: Going to schools, hospitals, NASA, anyone who will listen, and make a case for exploring.
“We need to explore,” says Anker. “While the terrestrial world is pretty much mapped, there is still so much we don’t know.”
Anker didn’t get a chance to elaborate. For a man who’s been so many places — from standing atop Everest to dog sledding across Baffin Island — and done so many things, there remain experiences he has yet to taste. And this afternoon, he was off to do one of them before tonight’s presentation.