Mark Richey and Will Carey: An Enormous Rock Climb in Africa

The Cutting Edge

In July 2023, four climbers from New England—Will Carey, Taki Miyamoto, Ray Rice, and Mark Richey—completed what just might be the longest pure rock climb in Africa. Their 800-meter route climbs straight up the middle of the upper face of Chambe, a huge granite monolith in Malawi. For this episode, AAJ assistant editor Michael Levy (who climbed on Chambe himself for several weeks in July 2022) spoke with Will and Mark about their adventures. Although both climbers have done many new routes (Mark is a two-time Piolets d'Or winner for his first ascents in the Karakoram), ground-up bolting a huge, exotic rock face was an entirely new experience. The Cutting Edge is presented by Hilleberg the Tentmaker, with additional support from Bivouac Coffee. This podcast is produced by the American Alpine Club.