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Vincent "Vince" Richards Lee (born 7 November 1938), now retired, has served as a Marine Corps officer, founder and chief instructor of his own mountaineering school, western residential architect, Andean explorer, scholar of megalithic monuments, avocational Southwest archaeologist, and author of several books on many of those subjects.


Early life and education

Although born in Gainesville, Florida, Lee and his older brother Claude Jr. were raised in New York. His father, Claude Francis Lee, was an owner and manager of several
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movie theaters in 1930s Florida, and then manager of Paramount's newly formed East Coast public relations division in New York City. The Lees were long time friends of Claude Pepper, the redoubtable Florida Senator and Congressman of the Roosevelt and Truman years. Recognizing Claude Lee's influence, Pepper named him to his "band of brothers" who advised him at critical times in his career. Lee attended North Tarrytown High School, then selected
Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...
and entered its Regular Naval ROTC program during 1956–60, incurring a three-year obligation for military service. He elected duty with the U. S Marine Corps and went through the Officer Candidates School at
Marine Corps Base Quantico Marine Corps Base Quantico (commonly abbreviated MCB Quantico) is a United States Marine Corps installation located near Triangle, Virginia, covering nearly of southern Prince William County, Virginia, northern Stafford County, and southeaster ...
in his junior year. Enrolled in the
School of Architecture This is a list of architecture schools at colleges and universities around the world. An architecture school (also known as a school of architecture or college of architecture), is an institution specializing in architectural education. Africa ...
, he graduated in 1960 with a BA in Architecture and was commissioned a US Marine Corps 2nd Lieutenant. After Marine Officer Basic School, again at Quantico, he was assigned as an Infantry Officer in the
2nd Marine Division The 2nd Marine Division (2nd MARDIV) is a division of the United States Marine Corps, which forms the ground combat element of the II Marine Expeditionary Force (II MEF). The division is based at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina ...
,
Camp Pendleton, California Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton is the major West Coast base of the United States Marine Corps and is one of the largest Marine Corps bases in the United States. It is on the Southern California coast in San Diego County and is bordered by Oc ...
. He married Danielle (Dani) Hayn just before his transfer to Fleet duty (Mar, 1961). They soon had identical twin sons, James Scott and Jon Richard, and some years later, a third son, Christopher Tobin. They eventually divorced in 1977.


US Marine Corps service

Lee served with the
3rd Marine Division The 3rd Marine Division is a division of the United States Marine Corps based at Camp Courtney, Marine Corps Base Camp Smedley D. Butler in Okinawa, Japan. It is one of three active duty infantry divisions in the Marine Corps and together with th ...
on Okinawa, and on deployments in the Western Pacific, Philippines, South Korea and Japan. With a year remaining in his 3-year obligation, he transferred to the Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center (MWTC) in California's Sierra Nevadashttps://archive.org/details/USMarineCorpsMountainWarfareTrainingCenter1951-2001, page 73 After completing the courses, he became an Instructor/Guide in the Mountain Leadership School.https://archive.org/details/USMarineCorpsMountainWarfareTrainingCenter1951-2001, page ix. While assigned to the MWTC, Lee applied his knowledge of civilian professional mountaineering techniques to improve the school's techniques, as recounted in the Marine Corps history of the MWTC that provided a brief summary of his contributions to its mission, stating, "Over time he (Lee) skillfully modernized the syllabus of the Mountain Leadership Course by introducing the latest climbing techniques and lightweight equipment that he believed would have equal application in military mountaineering". In the same publication, the chief instructor at the center, Orlo K. Steele, a subsequent Marine 2-star General, placed him in its "list of superb mountain leaders". Lee applied for entrance to Princeton's Graduate School of Architecture, and in the Fall 1964 began his graduate studies when released from active duty.


