LES WILSON

I began climbing a long time ago. My first trip was to Mt. Katahdin in Maine. Three other Exeter students and I made the first ascent of 1949. Since then I have climbed and adventured in many parts of the World, ranging from rock climbing in Yosemite, to mountain climbing in Afghanistan and Peru, to winter ascents in Canada. I recently decided to document some of these adventures. This is a start.

My first and main interest was always mountaineering. When I moved to California I began rockclimbing in Yosemite and ski touring in the Sierra. Various climbing expeditions to Peru, Afghanistan, and Alaska followed, and a ski tour to Ellesmere Island. Shortly I took an interest in canyoneering, and made some interesting first descents in Utah. Shortly thereafter I became interested in rivers. This took the form of swimming some of the rivers in California, followed by river boarding. A descent of the Urique River in Mexico followed (Copper Canyon). Recently my wife and I led trips for the Sierra Club in Alaska and Peru. Later we made a trip to Nepal, and several to Africa, and a sailng trip to the Greek Islands.