Galen Rowell

Galen never made much of it, but people like Tom Brokaw and Robert Redford regularly asked him to take them up Mt. Everest. They knew they could count on his mountaineering skills and discretion.


It was a pleasure to know and work with Galen Rowell for over 20 years. For sixteen of those, we worked together while I was either Marketing Director or Publisher of Sierra Club Books. Sierra Club published eight acclaimed books of Galen's photography. He was considered to be the best nature photographer since Ansel Adams. There is no greater praise.

A tragic plane crash in the Eastern Sierra ended his life, and that of his wife, Barbara, in 2002. He was 61 years old when he died and left behind two grown children from a previous marriage, Nicole Rowell Ryan and Tony Rowell.

The last project Galen and I worked on was California the Beautiful. His wonderful, color photography supported the core concept of the book which was to demonstrate California's unique place in America and the world.

Galen was able to see a finished copy of our book two weeks before his death and he was very happy with the result. This was gratifying because photographers are very particular and Galen was particular , even for a photographer.

My contributions were initiating the project and compiling the text which includes wonderful quotations from California writers and visitors.

A new edition of California the Beautiful, published by Welcome Books, was released on October 20, 2009. Galen's photographs are more impressive in this new, larger-size book and there is a new introduction. Dan Jacobson, Executive Director of Environment California, has written a very compelling and relevant foreword.

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