Mountaineer

In the interval between his Marine Corp discharge and the start of graduate school at Princeton, Lee began a long association with the
Outward Bound Outward Bound (OB) is an international network of outdoor education organizations that was founded in the United Kingdom by Lawrence Holt and Kurt Hahn in 1941. Today there are organizations, called schools, in over 35 countries which are att ...
program. Starting as a mountaineering instructor at the Colorado School in Marble, where he became friends with famed Teton guide,
Paul Petzoldt Paul Kiesow Petzoldt (January 16, 1908 – October 6, 1999) was an American mountaineer and wilderness educator known for establishing the National Outdoor Leadership School in 1965. Early life and education Petzoldt was born in Creston, ...
— then teaching climbing at Maine's Hurricane Island School — and continuing during the summer between his graduate school years. Following graduation, while still involved with the startup North Carolina Outward Bound School(NCOBS), Lee became friends with its founding director, Jim (Pop) Hollandsworth, an outdoor educator at the
Asheville School Asheville School is a private, coeducational, university-preparatory boarding school in Asheville, North Carolina founded in 1900. The campus sits on amid the scenic Blue Ridge Mountains and currently enrolls 295 students in grades nine throug ...
. In 1968, Lee and Hollandsworth conducted the first of what became three seasons of Asheville School mountaineering expeditions. While maintaining his architectural practice in Jackson Hole, he developed the Asheville School program into what became 'High Country West (HCW), Wilderness Expeditions', with several three-week sessions each summer for the next 23 years, as described in his book, ''Old School''. He taught climbing skills to hundreds of beginning climbers, leading parties to nearly 500 peaks in the Rockies, Canada and overseas. As advertised in the local newspaper, HCW's expeditions offered 30-day trips varying in degree of difficulty from "mellow outing" to "strenuous".


Architect

Lee received his MFA in architecture
magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some So ...
from Princeton in 1966. His faculty thesis advisors were
Michael Graves Michael Graves (July 9, 1934 – March 12, 2015) was an American architect, designer, and educator, as well as principal of Michael Graves and Associates and Michael Graves Design Group. He was a member of The New York Five and the Memphis Grou ...
and Peter Eisenmann. For his master's thesis, he created a design for the newly formed, all-year North Carolina Outward Bound School (NCOBS) in Asheville, North Carolina. Adapting to the remote rugged building site, Lee produced a design utilizing small, lightweight structural components that easily could be assembled by the students. His unique design got very favorable "local boy makes good" news in local newspapers and the Tarrytown Daily News. Also favorably reacting to his design, the NCOBS Board hired him in fall 1966 for its construction drawings. Accepting his first architectural commission, the Lee family moved to Asheville, where Lee joined a local firm and began the detailed plans. However, the NCOBS program was downsized and the new building project fell through. In spring 1967, Dani and the kids temporarily returned home to New York while Lee headed west to the Tetons in search of a job and home for his family. Stopping at Lander, he worked a season as an instructor/guide with the new National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) led by
Paul Petzoldt Paul Kiesow Petzoldt (January 16, 1908 – October 6, 1999) was an American mountaineer and wilderness educator known for establishing the National Outdoor Leadership School in 1965. Early life and education Petzoldt was born in Creston, ...
. In the fall of 1967, reunited with Dani and family, he settled into a small log cabin in Jackson Hole to endure their first of what would be many winters at the foot of the Tetons. He found employment with a local architect designing the new
Jackson Hole Mountain Resort Jackson Hole Mountain Resort (JHMR) is a ski resort in the western United States, at Teton Village, Wyoming. In the Teton Range of the Rocky Mountains, it is located in Teton County, northwest of Jackson and due south of Grand Teton National Pa ...
. After nearly a year with this first employer, he was fired in a disagreement over time off to climb with Pop Hollandsworth's Asheville School. Not losing a stride, he soon found a position with a long-time local designer. Lee and his new boss, John Morgan, formed their own architectural design firm Design Associates, Architects (D/A), in
Wilson Wilson may refer to: People * Wilson (name) ** List of people with given name Wilson ** List of people with surname Wilson * Wilson (footballer, 1927–1998), Brazilian manager and defender * Wilson (footballer, born 1984), full name Wilson Ro ...
, a small village near Jackson. When Morgan retired, Lee became sole owner. In 1968, he bought a -acre field on which he built his first house. Lee had become an active environmentalist at the time of the first Earth Day, 1970. His activities caught the attention of Wyoming's Republican governor, Stan Hathaway, who appointed him to the state's then new Air Quality Advisory Board. He was re-appointed to three terms on the 7-seat Wyoming Environmental Quality Council by governors from both political parties. He also became the local representative of
The Nature Conservancy The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. it works via affiliates or branches in 79 countries and territories, as well as across every state in the US. Founded in 1951, The Natu ...
, served on the Jackson Hole Scenic Area Study Group, and filed briefly for County Commissioner of Teton County. He was a founding board member and 6-year chairman of the Jackson Hole Land Trust (1980–1997), When he later moved to
Cortez, Colorado Cortez () is a home rule municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Montezuma County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 8,766 at the 2020 United States Census. History In 1886, the town was built t ...
, he continued his activism as a member and 2-term chairman (2009–2013) of the Montezuma Land Conservancy, a conservation program for the
Four Corners The Four Corners is a region of the Southwestern United States consisting of the southwestern corner of Colorado, southeastern corner of Utah, northeastern corner of Arizona, and northwestern corner of New Mexico. The Four Corners area ...
region. During his more than three decades in Jackson Hole, Lee and his firm designed over 400 projects in the region, mostly custom residences. The home of one of his architectural clients was covered in the "Jackson at Home" supplement to the local newspaper, which detailed the features that appealed to its owners. Nearing retirement in 1998, Lee passed along the firm to his third son Christopher, who transformed it into a fully modern digital design studio.


