ASIAN ALPINE E–NEWS
Issue No. 25, May 2018

Mt. Siguniang, Sichuan-China: (left) N/NW face (right) S face/SE ridge – Photos by Kenzo Okawa

CONTENTS
Legendary Maps from The Himalayan Club
Commemorating 90 years of Iconic Institution-General Editor, Harish Kapadia Page 2~5

Feature Articles – Mountaineering in Japan
Japanese Mountaineering in the Himalaya―Before and after World War II―

Kinichi Yamamori

Page 6~39

From the Japanese Alps to the Greater Ranges of the World
Winter Climbs in Home Grounds Fostered Japanese Himalayan Expeditions

Tsunemichi Ikeda

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Page 40~51

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KINICHI YAMAMORIJapanese Mountaineering in the Himalaya
Before and after World War II
Mountain climbing in Japan dates back much farther in the form of mountain worship
before modern mountaineering and alpine climbing.

A century ago, ahead of Sven Hedin, a Japanese monk, Ekai Kawaguchi, crossed theHimalaya from Nepal though Dolpo and reached Lhasa in 1901 to search and learn
Tibetan Buddhist scriptures.
In those days Japan was stepping up modernization efforts after victories in the
Sino-Japanese War (1894–1895) and the Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905). Japan was
about to be a hive of industry being prepared for development in the forthcoming 20th
century.

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In 1900, a professor at Waseda University translated “Voyage d’ une parisienne dans 1’
Himalaya occidental” narrative of a journey to Askole written by Mme. Ujfalvy-Boudon.
That was the first book on the Himalaya published in Japan.

Alpinism in the Cradle
In October, 1905, Usui Kojima, Hisayoshi Takeda and several other members firstestablished an organization called “The Japanese Alpine Club”. In the summer of 1914,
Aritsune “Yuko” Maki, a student of Keio University, went to Kamikochi and met Usui
Kojima there. Being inspired by Kojima, Maki made the Alpine Club of Keio University,
the first of the kind in Japan. A professor, K. Kanokogi, of Keio University entered theKangchenjunga Massif in 1918 and published “To the Himalaya” in 1920.
In the cradle of alpinism in Japan, university alpine clubs such as those of Keio,
Gakushuin, Waseda and Kyoto universities had played important roles. They started
winter climbing in the Japanese Alps making use of ski, and challenged harderobjectives. First ascents were made in succession and new routes on walls and ridges

2were opened in Hotakadake and Yarigatake of the Japanese Alps. In suchcircumstances, the first ascent of the East Ridge of Eiger (3,970m) in the Swiss Alps by
Yuko Maki in 1921 encouraged the development of alpinism in Japan. Maki introduced
European climbing gear and technique to Japanese mountaineers. In 1924, a rockclimbing club (RCC) of citizens was organized in Kobe. This new club had a strong
influence on non–university alpine clubs interested in harder rock climbing.

To the Himalaya

The word “alpinism” first appeared on an alpine journal of the Waseda University
Alpine Club in 1924. A young climber wrote an article on the alpinism. The university
alpine club and graduates began to shift their attention to the Himalaya from theJapanese Alps.
The Himalayan Club was established in 1927 in Calcutta. Yukio Mita, a graduate of
Keio Univ. who was stationed in India, gathered information on the foreigners’ activities
in the Himalaya, reported it to Japanese mountaineers, and advised them to beprepared for Himalayan expeditions.
After the success in the Eiger East Ridge, Aritsune “Yuko” Maki visited Isoroku
Yamamoto (later General of the Japanese Navy) at Kasumigaura Navy Air Force Base3

northeast of Tokyo so that he might study application of their oxygen masks used athigh altitudes to the Himalaya. The technology was on a higher level in Japan.
Denjiro Hasegawa went to Mt. Kailas and Nanga Parbat in 1927 and 1928. He broughtback new information and made a lecture entitled “Himalayan Journey” at theJapanese Alpine Club in 1930. It greatly appealed to the audience. In particular, Yaichi
Hotta of Rikkyo University was deeply impressed with his talk, visited Hasegawa at his
home and heard about the Himalaya for three days. Then Hotta was convinced thatexperiences in winter climbs of the Japanese Alps would enable him to scale unclimbed
peaks over 6,000m in the Himalaya. Hotta and his mates’ enthusiasm led to the first
ascent of Nanda Kot (6,867m) of Garhwal Himalaya by Rikkyo Univesity Alpine Club in
1936. All five Japanese members led by Hotta could stand atop. T. G. Longstaff, aBritish pioneer in the Himalaya, praised their challenge and choice of the good peak.
Longstaff mentioned that height and fame were not everything, and that there wereplenty of stunning peaks.
A German party assaulted Kangchenjunga in 1929, and “Im Kampf um den Himalaja”
of Paul Bauer published in 1931 inspired Kinji Imanishi and his group of Kyoto
University, and Imanishi inaugurated the Academic Alpine Club of Kyoto University(hereafter called AACK) in the same year. AACK was organized to expedite overall
activities in the Himalaya. They adopted polar method for training. The targets were
Kabru and K2, but were not realized.
After all, the outcome of Japanese’ challenges to the Himalaya before World War II wasonly Rikkyo University’s Nanda Kot in 1936, although other clubs and institutions werevery much attracted to the Himalaya and did their best. But in 1937 the Sino-Japanese
Incident broke out and in 1941 Japan entered World War II.

