Charlie Fowler Charlie Fowler (February 18, 1954 -November 14, 2006) was an American mountain climber, writer, and photographer. He was one of North America's most experienced mountain climbers, and successfully climbed many of the world's highest peaks. Along with his climbing partner, Christine Boskoff, he went missing in southwestern China sometime between November 11 and November 14, 2006. His body was found on a Ge'nyen Mountain on December 27, 2006, and was officially identified a day later. Biography Early life and accomplishments Fowler was born in North Carolina and grew up in Virginia, where he graduated from the University of Virginia with a degree in environmental science in 1975. He spent the next 12 years in Boulder, Colorado, before moving to Telluride, Colorado, in 1987 and settling in Norwood, Colorado, in 1992. In 1977 he gained fame after free soloing the Direct North Buttress route on Middle Cathedral Rock in Yosemite National Park, followed by the first free solo ascent of the Diamond on Colorado's Longs Peak in 1978. The route he chose, initially called the Integral Route, was renamed the Casual Route after Fowler's bold climb. He became a member of the American Mountain Guides Association in 1986, and was a certified guide who taught courses and evaluated other students who wanted to become certified mountain guides. He often guided expeditions for Mountain Madness, an adventure travel company owned by Christine Boskoff. Fowler claimed to have been climbing mountains since 1968, having successfully climbed the 8,000 meter peaks of Mount Everest, Cho Oyu, and Shishapangma, as well as Aconcagua, one of the Seven Summits. He attempted to ascend K2, but had to turn back before reaching the summit due to poor conditions. In recent years, he explored unnamed peaks in Tibet and remote areas of China. In recognition of his climbing accomplishments, he was awarded the Robert and Miriam Underhill Award for outstanding mountaineering achievement by the American Alpine Club in 2004. Other career achievements Fowler's nature photographs and articles have been published in various books, magazines, journals, and catalogs, and he published three local climbing guidebooks. Fowler had the honor of appearing on the cover of Climbing Magazine on different occasions as both cover subject and cover photographer. He also worked as a guide and rigger for Ice Climb, a National Geographic film; participated in two American Adventure Productions films; appeared in several episodes of the Outdoor Life Network's High Country Climber series; and appeared in and helped film the award-winning John Catto documentary La Escoba de Dios. Along with his friend Damon Johnston, Fowler founded the publishing company Mountain World Media LLC in 2005. Fowler and Johnston also co-authored a guidebook to sandstone climbs in southwest Colorado titled The Wild Wild West. Fowler also started the Telluride Mountain Club and the Horizon Program. Additionally, he was a board member of Mountainfilm in Telluride for almost 10 years, and served on their Advisory Board. Disappearance and death In October 2006, Fowler left the United States for China with his climbing partner, Christine Boskoff, for a two-month-long trip to attempt several peaks that had never been climbed. According to a post on Fowler's website, it was his fifth trip to the region. Last known contacts From the time of their departure until November 8, 2006, Fowler and Boskoff were in frequent contact with friends and other mountain climbers via email. One of Boskoff's final emails said that the pair would be "back in Internet contact in two weeks." On November 7, Fowler made his last known contact with the outside world in an email sent to Alpinist from Litang,