I figure as much after having spent a weekend in his hometown of Bozeman, Montana, a place where he and his wife have called home since 2001. For anyone who's seen past videos that document his global voyages, his tough exterior is immediately evident, perhaps a result of having endured multiple and vast climbing expeditions that have taken a toll on him throughout the years.
And yet, as I walked into his modest home and learned more about his life in Montana's fourth-biggest city, one gets the sense that he's more subdued and, well, normal than his public persona may suggest. He is, after all, one of the most famous mountain climbers in the world, a man whose essence was captured in full via the critically acclaimed 2015 documentary Meru, a visually arresting film that chronicled his attempt to reach the Meru Peak of the Indian Himalayas.
As he shows me around his house, the first thing that catches my eye is his vast library of mountaineering books that he's been collecting for the past 30-40 years. Just across from it is what he calls the "intellectual and creative part" of his life, a desk where he can write and get all his marketing and communications squared away. (He's currently Captain Emeritus for the North Face, the outdoors and adventure brand he first joined back in 1983.)
Also in the vicinity is a small room stocked with heavy gear, tools, hardware, and equipment for his climbing trips. And around the corner is a space he built for winding down completely-a relaxing steam room complete with stones where Anker is able to recharge and refresh. For someone who's survived a heart attack at a 20,000 altitude, his life at home is the total opposite of his high-risk lifestyle.
Just hours before, we were in Hyalite Canyon, a range of scenic mountains outside of Bozeman, where he and a team led an ice climbing trek for a lucky group of men and women, many of whom (me included) have never dared to partake in such an activity before. Anker partnered with Dove Men+Care to bring a select group of fathers to travel to Anker's hometown and experience ice climbing with the legend himself. As most of us struggled to go two steps up the icy mountain, Anker would glide one up like it was a tree in his backyard. In fact, this is where he spends most of his time training, taking advantage of the multiple accessible parts of the mountain range to prepare for expeditions.
Back in his living room, he opens up about his training rituals and all he would do to prepare for a big journey (his many climbing treks in the past have included Mount Everest and zones in Antarctica.) "On an expedition to the Himalayas you need to be fit for 5 weeks, so my day-to-day training will consist of 20 minutes of aerobics," he says. Most of his training is done in the mountains here locally, where in his time off he'll go hiking uphill with a heavy backpack and climb new routes.
In one particular moment, our conversation turns toward skincare, something he says he's always been very conscientious about. He first got into it thanks to his two sisters growing up, and, as he shares with me what that experience was like, he picks up his ankle and takes off his sock, revealing an abnormally soft, totally clear foot that most teenagers won't even have. Considering the average person rarely tends to look after their feet, the fact that a rock climber with decades of experience has a nicer foot than myself left me in awe.
As most of us struggled to go two steps up the icy mountain, Anker would glide one up like it was a tree in his backyard.
He says he enjoys Dove's body washes and bars, which are engineered to address mens unique skin challenges. With all the tough elements he faces in his line of work, he's been able to keep his skin hydrated and cleansed all the time, something that is especially important for anyone who has a lot going on, whether its work and family or, in his case, leading an Everest expedition.
After failing about halfway to reach the summit on my first attempt, I dig up the courage to try once more, if for no other reason than to finish what I started. When I finally reached the top on my second try after a grueling climb that left me out of breath, I could hear the sounds of Anker and his team give me a loud cheer; and in my short time there at the top, I realized just how special the finish line truly is.