Charlie Fowler

Charlie Fowler, born on 18 February 1954 and lost in China in November 2006, was an American mountain climber, writer and photographer regarded as one of the most experienced climbers in North America. Raised in Virginia and later based in Colorado, he free soloed the Direct North Buttress of Middle Cathedral Rock in Yosemite in 1977 and made the first free solo ascent of the Diamond on Longs Peak in 1978. He climbed the 8,000 metre peaks Mount Everest, Cho Oyu and Shishapangma as well as Aconcagua, and in 2004 received the Underhill Award from the American Alpine Club. A certified guide, he founded Mountain World Media and the Telluride Mountain Club. He disappeared in 2006 with his partner Christine Boskoff while attempting unclimbed peaks in western China; his body was found on Genyen Mountain that December.