180° South

1. In 1968, Yvon Chouinard, Doug Tompkins, Dick Dorworth, and Lito Tejada-Flores pack up their 1965 Ford Econoline van in Ventura, California, and begin the long drive south to climb Cerro Fitz Roy in Patagonia, Chile.

2. Sleeping on the ground in Guatemala, they wake up to teenagers holding guns to their heads.

3. Dick Dorworth cuts Yvon’s hair as the four travelers kill time in the port town of Colón, Panama, as they wait for a boat to take them into Colombia.

5. Doug Tompkins and Yvon Chouinard get the best waves of their trip surfing Chicama in northern Peru.

6. The van breaks down in the city of Santiago, Chile. They pull the engine and rebuild it on the spot.

7. The four of them climb and ski an active volcano called Mount Llaima, southeast of Santiago, Chile.

8. North of Cerro Fitz Roy, in the Patagonia desert, they pick up English climber Chris Jones hitchhiking by the side of the road.

9. Yvon Chouinard, Doug Tompkins, Dick Dorworth, Chris Jones, and Lito Tejada-Flores summit Cerro Fitz Roy via a new route they name Ruta de los Californianos.

A. Keith Malloy and Jeff Johnson join up with Timmy O’Neill and Dave Turner to climb the North America Wall in Yosemite, California.

B. In Ixtapa, Mexico, Jeff Johnson boards a 54-foot cutter-rigged sailboat called the Seabear bound for Patagonia, Chile.

C. Roughly 300 miles southwest of the Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica, the Seabear and crew have a four-day stopover at Isla de Coco National Park.

D. After a tough nine-day crossing the Seabear and crew enter the Galápagos Archipelago, Ecuador.

E. Nine days into the passage to Rapa Nui (Easter Island) the Seabear loses her mast 400 miles short of her destination.

F. The Seabear and crew anchor off Rapa Nui for 36 days to repair their mast. While there, they befriend local surfer Makohe Acuna and invite her to join them on the sail to Chile.

G. En route to Chile, with jury-rigged mast and sails, the Seabear and crew spend two days on Isla de Juan Fernandez, 400 miles off the coast of mainland Chile.

H. The Seabear and crew arrive at Algarrobo, Chile. Makohe Acuna and Jeff Johnson part ways with the Seabear and meet up with Keith Malloy farther south.

I. Makohe Acuna, Keith Malloy, and Jeff Johnson rendezvous with Timmy O’Neill and Yvon Chouinard in Reñihué, Chile.

J. Makohe Acuna, Keith Malloy, Jeff Johnson, Timmy O’Neill, and Yvon Chouinard explore the Corcovado coast of Chile aboard a retired fishing boat called the Cahuelmo.

K. Doug Tompkins, Yvon Chouinard, and Jeff Johnson climb Cerro Geezer in Valle Chacabuco, Chile.

Previous spread: Yosemite Valley as seen from Tunnel View. The west face of El Capitan on the left, Bridalveil Falls on the right, Half Dome in the far distance. Yosemite, California. Photo: Jeff Johnson