Epoch of the First Ascents (1952 – 1965)
World War II ceased 61 years ago. Japan accepted the Potsdam Declaration on 14th
August, 1945. Japan started reconstruction and Japanese alpine climbers, Masataka
Takagi and Jiro Taguchi came home from Europe, where they had made many ascents
including those of Matterhorn and the north face of Wetterhorn. Japanesemountaineers soon returned to their grounds. The university alpine clubs also resumed
their activities. Mountain magazines began to be published. In a few years after WorldWar II, they exceeded the pre–war level.

4The First Ascent of Manaslu (8,163m)

The outbreak of the Korean War in 1950 stepped up the reconstruction of Japanese
economy. Special procurement demands from USA were a great impetus to the rapid
growth of industry. In the same year a French party first succeeded in scaling the8,000m giant of the Himalaya, Annapurna I (8,091m).

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Japanese mountaineering circles resumed activities toward the Himalaya. In 1951,
Fukuoka Alpine Club once obtained a permit for Nanda Devi (7,816m) from the Indian
Government. But the expedition did not materialize as the permit was cancelled in1952.
1n the spring of 1952, Eizaburo Nishibori of AACK alone entered Nepal and obtained apermit to climb Manaslu. But the AACK conceded this permit to the Japanese Alpine
Club (hereafter called JAC). Then JAC sent a reconnaissance team headed by Kinji
Imanishi in the fall of the same year. In this way, Japan also participated in the first
ascent race targeted at 8,000m Himalayan giants in 1950s for the sake of nationalprestige.
JAC sent the first climbing expedition to Manaslu in 1953. Yukio Mita led a team of 13
members. A route was taken on the northeast face, and three members, viz. Kiichiro
Kato, Jiro Yamada and Shojiro Ishizaka reached a 7,750m point. Further attempt wasgiven up because of limited time. In the following year the second expedition of 14
members led by Yaichi Hotta was dispatched. But villagers of Sama on the way to BC
stopped the party. They were forced to give up climbing Manaslu, but turned to Ganesh
Himal (7,429m) east of Manaslu. In 1955, JAC sent a party to negotiate with thevillagers of Sama.
JAC had to wait three years to scale Manaslu. In 1956, the third expedition of 12
members headed by Yuko Maki employed Gyaltsen Norbu as a sarder, who stood atop
Makalu (8,463m) as a climbing Sherpa who had joined a French expedition in 1955. On
the 9th May, Toshio Imanishi and Gyaltsen Norbu left C6 (7,800m) at 06:00 andcontinued to climb in perfect fine weather with no wind. They used two liters of oxygen
per hour and reached the summit at 12:30. Imanish was 42 years old, and Gyaltsen firstbecame the summiteer of two 8,000m class peaks. On the 11th Kiichiro Kato andMinoru Higeta also stood atop.

Accomplishments of AACK (Academic Alpine Club of Kyoto University)
When we talk about Japanese activities to conquer high mountains abroad, it is no
exaggeration to say that AACK performed the most vital role by pioneering expeditions
for explorations, climbing and scientific research among the university alpine clubs. In
pre–war time AACK carried out exploratory work in remote regions of North Manchuria
and North Korea. Though AACK let JAC climb Manaslu, AACK soon looked at theAnnapurna Massif and carried out their expeditions successively. The following is a list6

of AACK’s notable challenges:
1.

[Nepal] Annapurna IV (7,525) – 1953: Challenged the northwest ridge, but defeated by fierce
winds. The party of six members was led by Toshio Imanishi.

2.

[Pakistan] Prian Sar (6,293m) – 1956: A joint expedition with Punjab University led by Kazuo
Fujita. Unsuccessful.

3.

[Pakistan] Shahan Dok (6,329m) – 1957: A joint expedition with Punjab University led by Susumu
Matsushita. Unsuccessful.

4.

[Pakistan] Chogolisa NE (7,654m) – 1958: Prof. Takeo Kuwabara was the leader of 12 members.
Masao Fujihira and Kazumasa Hirai made the first ascent of the northeast peak on the 4thAugust. When they attempted the ridge route, they found a tent left by Herman Buhl and brought
it back.

