Photographer Page

Cory Richards

A group of local seniors gather at the Singapore Botanic Gardens for exercise. Researchers have discovered that molecules generated during exercise seem to play a role in protecting against neurodegeneration.

Experience the thrill of climbing frozen waterfalls in Alberta, an activity suitable for interested beginners, and more experienced climbers looking for a unique challenge.

A Buddhist monk practices a puja, or Buddhist devotion, in the city of Mustang, Nepal. 700 years ago, Mustang was a bustling kingdom and a center of Buddhist scholarship and art.

Angola was heavily mined during decades of civil war. Now, the goverment has partnered with conservationists to clear two national parks in the hopes of attracting wildlife and tourists. Experts with the HALO Trust, a demining organisation, painstakingly extract land mines and remotely detonate them.

The Cuito River converges with the Cubango River in southern Angola to flow into Namibia and Botswana as the Okavango River.

Two climbers crest the third step on the standard North Ridge route of Everest, elevation 28,000 feet. Climbers Cory Richards and Esteban Mena are headed to the Tibetan/Chinese side of Everest with the goal of climbing off the beaten path and without supplemental oxygen. Their intended route includes 6,500 feet of new climbing.

Climbers ascend the final snow pyramid on the North Side of Everest. The entirety of the upper North Ridge and the route that follows it can be seen in this photo. This is one potential piece of the ascent and descent that Richards and Mena have yet to decide on how to tackle. The easiest way would be to link the top of their projected line on the Northeast Face into the established route and climb on the fixed lines from 8,500 meters to the summit. Alternatively, the team could opt to try to keep their line independent for longer by traversing a piece of the North Face, finishing in the Great Couloir.

A climber ascends through windy conditions on the standard North Ridge route on Everest’s Tibetan/Chinese side. Wind is one of the primary concerns for Richards and Mena during their attempt. The team will need high pressure with little to no wind to make it to the summit via the intended route without supplemental oxygen. Because of the physiological effects of high altitude predisposing the body to decreased core temperatures, wind can be the deciding factor between failure and success.

Richards has referred to this image of climbers on the North Side as an accurate representation of how the world looks and feels above 8,000 meters without oxygen. The distortion on the right side of the frame is caused by ice crystals frozen on to the front element of the camera lens.

The first winter ascent of Gasherbrum 2 was a National Geographic expedition by Alpinist Cory Richards.