Andean explorers


Vince and Nancy Lee

Six years after his 1977 divorce, Lee married a fellow Jackson Hole resident, Nancy Goodman. An early
Peace Corps The Peace Corps is an independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to provide international development assistance. It was established in March 1961 by an executive order of President John F. ...
volunteer in the high Andes of Peru and also an Outward Bound instructor in both Minnesota and British Columbia. Recalling her Peace Corps experience, conversant in Spanish, and with a smattering of
Quechua Quechua may refer to: *Quechua people, several indigenous ethnic groups in South America, especially in Peru *Quechuan languages, a Native South American language family spoken primarily in the Andes, derived from a common ancestral language **So ...
, she dreamed of returning to Peru.


Peru

On his 1979 HCW expedition into Colombia's
Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta The Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta (English: ''Snow-Covered Mountain Range of Saint Martha'') is an isolated mountain range in northern Colombia, separate from the Andes range that runs through the north of the country. Reaching an elevation of ...
, Lee fell 'under the spell of the Andes' as he wrote in ''Old School'', (Ch 13). A month among the indigenous
Kogi Kogi State is a state in the North Central region of Nigeria, bordered to the west by the states of Ekiti and Kwara, to the north by the Federal Capital Territory, to the northeast by Nasarawa State, to the northwest by Niger State, to the s ...
Indians sparked his long-dormant interest in pre-Columbian societies and his architect's fascination with buildings and construction led inevitably to yet another “career”, this time in Andean archaeology. Lee's road to his Vilcabamba discoveries began with a chance reading of the book 'Antisuyo' by the explorer
Gene Savoy Douglas Eugene "Gene" Savoy (May 11, 1927 – September 11, 2007) was an American explorer, author, religious leader, and theologian. He served as Head Bishop of the International Community of Christ, Church of the Second Advent from 1971 unti ...
about his Peruvian discoveries. Intrigued by Savoy's accounts, Lee and two Wyoming climbing friends set out in 1982 to find and climb a legendary peak mentioned by Savoy. The strange crag overlooked the extensive but unmapped ruins at nearby ''Espíritu Pampa'' (the Plain of Ghosts), visited years earlier by both Savoy and Hiram Bingham, the 'discoverer' of
Machu Picchu Machu Picchu is a 15th-century Inca citadel located in the Eastern Cordillera of southern Peru on a mountain range.UNESCO World Heritage Centre. It is located in the Machupicchu District within Urubamba Province above the Sacred Valley, which ...
. Lee and his companions spent three weeks on that first expedition, one he named SixPac Manco I for reasons explained in his 1985 book, ''Sixpac Manco''. Aided by Savoy's directions they found their way to the gigantic granite peak and made the first known ascent to its summit. Named Icma Colla (the Widowed Queen) or as Savoy spells it Iccma Ccolla, it was a sacred Inca landmark according to the local Indians. Bingham's pronouncements to the contrary, Savoy thought Espíritu Pampa the long-lost final capital of the Inca Empire. At that time, Vilcabamba was still little-known unmapped country. Subsequent extensive explorations and researches by Vince Lee in the final decades of the 20th century firmly established Vilcabamba as the last Inca capital of its
Sapa Inca The Sapa Inca (from Quechua ''Sapa Inka'' "the only Inca") was the monarch of the Inca Empire (''Tawantinsuyu''), as well as ruler of the earlier Kingdom of Cusco and the later Neo-Inca State. While the origins of the position are mythical and o ...
Tupac Amaru and to whose memory Lee dedicated his book as "a promise kept". Lee's researches, described in his book on Vilcabamba, later were applied by
Gary Urton Gary Urton (born July 7, 1946) is an American anthropologist. He was the Dumbarton Oaks Professor of Pre-Columbian Studies at Harvard University and the chair of its anthropology department between 2012 and 2019. Urton retired from Harvard in 20 ...
and Brian Bauer in their own Incan researches and explorations.


