Doug Tompkins, who founded the clothing brands North Face and Esprit, died Tuesday after a kayaking accident in the Patagonia region of southern Chile. The well-known conservationist was with a group of five foreigners on General Carrerra Lake when their kayaks capsized. The 72-year-old later died of hypothermia at Coyhaique Regional Hospital. Tompkins founded North Face in 1964 and co-founded Esprit with his then-wife in 1968. During the 1990s, he moved to Patagonia, where he purchased more than 740,000 acres and turned most of it into nature sanctuary Pumalín Park. He also donated land to Chile and Argentina for coastal national parks.
