Geographic Mourns the Rowells, Killed in Air Crash

By Cathy Healy
for National Geographic News

August 14, 2002

Noted nature and adventure photographer Galen Rowell and aviation
adventurer and writer Barbara Cushman Rowell—who were killed in a
private plane crash early Sunday in California—were mourned by
friends and colleagues at the National Geographic Society this week.

Barbara, an accomplished pilot, was not flying the aircraft that crashed near their home town of Bishop, in the eastern part of the state.

The Rowells moved their gallery to Bishop in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada from the Bay Area last year.

Barbara had just written a book, Flying South, for Ten Speed Press about her adventures flying a 25,000-mile journey around Latin America. The book is due out in October.

"Galen had a unique way of seeing nature and light, and that in my mind, made him the Ansel Adams of his generation," said Gordon Wiltsie, a high-altitude photographer who shoots for National Geographic.

"It's safe to say that Galen started a genre," said Wiltsie. "He was the first modern adventure photographer. That doesn't mean he was the first adventure photographer, but Galen had his own way of seeing things at a time when young people were really discovering the outdoors. His pictures became icons for millions of people. Certainly for me. I met Galen in 1969 when I was 16 years old. Galen was my mentor and he became a very close friend of mine."

Galen Rowell was due to arrive at National Geographic headquarters in Washington, D.C. next Tuesday, where he and his editor, Bert Fox, planned to spend the next week going through 165 rolls of film that Galen shot in Tibet. The schedule called for Galen to present the final show to Editor-in-Chief Bill Allen and the senior editors at the end of the month, then the slides would go to layout.

The story involved research that Galen, cinematographer-writer Rick Ridgeway, and climber Conrad Anker were doing for George Schaller for the National Geographic Expeditions Council. Schaller has been studying behavior, population, and poaching of chiru, a Tibetan antelope, since the 1980s. (Schaller wrote about his research in August 1993 for National Geographic magazine, "In a High and Sacred Realm: Tibet's Remote Chang Tang.")

"We haven't even begun to edit," said Bert Fox. "Rick has offered to help us complete the story posthumously."

Although Galen Rowell has shot a number of National Geographic articles, this was his first NGM assignment since 1989. "Galen is an accomplished book photographer, was running a lecture series, had workshops he directed—he and Barbara had things going on all the time," said Fox.

Fox said he and Galen had been in frequent contact for the past couple of weeks by satellite phone, making preparations for next week's editing. Galen and Barbara had been on a cruise in the Bering Sea, where he and National Geographic contributing photographer-in-residence Frans Lanting were lecturers.

"I'm deeply saddened by the loss of Galen. He was a huge talent and a delight to work with. We will all miss him," Fox said.

"Galen was one of the most experienced, one of the most well-known, and one of the best photographers in that particular genre—the adventure type of photography," said National Geographic Photographic Senior Editor Kent Kobersteen. "Galen worked for the Society for many, many years and had just completed an expedition that was partially funded by the Society's Expeditions Council and also was a magazine story. This is a tragic loss, both Galen and Barbara."

Galen Rowell's work for National Geographic magazine started with the feature "Climbing Half Dome the Hard Way Up," in 1974. He shot images for some ten features and also wrote six of the articles. In one of them, "Baltistan—The 20th Century Comes to Shangri-la," Barbara also took photographs.

Galen also shot three stories for National Geographic Traveler and one for National Geographic Adventure magazine.

His photographs were included in the collections of two National Geographic books.

Greg McGruder, National Geographic director of Lectures and Public Programs, said Barbara Rowell was scheduled to appear in the Fall 2002 season of Live...from National Geographic. Barbara's, December 11 lecture was to be part of the popular "Quest for Adventure" series and was being presented in conjunction with the release of her new book, Flying South: A Pilot's Inner Journey.

"Unfortunately, our fall brochure was printed and mailed last week. We will, however, be apprising our audience members of this tragic loss through news releases and via the the Live...from National Geographic section of the Web site.

Here's a description of the lecture that was scheduled:

"An accomplished photographer and successful businesswoman, Barbara Cushman Rowell nonetheless felt that she was living in the shadow of her famous husband, photographer and mountaineer Galen Rowell. She decided to take stock of her life, listed her personal goals and merged three of them—learning to fly, learning to speak Spanish fluently, and exploring South America—into the adventure of a lifetime. She flew her own single-engine Cessna 206 on an amazing 25,000-mile-journey that included instrument failures, political coups, tropical storms—and at one point, the need to fly herself to and from an oral surgeon after a rafting accident. Join her as she shares the inspiring tale of this inner and outer flight of self-discovery."