Mark Richey
American climber and business owner
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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]
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]