Mark Richey

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]

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

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. 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. "South America, Peru—Cordillera Blanca, Huascarán Norte, Northeast Face and Oqshapallka, South Face, and Other Peaks". American Alpine Journal. 23 (55). 1981. 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. 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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