180 Degrees South: Conquerors of the Useless

It's not an adventure until something goes wrong." Yvon Chouinard.

In 1968, Yvon Chouinard (the founder of Patagonia apparel) and Doug Tompkins (the founder of The North Face and co-owner of ESPRIT) embarked on a legendary adventure that took them by van from California to Argentina to scale the towering and potentially deadly Mount Fitzroy, stopping to surf and ski along the way.

Inspired by their wandering trek through Latin America, adventurer Jeff Johnson retraces the epic journey of his heroes almost 40 years later in 180º South: Conquerors of the Useless. Traveling the coast via boat, he is shipwrecked off Easter Island, experiences the unbelievable wildlife of the Galapagos Islands and surfs the longest wave of his life. Jeff ultimately meets up with his idols, Chouinard and Tompkins, in a rainy hut in Patagonia to explore the nature reserves established by Doug and his wife. Once driven purely by a love of climbing and surfing, Chouinard and Tompkins now value the experience of raw nature and have come to help use their influence and financial success to protect the last wild places on Earth.