5.

[Afghanistan] Noshaq (7,492m) – 1960: Yajiro Saketo was the leader of six members. Toshiaki
Sakai and Goro Iwatsubo succeeded in the first ascent from Afghan side on the 17th August.

6.

[Pakistan] Saltoro Kangri (7,742m) – 1962: A joint expedition with Pakistan. Tsunahiko Shidei led
a party of nine members. They opened a route on the east face via the Siachen Glacier. On the
24th July Atsuo Saito and Yasuo Takamura made the first ascent after a bivouac at 7,300m.

7.

[India] Indrasan (6,211m) – 1962: Kyoto University Alpine Club (not AACK) expedition. A sevenmember party was led by Kounoshin Onodera. They took a route on the rock wall of the southwest
face and Koujiro Tomita and Yasumasa Miyaki made the first ascent on the 13th October.

8.

[Nepal] Annapurna South (7,219m) – 1964: a six member party led by Akio Higuchi approachedfrom South Glacier. On the 15th October Shoichirou Ueo and a Sherpa succeeded in the first
ascent via the central peak (7,070m).

University Alpine Clubs vs. Non-University Clubs (late 1950s – 1965)
In the initial stage of the reconstruction after World War II, foreign currency was tightly
controlled by the government, priority of allocation being given to industries promoting
exports. But there was a special foreign currency allocation for expeditions to the
Himalaya and other mountains abroad. Particularly more consideration was given to
university alpine clubs rather than those not belonging to universities.
We must pay attention to another aspect of climbing tactics (heavy supply logistic
operation by polar method) that the Manaslu expedition employed. Many expeditions
afterwards followed the Manaslu style even for attempts on 7,000m level peaks. The
following tables show the records of the first ascents in Nepal and Pakistan.

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NepalYear

Peak (height)

Ascent

Route

1959

Sharbachum (6918)

Oct. 25

South face

1960

Api (7132)

May 10Summiteers

North faceParty

S. Kitashiro, T. Terahata(Non-univ.)

2 Sherpas

Iida AC

K. Hirabayashi

Doshisha Univ.

Gyaltsen Norbu
1960

Himalchuli (7893)

May 24

1962

Big White Pk (6979) May 3

West face

H. Tanabe, M. Harada

Keio Univ.

Central ridge

T. Morita, K. Yasuhisa(Non-univ.)(Leonpo Gang)
1962

Hongde (6556)

All Japan
May 8

East face

A. Miyahara, Z. Hirayama

Nihon Univ.

2 Sherpas
1962

Nupchu (6690)

May 20South face

6 Japanese, 2 Sherpas

Osaka Furitsu U

1962

Chamlang (7319)

May 31

South face

S. Anma, Pasang Puthar III Hokkaido Univ.

1963

Numbur (6957)

May 29South face

H. Matsuo, Mingma Tshering

1963

Saipal (7031)

Oct. 21

South face

K. Hirabayashi

Chiba Univ.

Doshisha Univ.

Pasang Tapul
1964

Gyachung Kang (7952)

Apr. 10

West face

Y. Kato, K. Sakaizawa(Ngojumba Gl) Pasang Puthar IIIl
1964

Glacier Dome (7193)

Oct. 19(Tarke Kang)
1965

West face

M. Nishimura, Dorje(W Annapurna Gl)

Ngojumba Kang II (7646)

Apr. 23

West face(Non-univ.)
Nagano Pref.
(Non-univ.)
Chiba Pref.

N. Uemura, Pemba

Meiji Univ.

PakistanYear

Peak (height)

AscentRoute

Summiteers

Party

1963

Baltoro Kangri (7312)

Aug. 3

North face

S. Shima, Y. Fujimoto

Tokyo Univ.

T. Shibata, C. Khono

Many attempts, though not successful, were made in Nepal Himalaya and Karakoram
by both the university alpine clubs and non-university clubs looking for unknown andunclimbed peaks during this period:
1959 – Menlungtse (7,181m reconnaissance)
1961 – Osaka Municipal University challenged Langtang Lirun from the east side, but the leader, one
member and a Sherpa were killed in an avalanche at C3 (5,600m). That was the first accident
due to avalanche that involved a Japanese party in the Himalaya.
1963 – Twins (7,350m), Himlung Himal (7,139m now called Nemjung), P 29 (7,835m). Nalakankar

8(7,335m reconnaisannce)
1964 – Baruntse (7,220m)
1965 – Lhotse Shar (8,400m), Dhaulagiri II (7,751m), Khunyang Chhish (7,852m), Diran (7,257m)