Lee's explorer methodology

The Lees traveled lightly carrying only backpacks, and thus were able to explore extensive areas of the Peruvian Andes inaccessible to pack animals and heavily laden exploration groups. His 'lean-burn' approach, as Hugh Thomson calls it, both impressed and appalled his fellow Andean explorers. Back home he turned his sketches into the detailed architectural drawings published in his book. Lee's expeditions located, explored and mapped every known archaeological site in Vilcabamba and others they discovered themselves.
John Hemming John Hemming may refer to: *John Hemming (historian) (born 1935), British explorer and author *John Hemming (politician) (born 1960), British politician See also *John Heminges, co-publisher of Shakespeare's works after his death *John Hemings Jo ...
, a former director and secretary of the
Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...
, author of ''The Conquest of the Incas'', who also wrote the foreword to Lee's book, pronounced that Lee's expeditions left "... no doubt whatsoever that Espíritu Pampa was the location of the final Inca capital...". Lee's work has been recognized by Dr. John Howland Rowe, professor of archaeology at U. C. Berkeley. Following a chance meeting in 1984, Rowe found sufficient merit in Lee's Vilcabamba work that he nominated him for membership in the Institute of Andean Studies, and became Lee's informal mentor until his death in 2004. During his tenure with the institute, Lee has given papers at 24 annual meetings and published peer-reviewed papers in ''Ñawpa Pacha'', the institute's journal. Lee's published work has been referred to by active Andean scholars of the recent decades. Kim MacQuarrie, author of ''The Last Days of the Incas'', devotes much of his final chapter and epilog to Vince and Nancy Lee's place in the story of Vilcabamba. More recently, Lee wrote Chapter 7.3: "Vilcabamba: Last Stronghold of the Inca" in the newly released Oxford University Press, ''Handbook of the Incas''.


Southwest archaeologist

The Lees retired in 1998 to the
Four Corners The Four Corners is a region of the Southwestern United States consisting of the southwestern corner of Colorado, southeastern corner of Utah, northeastern corner of Arizona, and northwestern corner of New Mexico. The Four Corners area ...
country of southwest Colorado. Surrounded by centuries-old Ancient Pueblo archaeological sites of the
Colorado Plateau The Colorado Plateau, also known as the Colorado Plateau Province, is a physiographic and desert region of the Intermontane Plateaus, roughly centered on the Four Corners region of the southwestern United States. This province covers an area of ...
, Lee became intrigued by nearby Chaco Canyon's ‘Great Houses', and compiled a treatise on the subject: ''A New Box for Chaco''. Drawing on his knowledge of both societies, he makes an intriguing case for possible equivalents between the 'Chaco Phenomenon' and the Inca Empire. In 2007, Nancy had an accident with her horse that required prolonged rehabilitation. Although that precluded any more roughing it in the Andes, on her recovery they traveled widely in Europe, the Eastern Mediterranean and in North Africa. Those were exciting and revelatory tours for Lee, who until then had ignored the Old World and concentrated his efforts on New World archaeology. Long fascinated by the massive stone structures of Peru and Easter Island, Lee became intrigued by ancient Old World societies, with their massive buildings and monuments, such as those of Rome, Egypt, Greece, and Crete. The trip inspired him to embark on a whole new field of study — megalithic building technology utilizing massive stone blocks.


