{"id":21992,"date":"2017-10-26T15:36:42","date_gmt":"2017-10-26T22:36:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/?p=21992"},"modified":"2018-12-26T15:02:33","modified_gmt":"2018-12-26T23:02:33","slug":"conrad-ankers-guide-to-footcare","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/climb\/conrad-ankers-guide-to-footcare","title":{"rendered":"Conrad Anker\u2019s Guide to Footcare"},"content":{"rendered":"

If Conrad Anker could be any animal, he\u2019d be a mountain goat. \u201cI\u2019ve seen them climb 5.8 for sure,\u201d he tells me over the phone, relaxing after an early fall hike in mountains near his Bozeman, Montana home. \u201cTheir hooves are just incredible.\u201d<\/p>\n

As it turns out, Anker knows a surprising amount about hooves; why they\u2019re suited for climbing, what they\u2019re made of, and so on. But I didn\u2019t call to talk about hooves, at least not exactly\u2014I called to talk about feet. His<\/em> feet.<\/p>\n

One of the most prolific outdoorsmen of our time, Anker has guided climbing teams to the summit of Everest (on multiple occasions) and tracked herds of rare antelope across the barren plateaus of Tibet. He\u2019s put up first ascents from Antarctica to Alaska, Yosemite to Zion. And if you ask him how he\u2019s managed such success over the course of his career in the mountains, instead of looking up to count his lucky stars, he\u2019ll probably glance down toward his feet.<\/p>\n

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A post shared by Conrad Anker (@conrad_anker)<\/a> on