Mark Richey

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Mark Richey (born 1958) is an American rock climber and alpinist with a history of significant first ascents around the world, and for which he won the Piolets d'Or, the highest award in mountaineering, in 2012 and in 2020. [1] Richey was also made president of the American Alpine Club from 2003 to 2006. [2] He is also the founder and president of Mark Richey Woodworking, a company based in Newburyport, Massachusetts. [3]

Contents

Climbing career

Richey began climbing at age 15 in the Boston area and has completed more than forty expeditions to the Greater Ranges. [4] In the early 1980s, he made the first ascents of the south face of Ocshapalca, [5] and the east face of Cayesh in Peru. Other first ascents have been done in Greenland and India.

Two of Richey's climbs in the Karakoram won Piolets d'Or, the best-known prize for alpine climbing. The first was for the first ascent of Saser Kangri II in 2011, with Steve Swenson and Freddie Wilkinson. [6] [7] The second was for the first ascent of the southeast face of Link Sar (2,300-metres, M6+, WI4, 90 degrees) in 2019, with Swenson, Chris Wright, and Graham Zimmerman. [8] [9] [10]

Business career

Richey began his woodworking career as an apprentice to a master harpsichord builder named William Dowd. He started building fine cabinetry in 1979. In the early 1980s, he launched Mark Richey Woodworking, specializing in high-quality architectural woodworking. [3] The company now employs about 100 and is based in a 130,000-square-foot plant in Newburyport, Massachusetts, that is largely powered by wind and solar energy and a biomass furnace. [11]

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "2020 Honoured ascents". Piolets d'Or . 2023. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  2. ↑ "Past Presidents". The American Alpine Club . 2023. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  3. 1 2 McDonald, Dougald (18 August 2013). "The Right Man for the Job". Climbing . Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  4. ↑ "Profile: Mark Richey". The Himalayan Club . 2023. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  5. ↑ Richey, Mark (1981). "South America, Peru—Cordillera Blanca, Huascarán Norte, Northeast Face and Oqshapallka, South Face, and Other Peaks". American Alpine Journal . 23 (55). American Alpine Club: 211. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  6. ↑ "Saser Kangri II - Piolet d'Or 2012 WInner". PlanetMountain. 2012. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  7. ↑ Nuchols, Emily (13 April 2013). "Adventure Film: The Old Breed – First Ascent of Saser Kangri II, Indian Karakoram". National Geographic . Archived from the original on February 3, 2023. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  8. ↑ Zimmerman, Graham (19 August 2019). "Link Sar: Full Trip Report on First Ascent by Zimmerman, Swenson, Wright and Richey". Rock & Ice . Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  9. ↑ "History Made as Link Sar in Karakoram is Climbed". Gripped Magazine. 6 August 2019. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  10. ↑ Zimmerman, Greg (18 May 2020). "Labyrinths of Granite and Ice". Alpinist . Retrieved 8 June 2023.
  11. ↑ Sampson, William (11 May 2021). "Mark Richey marks dual anniversary". Woodworking Network. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
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