Everest, 1991
Mt. Everest, also known as Sagarmatha by the Nepalis and Chomolungma by the Tibetans and Sherpas is the highest point on the Earth at 29,035'.  It's South West aspect is seen here photographed from the summit of Kala Pattar, 18,221 ft.

Everest summit 1991
Yves Laforest, member of the successful 1991 New England Everest Expedition stands on the summit at approximately 8;30 Am on May 15th 1991 with Mark Richey. Yves was the first Quebec climber to reach the summit. Tragically, Yves died in 2003 during a river expedition whose mission was to raise money for breast Cancer research.

Khumbu Icefall, Nepal 1991
 Climbing Everest from the south involves negotiating the Khumbu icefall, 3000 vertical feet of shifting blocks of ice and chaotic crevasses. Typical expeditions install fixed rope and many sections of aluminum ladder to make ferrying heavy loads through the icefall practical.

Summit ridge on Everest 1991
After many storms, the morning of May 15th 1991 dawned clear and calm allowing 4 members of the New England Everest team to safely reach the summit. Barry Rugo, one of the members prepares himself for the final climb.

Cayesh, Peru 1983
Nevado Cayesh 18,770' in the Cordillera Blanca of Peru is one of the most striking peaks in South America. Neil Pothier, Chuck Boyd and I made the first ascent of the East Face (on the right) over 4 days in 1984. It was only the second time the mountain had been climbed to the top.

Descent from Cayesh, 1983
Stormy weather engulfed our team as we traversed over the summit ridge and attempted to descend the South ridge, the original route on the mountain. Dangerous snow conditions however, made it hard to find anchors so we finished by descending the unclimbed West face and found ourselves on the opposite side of the mountain from where we had started.

Chacraraju, Peru, 2002
Chacraraju's Este, 19,688' in the Cordillera Blanca of Peru as seen from the village of Yanama. Steve Brewer and I climbed a new route on the South face in 1978.

Shiviling, Garhwal Himalaya, India 1996
Shiviling, sometimes referred to as the "The Matterhorn of India" is one of the most impressive peaks in all of the Himallaya. In 1996 John Bouchard and I climbed alpine style the East Ridge on the skyline left to reach the summit in 5 days. The 6000 foot knife edge produced some of the finest climbing and spectacular positions either one of us had ever experienced. It was only the second time the ridge had been completely climbed.

Shiviling, East Ridge 1996, Indian Garhwall
Looking down to my partner, John Bouchard, from high on the climb I could see the entire ridge snaking down to the valley floor 6000 feet below us. The high quality of the climbing, spectacular position and hard work made this one of our finest ascents.

Nevado Chopicalqui, 20,817 ft. in the Cordillera Blanca, Peru
The picture was taken during an early ascent of the North Face of Nevado Huascaran Norte in 1979. "As Rob and I settled in for the night's bivouac, a 3 foot wide ledge hacked from the ice, the afternoon clouds parted as if on cue and gave us a grandstand view of Chopicalqui's magnificent west face awash in alpenglow. Ten minutes later the sun had set and the show was over."

Yamandaka, North Face, Indian Karakorum, 2001
"From the day we arrived in BC below the Phunangma glacier, Mark Wilford and I were at once captivated by the obvious and direct line on peak 6218's north face. We estimated the wall to be about 4000' high and a steep mix of rock and ice. The late afternoon sun delineated a sharp central rib which bisected the face and finished exactly at the summit. The line looked irresistible!" We completed the route in 4 days and then 3 days to descend down the opposite side of the mountain. The descent turned into much more than we bargained for as we were suckered into a deep slot canyon with water rushing down and no way to escape. At one point we found ourselves at the edge of a waterfall longer than our ropes. Fortunately, a slight weakness in the vertical canyon walls at that spot allowed us to climb out and descend the gentler flank of the mountain.

Unclimbed Peak, Arganglas valley, Indian Karakorum 2001
Our team, co-led by the legendary British climber Sir Christian Bonington and Indian explorer Harish Kapadia was the first climbing expedition to penetrate the Arganglas valley and glaciers. "It was like being the first time to the Alps only none of the peaks had been climbed or had names"

Newfoundland ice, 2004
Joe Terravechia leads up another first ascent above Newfoundlands 10 Mile Pond. This and other ice climbs in the area are some of North Americas most remote and challenging ice climbs.

Super Crack of the Desert, Indian Creek, Utah 1987
One of the classic rock climbs of the dessert. The perfectly parallel sides of the crack and the smooth nature of the sandstone, provides for text book hand and foot jamming.

Latok II
In August 2006 Mark Richey, Doug Chabot, and Steve Swenson reached the summit of 23,320 ft. Latok II in Pakistan's Karakorum Mountains. This was the first alpine-style ascent of Latok II. That is, they climbed the mountain in a single push without support or the aid of fixed ropes and camps. It was the fourth overall ascent of the mountain by any route. The climb took a total of six days and the trio reached the summit in epic fashion…. arriving during a blizzard in full white-out conditions.  It took all of their skill and a bit of luck to make it back to their high camp successfully.