Elite Traveler Spring 2019

elite traveler SPRING 2019 67

story to the world. Introspective, philosophical and humble, Richards — who struggles with depression and mental-health issues on a daily basis — says climbing has given him the perspective of life and time. “The mountains, by virtue of their reductionism, strip you down to your absolute base humanity. They not only allow you to examine your life, they demand that of you. When you’re climbing a mountain through the night and it is 3:30 in the morning and you know the sun is not coming up for another two-and-a-half hours, it is the darkest, coldest, hardest time of any day, especially on Mt Everest. The seconds become these long, drawn- out experiments of how deep within yourself you can go in a single second to keep on going. It’s torturous, but what is fascinating is that whether or not you reach the summit, when you look back on the entire experience, you realize it passed almost more quickly than a single minute in that dark night.” Time is something Richards reflects on a lot. “Watches are my fascination. Over a period of time, your watch becomes more than something to remind you of where you need to be; it accompanies you on your journey and starts reminding you of all the things you have done in your life. It becomes an interesting wearable piece of art, of introspection.”

lessons you learn in the pursuit and how you play those lessons out in your day-to-day life to promote the betterment of yourself. That is the value of climbing mountains; it allows us to be better than what we might imagine we can be. It was only secondarily that photography entered into the creative process, as well. It was a way to engage people, to draw them in and give them some level of inspiration.” By combining photography with his climbs, he could tell a full and real

and showed me that we are all very closely related. At the end of the day, we all want the same things, which is a full belly and a roof over our heads.” According to Richards, who became passionate about photography by the age of 18, his love of the outdoors led him to climbing. “Climbing was a modality for me to exorcise some the angst and impatience, even anger, that had built up in me. The act of climbing in and of itself is completely self- indulgent. It has no real positive impact on the world aside from the

have to go back, but that I could not live with them.” Moving around, staying with friends here or there, Richards was, from time to time, homeless. “There were times that I was on the street, and I think that gave me an ingrained sense of curiosity about the human condition. My behavior was my way of trying to push back against everything and everybody around me, but at the same time, that pushback taught me a whole bunch of very profound life lessons, gave me a great deal of compassion