GALEN ROWELL

Rowell, a photographer and trekker, mastered an ability to capture unrepeatable moments in the outdoors on film, and with it, won world renown for his celebration of the natural world and its beauty. He supported many Bay Area conservation groups and conferences by donating his Mountain Light photo gallery as a base for meetings and conferences.

Rowell made his first roped ascent in Yosemite Valley at age 16, the first of more than 100 new climbing routes in the Sierra. In the years that followed,

Rowell extended his adventures to the world's highest mountains on all seven continents. These included the first one-day ascents of Denali in Alaska and Kilimanjaro in Africa, and the highest summit ever gained on skis in history, Mustagh Ata, 24,757 feet, in China. He also completed a landmark 285-mile cross-county ski traverse of the Karakoram Himalaya in winter.

He captured moments from these and many other expeditions in magazines and large-format books, including the best-selling "Mountain Light," and "Bay Area Wild." Rowell and his wife, Barbara, a pilot and accomplished trekker died in a plane crash in 2002, following his induction to the Hall.

A personal glimpse: "What I do is a continuing pursuit in which the art becomes the adventure, and vice-versa."