092019 boatinternational.com
he National Geographic
photographerandadventurerCory
RichardsjustgotbackfromEverest.
Thiswashisfourthtripandhe
didn’tmakeittothetop,buthe’sdonethattwice
already.Withruggedmountain-boygoodlooks,
brightblueeyesandscruffyhair,hetalkseasily
andhonestlyabouthissuccessesandfailuresin
mountaineering–andinlife.InMay,Richards
attemptedtoclimbthemountain’sNortheast
RidgefromTibet,aroutethatisdeemedthe
toughestandmostchallenging.Heclimbed
without Sherpas and without oxygen,
accompaniedonlybyhisEcuadorianclimbing
partner,Esteban“Topo”Mena,whoRichards
saysis“closertomethanmyownbrother”.Their
planwastocreateanewroute,thefirstone
devisedinmorethan 10 years.
Bothhisparentsaremountaineers,anditwas
insouthernUtah,wherehegrewup,thathe
pickedupthebugforexploration,“gettinglost
aroundthecampsites,exploringandlookingfor
arrowheads”.Asateenager,headmitsthathe
optedtodo“thewrongthings”anddroppedout
ofhighschool.“Iwasahotmessuntilwellinto
mytwenties.Butclimbinggaveme–literally–
somethingtoholdonto.”Itwasanescapefrom
reality,anditwasthroughclimbingthathetried
toprovehisworthtopeople.
Earlyinhiscareer,Richardssethimselfthree
goals:climban8,000-metrepeakinwinter;
climbEverestwithoutoxygen;andclimbanew
routeonan8,000-metrepeak.Heaccomplished
thefirstobjectivein 2011 withawinterascentof
GasherbruminPakistan,butonthedescent
Richardsandhistwofellowclimberswereswept
upinanavalanche.Whenherealisedthattheyall
survived,Richardstookaselfieofhishaunted,
frost-encrustedface,whichendeduponthe
coverofNationalGeographicandlaunchedhis
career.In 2016 hesuccessfullyreachedthe
summitofEverestwithoutsupplementaloxygen,
althoughhisattempttotakeaselfieatthetopwas
scupperedwhenhisphonedied.
Forthe 2019 expeditionRichardsworea
personalisedVacheronConstantinprototype
DualTimewatch thathad beenmade to
withstandthe highaltitudesand freezing
temperatures.Designedusingtitaniumand
tantalumtomakeitlighter,andwithaspecial
lubricantthatdoesn’tfreezeathighaltitudes,theT
Time scale
AdventurerCoryRichardstellsHarrietMaysPowellhow
aVacheronConstantinwatchhelpedhimfeelconnected
tohomewhileforginganewrouteupMountEverest