Megaliths

Lee investigated techniques of design and construction that enabled ancient societies to quarry, move and erect enormous stone structures. His findings, analyses, and reconstructions are documented in his book ''Ancient Moonshots'', where he discusses those techniques and his self-published collection of monographs on the subject, ''Building Big.'' Several of his projects have been aired on the History and Discovery Channels; two were featured in NOVA television episodes. The first dealt with how the Incas managed to closely fit the huge boulders in the massive terrace walls of Sacsahuaman, the Inca “fortress” above Cuzco, Peru. Lee's proposed method first appeared in ''Ñawpa Pacha'' and has been updated in his book, ''Ancient Moonshots''. His other NOVA project, on the
Rapanui The Rapa Nui (Rapa Nui: , Spanish: ) are the Polynesians, Polynesian peoples Indigenous peoples of Oceania, indigenous to Easter Island. The easternmost Polynesian culture, the descendants of the original people of Easter Island make up about 60% ...
of
Easter Island Easter Island ( rap, Rapa Nui; es, Isla de Pascua) is an island and special territory of Chile in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeasternmost point of the Polynesian Triangle in Oceania. The island is most famous for its nearl ...
, demonstrated how the islanders plausibly could have erected their giant
moai Moai or moʻai ( ; es, moái; rap, moʻai, , statue) are monolithic human figures carved by the Rapa Nui people on Easter Island, Rapa Nui in eastern Polynesia between the years 1250 and 1500. Nearly half are still at Rano Raraku, the main mo ...
. He describes his solution to the problem of erecting El Gigante, the largest moai ever carved in the ''Rapa Nui Journal'', and in his own publication on El Gigante. Fellow Andeans; L to R: Hugh Thompson,
John Hemming John Hemming may refer to: *John Hemming (historian) (born 1935), British explorer and author *John Hemming (politician) (born 1960), British politician See also *John Heminges, co-publisher of Shakespeare's works after his death *John Hemings Jo ...
, Vince Lee, John Beauclerk in 2010, The photograph was taken in Hemming's garden in the Cotswolds. (Photo provided by Vince Lee).


Affiliations and awards

In addition to his 1985 induction into the Institute of Andean Studies, Lee has been a member since 1970 of the
American Alpine Club The American Alpine Club (AAC) is a non-profit member organization with more than 24,000 members. Its vision is to create "a united community of competent climbers and healthy climbing landscapes." The Club is housed in the American Mountaineerin ...
; a Fellow since 1990 of the New York
Explorers Club The Explorers Club is an American-based international multidisciplinary professional society with the goal of promoting scientific exploration and field study. The club was founded in New York City in 1904, and has served as a meeting point fo ...
; former research associate at the
San Diego Museum of Man The Museum of Us (formerly known as the San Diego Museum of Man) is a museum of anthropology located in Balboa Park, San Diego, California and housed in the historic landmark buildings of the California Quadrangle. History The museum traces it ...
and since 2000, a member and lecturer at the Stone Foundation in Santa Fe. As a member, he made presentations at the foundation's symposia in 2000, 2003, 2005 and 2013.


Publications

* * * * * * *


References


Further reading

* * * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Vince 1938 births Living people American male writers People from Gainesville, Florida People from New York (state) Princeton University School of Architecture alumni American explorers American architects Incan scholars American archaeologists Writers from Colorado People from Cortez, Colorado Writers from Wyoming American environmentalists United States Marine Corps officers People from Wilson, Wyoming Military personnel from Colorado