Mountains of Hindu-Kush Highlighted (1966 – 1969)
The Japanese economy started a rapid growth after the Tokyo Olympics in 1964 and therestrictions on foreign currency were gradually eased. Those who were aiming at theHimalaya were convinced that a chance had come. But to their disappointment, the
Nepalese Government suddenly announced a strict control on mountaineering. Threeparties, namely Waseda University, for Lhotse Shar, Meiji University for Ngojumba
Kang and Aichi Pref. Mountaineering Federation for Dhaulagiri II could have a narrow
chance. Since a door to Nepal was closed, targets changed to Hindu-Kush, Andes andEurope from Nepal. In particular, many parties rushed to Hindu-Kush. 16 parties out of
the 30 expeditions which entered Hindu-Kush in 1967 were from Japan. Some of them
practiced alpine style climbing. Records are summarized below.
Hindu-KushYearPeak (height)

Ascent

1966

Kohe Bandaka (6843).

Jul. 28

5th ascent, SW ridge

K. Matsukura + 1

Tohoku Gakuin

1967

Langar Zom (7061)

Jul. 25

1st ascent

S. Yokoyama + 1

Niigata Univ.

1967

Saraghrar N (7040)

Jul. 27

2 nd ascent

S. Yokoyama + 1

Niigata Univ.

1967

Lunkho-i-Hawar (6895)

Aug. 5

1st ascent

M. Suzuki + 1(Non-univ.)

1967

Saraghrar S (7303)

Aug. 24

1st ascent, S face

Y. Sato + 1

Hitotsubashi U

1967

Udren Zom S (7050)

Aug. 11 1st ascent

K. Kurachi + 3

Hitotsubashi U

1967

Tirich Mir (7706)

Aug. 19

3 rd ascent

1968

Istor-o-Nal rock PkJul. 29

2nd ascenton west ridge (7200)
1969

Koyo Zom (6872)

Route

Summiteers

R. Kondo, K. Diemberger
K. Sato + 2

W ridgeJul. 21

3rd ascent

Party

Chiba Pref.
Japan female(Non-univ.)

S. Ogasawara + 1(Non-univ.)

Japanese parties went to every corner of Hindu-Kush. Many unclimbed peaks such as
Yajun Peak (6,024m) and Sha-i-Anjuman (6,026m) were scaled.

9Repeat Ascents and Attempts by New Route (1970s)
Five years later the Nepalese government removed the ban on climbing and the Nepal
Himalaya was reopened in 1970. In succession, the ban on Karakoram of Pakistan was
lifted in 1974. The Indian government opened Garhwal and mountains in Kashmir.
Though the Himalaya in Chinese territory was still unopened, now major areas of thegreater ranges became accessible. Mountaineers felt that the time of the Himalaya wascoming and anyone could have a chance.
Climbers with no expertise on difficult climbs tried to open new routes, but they were
bitterly defeated. As already mentioned, main climbers in 1960s were from theuniversity alpine clubs, whilst the non-university club members were less experienced
and had insufficient basic knowledge on high altitude medicine and meteorology.
Nevertheless, their strong desire drove them to the first ascent of above 7,000m peaks.
This entailed many accidents including death.

The Highest Mountain “Everest” – Hurdles to be Cleared10Mt. Everest is the most outstanding target and has a special meaning among the 14
peaks above 8,000m. Japanese alpinists, like those of other countries, had long been
aspiring to leave their footmarks on the top of Everest. But the chance did not comebecause of the ban imposed by the Nepalese government in the late 1960s. Only in 1970
JAC could secure a permit to climb Everest. JAC worked out a very ambitious scheme tofocus on opening a new climbing route on the southwest face of Everest, which had been
considered the last challenge in the Himalaya.
Large expedition team of 30 members was organized in 1970 under the leadership ofSaburo Matsukata. Members were selected not only from the university-oriented clubs
but also the non-university clubs and associations. Masatsugu Konishi, who made thethird winter ascent of the north face of Matterhorn in 1967, was recruited as a powerful
candidate. That was a unique judgment taken by JAC. Reconnaissance was made twicein the previous year. However, although the climbing party concentrated on opeing a
new route, the highest point reached on the southwest face did not exceed 8,000m. Theirexperiences led to the first ascent of the southwest face of Everest by Britain’s Chris

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Bonington’s party. It is noted that Hiroshi Nakajima, who reached 8,000m on thesouthwest face, made the information available to the British.
Even though no luck favored the Japanese team on the southwest face, Teruo Matsuura
and Naomi Uemura reached the summit via the southeast ridge on the 11th May, 1970.
That recorded the sixth ascent of Everest following Britain, Switzerland, China, USA
and India.

8,000m+ Peaks –Second Ascents and Challenging Variation Routes
A Chinese party made the first ascent of the last 8,000m peak, Xixabangma (8,027m) in
Tibet. International competition for the first ascent of 8,000m+ peaks in the Himalaya
ceased, and the climbers turned to the next targets, that is, to open more difficult newroutes than in the first ascents. The epoch-making ventures accomplished by Japanesein the 1970s are as follows..
1.

