His love for the wilderness drew John Goyette ’60 to the College. As a teen in the 1950s, he trekked and skied New Hampshire’s White Mountains. Today, at the age of 79, his love for the outdoors remains strong. In April Goyette was honored by the Appalachian Mountain Club for his 13-year quest to climb, along with his partner Margie, all 48 of the state’s mountains that are higher than 4,000 feet.

Goyette battled high winds and fog during most of the 15-hour climbs. A highlight was his July 2012 trip to the top of Mount Washington, a 6,288-footer he skied as an undergraduate. He ended his quest with Mount Isolation, which he says was one of the two hardest summits to reach. The other was Mount Adams. “Twice, Margie and I were chased off Mount Adams by severe weather when the summit was in view,” Goyette says. “Had we pushed on, I would not be talking to you now.”

He sees mountain climbing as a metaphor for life. “It’s about overcoming obstacles,” he says. The New Durham, New Hampshire, resident says he also took that approach to his career as an “arts pioneer.” Since the mid-1960s, when he served as the Hopkins Center’s first general manager under inaugural director Warner Bentley, Goyette has developed arts centers in the Northeast. Now he prefers the sense of achievement—and views—of a summit. “Perhaps it’s because Margie and I are older,” he says. “We take time to savor all the beauties of our natural world.”

Illustration by Robert Neubecker