Tom Brokaw

Douglas Tompkins was a world-renowned adventurer, entrepreneur, and conservationist. The founder of The North Face and cofounder of Esprit, Doug spent the first half of his life building successful, global brands, while simultaneously adventuring around the world, completing first descents of the world’s toughest rivers. In 1968 Doug embarked on a trip to Chile, driving with friends from California to the tip of Patagonia. Documented in the film Mountain of Storms, the trip solidified Doug’s place as a rock climbing legend. In the early 1990s, Doug sold his part of Esprit and turned his entrepreneurial energies to land and wildlife conservation projects in South America, working alongside his wife, Kristine McDivitt Tompkins, the former CEO of Patagonia, Inc.

From John Muir in the 1860s to the super athletes of today, "Vertical Frontier" tells the saga of the free-spirited climbers who were inspired by the big walls of Yosemite. This comprehensive history of Yosemite climbing includes footage from classics such as El Capitan and interviews with dozens of Yosemite personalities such as Long, Bridwell, Steck, Hill, Croft, Robbins, Kauk, Chouinard and Potter. A formidable film -- a great piece of history.