Makalu (8,463m) – Second ascent via a new route on the southeast ridge
In 1970, JAC Tokai Section organized an ambitious expedition of 18 members. The objective was
the first ascent of the unclimbed southeast ridge. On the 23 rd May, Y. Ozaki and H. Tanaka
achieved the ascent.

2.

Dhaulagiri I (8,167m) – Second ascent (first post-monsoon ascent)In 1970, Doshisha University expedition of 14 members had T. Kawada and Lhakpa Tenzing reachthe top on the 29th October via the northeast ridge.

3.

Manaslu (8,163m) – Second ascent via a new route on the northwest spur
In 1971, Tokyo Mountaineering Federation sent an expedition of 11 members. On the 16th May K.
Kohara and M. Tanaka succeeded in the first ascent on the northwest spur.

4.

Attempt on Yalung Kang (8,505m)
In 1973, AACK challenged the west peak of Kangchenjunga, which remained the highest
unclimbed peak in the massif. Eizaburo Nishibori headed an expedition of 15 members. A climbing
route was taken on the southwest face. On the 14th May T. Matsuda and Y. Ageta reached themain ridge. They continued to climb in fog and snowstorm and judged that the point they reached
was the summit. On the following day Matsuda fell and was lost. AACK announced the two
members reached the summit. However, a question arose. When a party of the Himalayan
Association of Japan (hereafter called HAJ) stood atop in the finest weather in 1981, HAJ

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members noticed that the scenery from the top of the peak was different from AACK’s description.

5.

Everest – First post-monsoon ascent
In 1973, RCC II party of 41 members again challenged the Everest southwest face but gave up at
8,380m. On the 26th October, H. Ishiguro and Y. Kato made the first ascent via the southeast
ridge in post-monsoon season.

6.

Females’ first ascent of above 8,000m peak – Manaslu (8,163m)
In 1974, a female team called Jungfrau Club sent an expedition to Manaslu. They first attacked
the east ridge, but gave up at 6,000m and then turned to the JAC route. On the 4th May, N.
Nakaseko, M. Uchida and M. Mori succeeded in the ascent of the peak, the first on record. On thefollowing day S. Suzuki attacked the summit but was lost.

7.

Female’s first ascent of Everest
In 1975, Female Climbing Club sent an expedition of 15 members to Everest. On the 16th May,
Junko Tabei recorded the female’s first ascent in the world of Everest via the southeast ridge. Ang
Tshering accompanied her to the top.

8.

K2 (8,611m) – Second ascent
In 1977, the Japanese Mountaineering Association (hereafter called JMA) organized a powerfulnational team to assault K2. On the 8th August, T. Shigehiro, S. Nakamura and T. Takatsuka
succeeded in the second ascent of K2 via the southeast ridge. On the following day three moremembers reached the top.

9.

Broad Peak M (8,051m) – Second ascent
In 1977, Aichi Gakuin University Alpine Club sent an expedition of 13 members. On the 8th
August, Y. Tsuji, K. Noro and T. Ozaki made the second ascent via the west ridge, on which was aroute of the first ascent.

10. Dhaulagiri I – First ascent of south pillar
In 1978, Yeti Club challenged the south face. On the 10th May, T. Shigeno and T. Kobayashi firstcompleted the ascent via the south pillar. On the following day, four others traced the same line.

11. Dhaulagiri I – First ascent of southeast ridge
In 1978, a party of 18 members from Gunma Pref. Mountaineering Federation lost three membersby avalanche near 6,500m. They were swept down on the south face and were lost. On the 19th

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October, however, T. Miyazaki, A. Ube and H. Tani succeeded in the first ascent of the southeast
ridge. On the 20th the climbing leader, K. Kogure died, but on the 21st N. Yamada and S. Suzuki
took over.

12. K2 – First ascent of west ridge
It was one of the most remarkable ascents performed by Waseda University Alpine Club. In thesummer of 1981, a twelve member expedition to K2 focused their target on the unclimbed west
ridge. They first climbed the west face, and then moved to the SSW ridge. After having bivouacked
on the ridge, E. Ohotani and Nazir Sabir from Hunza succeeded in the first ascent of the west
ridge. They reached the summit simultaneously hand in hand together. That is a good episode.

13. Annapurna I (8,091m) – New route on south face
In 1981, a 13 member expedition of Yeti Club opened a new route on the south face. On the 31st
October, Y. Yanagisawa and H. Aota completed the ascent. A second assault was given up. While
descending K. Kato fell at 8,000m and was lost.

