June 25 2013

One of National Geographic’s adventures of the year for 2013 and Colorado College 2002 graduate, Renan Ozturk, is hands down the one of the greatest explorers of our time. 

I first heard about Renan while watching Reel Rock 7 with my old climbing team.  Renan, along with Conrad Anchor and Jimmy Chin, stared in a segment about their first assent up the Himalayan mountain, Meru.  Renan’s perseverance and overall attitude in the expedition astounded me, and as any outdoor nerd would, I began researching all about this new climber.  I found that aside from being an amazing climber/skier/mountaineer, Renan was an outstanding adventure journalist and an artist.

Renan began to combine these interests, which resulted in the birth of his production company Camp 4 Collective. In his own words, Renan said that Camp 4 Collective started out by “going out on a lot of expeditions with professional photographers and videographers, and so for me personally, I started doing more expedition storytelling.  The Northface picked that up and found it valuable with the rise in new media, and so during a meeting it was suggested to Jimmy Chin and I to start a production company.  We told them that we didn’t really want to do it and have that responsibility, but it turned into something much greater and now it’s a lot of our work- we enjoy it.” 

Renan’s videos and paintings function as his creative outlet.   I asked Renan where his inspiration comes from.  He responded, “Probably the natural world more than anything, and real human stories, characters.  I’m drawn to powerful stories and location based stories.”  Specifically, locations in the Himalayas/ Nepal are his favorite.  Renan did  “study abroad there in college and it gave me a greater appreciation for the language and culture there. I’m always trying to go back there more than any other place. The combination of culture, the beauty of the mountains, and adventure just constantly brings me back.”

When it comes to climbing, Renan is at the top of his field.  He was apart of the team that did the first assent of the Himalayan mountain Meru and also apart of the team that first completed the Tooth Traverse in Alaska.  Renan started climbing “at the end of high school, but then through college.  At Colorado College, I lived across the hall from a few characters-Toby and Alex- both had good climbing ethics.  Toby grew up in the Tetons climbing with his dad who climbed with Yvon Chouinard, he had a different take on climbing than just going to the climbing gym. They helped me learn more about adventure and the spirit of being outside in the mountains.  So my time at Colorado College is where I really fell in love with it.”  Renan conquered a big feat when he summited Meru despite a traumatic head injury.  Renan describes the root of his motivation through his connection to his expedition team.  “So I had this really tough expedition experience on Meru with Jimmy Chin and Conrad Anchor, I didn’t really know how difficult it would be, but it ended up being the most difficult trip any of us have been on.  So going through everything we went through- so much time on the mountains, so little food, and initially failing so close to the top- brought us together.  That motivated me to go back with that same team even though I was struggling to come back from this really bad injury. “

Currently Renan is working on a two feature documentaries. One about his Meru trip, which is a detailed film that goes deep into the background stories of the characters.  The other is on Renan’s completion of the Tooth Traverse in Alaska, but it focus more in depth on Bradford Washburn, a man who mapped Everest and Denali, and who put Alaska on the adventure map through his landscape art and photography. 

After talking to Renan, I was inspired by his dedication to his passions.  He is someone who is full of wisdom and is worth following and listening to.  His attitude towards exploration and climbing could be described in this statement he gave me, “It’s not about going up there to conquer the mountain and get the glory, but it’s working through it and appreciating the adventure with your team.”