14. Dhaulagiri I – First ascent of northwest ridge
In 1982, Kamoshika Club challenged the unclimbed “Pear route” that had refused nine parties.
The expedition had 18 members and they took advantage of oxygen supply to the maximum extent.
On the 18th October, N. Yamada, Y. Saito and K. Komatsu succeeded in the first ascent.

7,000m+ Peaks – First Ascents and Opening New Routes
The first ascent of 7,000m peaks (including some 6,000m peaks) and the first ascent of
new route on 7,000m peaks in this time are summarized in the following tables:First Ascent of above 7,000m Peaks in Nepal
Year

Mountain (height)

Climbing party

1969

Gurja Himal (7,193m)

Toyama Pref. party

1970

Ngadichuli (7,871m

Osaka University

1971

Churen Himal (7,371m)

Shizuoka University

1975

Dhaulagiri IV (7,661m)

Osaka Mountaineering Fed.

1975

Dhaulagiri V (7,618m)

Okayama University

1977

Nuptse NW (7,742m)

Tohokeiryu Club1978

Ganesh Himal IV (7,052m

1978

Himalchuli W (7,540m)

P 29)

Pabir)JWAF & Nepal
Snow & Rock Club

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1978

Langtang Lirun (7,234m)

Osaka Municipl University

1978

Nilgiri S (6,839m)

Shinshu University

1979

Ganesh Himal III (7,110m Salasungo)

Okayama University & Nepal

1979

Nilgiri Central (6,940n)

Matsuyama University

Note: JWAF=Japan Workers’ Alpine Federation

First Ascent of above 7,000m Peaks in Pakistan
Year

Mountain (height)

Climbing party

1971

Saraghrar SW (7,184m)

Shizuoka Climbing Club1972

Chongra Peak (6,824m)

Ganpo-Tokokai Club1974

Thui I (6,660m)

Unpyou Alpine Club

1975

Kampire Dior (7,143m)

Hiroshima Alpine Club1975

Malubiting Central (7,260m)

JAC Iwate Section

1975

Teram Kangri I & II (7,464m & 7,407m)

Shizuoka University

1975

K12 (7,469m)

Ichikawa Alpine Club

[Kyoto University announced that they had made the first ascent of K12 in 1974]
1976

Singhi Kangri (7,202m)

Tohoku University

1976

Sherpi Kangri (7,303m)

Kobe University[They did not climb a rock projection (the highest point) on the summit.].
1976

Skyan Kangri (7,357m)

Gakushuin University

1976

Apsarasas I (7,245m)

Osaka University

1977

Biale (6,729m)

Matsuyama University

1977

Tafu Rutum (6,651m)

Osaka Climbing Club1978

Pasu E (7,295m)

Japan Defense University

1978

Batura IV (7,594m)

HAJ

1979

Khunyang Chhish N (7,108m)

Hokkaido University

1979

Pumari Chhish (7,492m)

Hokkaido Mountaineering F.

1979

Latok I (7,145m)

Kyoto Karakoram Club1979

Latok III (6,949m)

Hiroshima Alpine Club1979

Teram Kangri III (7,382m)

Hirosaki University

1979

Lupghar Sar Central (7,200m)

Hosei University

1979

Skamri (6,763m)

Yokohama Alpine ClubFirst Ascent of 7,000m–class Peaks in India

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Year

Mountain (height)

Climbing party

1975

Kalanka (6,931m)

Kamiichi Housou Club

1975

Rishi Pahar (6,992m)

HAJ

1975

Saf Minal (6,911m)

HAJ

New Challenge on Climbed above 7,000m Peaks
Area

Year

Mountain (height)

New challenge

Climbing party

Nepal

1979

Dhaulagiri II-III-V

Traverse from both sides

Kamoshika Club

(7,751-7,715-7,618m)
Pakistan 1979

Rakaposhi (7,788m)

First ascent of N ridge

Waseda Univeusity

India

1975

Dunagiri (7,066m)

First ascent of N ridge

JAC

India

1976

Nanda Devi E – W

Traverse from E to W

JAC/India(7,434-7,816m)
India

1976

Changabang (6,864m)

First ascent of SW pillar

Group de Corde

Nepal

1976

Jannu (7,710m)

First ascent of N face

Sangaku DoshikaiFirst ascent of S ridge

HAJ(Kumbhakarna)
India

1978

Trisul I (7,120m)

Seeking for New Climbing Styles (1980 – 1989)
The age of high economic growth continued and young people asserting “individualism”
rapidly increased. They were no longer satisfied with the well-organized but strongly
disciplined ways of traditional mountaineering clubs and organizations. Thus, in the
1980s a change occurred in the minds of climbers. They wanted to go to mountains toenjoy climbing freely in a small group.
As a result, the university alpine clubs and established non-university clubs gradually
declined and lost their influence. However, the newly-made small clubs soon realizedthat they could not exceed the potentials of the clubs and associations of long standing.
It did not take time before the small groups had disappeared because of lack ofexperience and ability. The importance of leadership and membership in an
organization was recognized as a vital issue to in a group activity for mountaineering.
That was a serious problem which faced Japanese mountaineering at this period.
In another aspect, however, a new movement was growing among aggressive climbers
inspired by younger generations. They desired to look back on the principles of climbing
and mountaineering. They sought for new climbing styles.

161. Free rock climbing
2. Alpine style climbing on high peaks
3. No oxygen-mask climbing over 8,500m
4. Winter ascent of 8,000m+ peaks
5. Sherpa (HAP)-less climbing
6. Solo climbing
The results that they accomplished are summarized as follows.
Alpine Style Climbing
1.

Dhaulagiri I:

H. Kamuro of High Altitude Research Institute soloed the northeast ridge to thesummit on the 2nd June, 1981.
2.

Masherbrum:

T. Minamimura and M. Nomura of Kyoto Climbers Club ascended the southwest

ridge on the 17th August, 1983.
3.

Broad Peak:

S. Wada, T. Shigehiro and four other members of Kansai Karakoram expedition

ascended the normal route by alpine style on the 12th August, 1985.
4.

Manaslu:

N. Yamada and Y. Saito of Kamoshika Club reached the top via the northeast face on

the 16th December, 1985. Yamada recorded ascents of K2, Everest and Manaslu in that year.
5.

Cho Oyu and Xixabangma: N. Yamada, T. Saegusa, O. Shimizu and A. Yamamoto of HAJ climbed
Cho Oyu via the northwest face on the 6th November 1988. Yamada, Saegusa and Yamamoto had
climbed Xixabangma on the 24th October.

No oxygen-mask Climbs
1.

Kangchenjunga Main Peak:

Seven members of Sangaku-Doshikai led by M. Konishi headed forthe mountain in 1980. R. Fukada, N. Sakasita, S. Kawamura and S. Suzuki made a nooxygen-mask first ascent of the main peak (8,586m) on the 15th May. But they used HAP. Twoother members stood atop on the 17th.
2.

Qogori (K2):

A powerful team of the Japan Mountaineering Association challenged a new routeon the north ridge with no oxygen-mask from the Chinese side in 1982. N. Sakashita, H.
Yanagisawa and H. Yoshino completed the first ascent on the 14th May. On the return way, theybivouacked, but Yanagisawa fell and was lost at 8,000m. On the following day, five other members
reached the top.
3.

Makalu:K. Yuda, M. Ishibashi and Y. Michiwaki of Sangaku-Doshikai succeeded in the no17

oxygen-mask ascent via the northwest ridge on the 30th September, 1982.
4.

Everest:In 1983, S. Suzuki and H. Kawamura of Sangaku-Doshikai and H. Endo, H. Yoshinoand H. Kamuro of Yeti Club succeeded in the no oxygen-mask ascent via the southeast ridge on
the 8th October. On the descent they bivouacked, but Yoshino and Kamuro fell to death from a colof the south peak.
5.

Broad Peak:

S. Wada, T. Shigehiro and four other members ascended the normal route by alpine

style on the 12th August, 1985.
6.

K2 to Everest – continuous climbs:

N. Yamada, who joined the HAJ K2 expedition, reached thesummit via the southeast ridge with no oxygen use on the 24th July, 1985. In succession, Yamada
climbed Everest via the southeast ridge with no oxygen-mask on the 30th October.

Winter Ascent
1.

Dhaulagiri I:

Hokkaido University expedition of 13 members challenged the first winter ascent.

A. Koizumi and Nima Wongchu succeeded in the ascent on the 13th December, 1982. But they had
already set up s depot-camp at the northeast col in October.
2.

Manaslu:

Three of the 10 members of a HAJ party reached 7,650m from the northeast side on

the 18th December, 1982, but were defeated by a strong wind. On the descent T. Sakuma fell andwas lost.
3.

Everest: Y. Kato of Yeti Club made the second winter solo ascent via the southeast ridge on the
29 December, 1982. On the descent he bivouacked at the south peak together with T. Kobayashi
but was lost on the 30th. Kato had made the first post-monsoon ascent in 1973 and a solo ascent
via the north ridge in 1980.

4.

Everest:Kamoshika Club sent a 10 member expedition in 1983. N. Yamada, T. Ozaki, K.

Murakami and Nawang Yondeng made the third winder ascent via the southeast ridge on the 16th
December.
5.

Makalu:N. Yamada and Y. Saito reached 7,500m on the southeast ridge by alpine style on the

14th December in 1986, but gave up further climbing due to strong wind.
6.

Annapurna I:

In 1987, Gunma Pref. Mountaineering Federation sent 14 members expedition to

the south face British Route for the first winter ascent. N. Yamada, Y. Saito, T. Saegusa and T.
Kobayashi completed the ascent on the 20th December. On the descent Kabayashi slipped to deathand Saito also fell and was lost before the final camp. That challenge was a revenge for a failure in
1984.

The 1980s was the age of abundant successes in the Himalaya. Many outstanding andnotable climbs worthy of attention were achieved by Japanese as shown in the following

18

tables (the asterisk indicates the first ascent of a peak and no mark represents the first
ascent of a newly opened route, but not the peak itself).

Nepal
Year

Mountain (Height)

AscentRoute & Notes

Climbers

Party

1980

Langtang Lirun (7234)

Oct 26

1st ascent, SE ridge

I. Ohtsuka + 5

F.C.C

1981

Langtang Ri (7205)

Oct. 10＊1st ascent, SW ridge

N. Yamada + 5

HAJ

1981

Ganesh Himal II (7111)

Oct. 16

1st ascent, NE-N ridge

N. Kuwabara + 4

Kyushu D U（The Japanese party stood atop 30 minutes later than a
German party led by Hermann Warth.）
1981

Dorje Lakpa (6989)

Oct. 18＊1st ascent, W ridge

K. Kataoka + 4

Hosei Univ./
Nepal

1983

Nemjung (7139)

Oct. 27＊1st ascent, SE ridge

W. Saito + 2

Hirosaki(formerly called as Himlung Himal)
1984

Kangchenjunga

Univ./Nepal

May 18

1st traverse: S to C

T. Shigehiro + 2

JAC

Oct. 26

1st ascent of S ridge

K. Furuno + 3

Nihon Univ.

S (8476) – C (8482)
1986

Himalchuli E (7893)

PakistanYear

Mountain (Height)

1980

Yutmaru Sar (7330)

AscentJul. 22

Route & Notes

Climbers＊1st ascent, N ridge

T. Sugimoto + 1

Party

Tokyo Shigakukai(Did not stand atop rock tower on the summit.)
1981

Kanjut Sar (7760)

Aug. 4

1st ascent, W face

H. Sakai + 1

Chiba I. Tech. U

1982

Hachindar Chhish (6860) Aug. 4＊1st ascent, E face

K. Yoshida + 6

Kanazawa U

1984

Ultar I (7329)

Jul. 28＊1st ascent, SW ridge

M. Nagoshi + 2

Hiroshima AC

1984

K7 (6934)

Aug. 8＊1st ascent, SW ridge

E. Mitani + 2

Tokyo Univ.

1985

Masherbrum (7821)

Jul. 23

1st ascent, NW face

S. Wada + 9

Kansai group

1986

Gasherburm I (8068)

Aug. 2

1st ascent, couloir

O. Shimizu + 1

Tohokeiryukai

route on N ridge (now called as Japanese Couloir)

Mountains in China and East Karakoram – Shining 80s
In the 1980s expeditions from abroad rushed to the Himalaya. The greater ranges in
Asia became grounds for international competition. It started with an announcement by
the Nepalese Government to open “Trekking Peaks” to foreign visitors in 1978.

19

The mountains in China were opened in 1980 (a word “Chinese Himalaya” is usedhereafter for convenience). Three-quarters of a century rewrote Chinese history. A

wave of reform in China transformed the remotest borderlands in West China. The
open-door policy carried out by Deng Xiao-ping since 1980 has enabled foreign
climbers to gain access to the unknown Greater Ranges in Tibet, Qinghai and
Xinjiang. Currently the West China Development Plan is being promoted as far as
the most isolated frontier. But the less-frequented Tibetan rural areas are sufferingfrom rapid social and economic changes which affect their life styles.
The Gangotri Massif of the Indian Himalaya was opened in the same year. In 1983, theban on the Bhutanese Himalaya was lifted. In the summer of 1983, the Nepalese
Government widely changed the names of peaks and further removed the ban on manypeaks. In 1984, East Karakoram of the Indian Himalaya was conditionally opened.
International camp festivals were held in Russian Pamir and Tian Shan mountains in
1989.
A new horizon now appeared within easy reach of every climber. Chance came to those
who had long desired to visit previously forbidden lands in the far-flung border regions
and enjoy climbing freely in their own styles. In other words, the 1980s was when the
Himalaya was being popularized.

Japanese Records in the Chinese Himalaya
Two most memorable achievements on Qomolangma
A permit on Qomolangma to foreigners was first issued to JAC. In 1980, JAC sent alarge expedition of 26 members headed by Hyoriki Watanabe. On the 3rd May, Y. Kato
successfully made the 3rd ascent of the north ridge alone though it was in an irregularstyle. On the 10th T. Shigehiro and T. Ozaki took a new route on the lower wall of thenorthwest face and entered a couloir, and then succeeded in the first ascent of the lower
part of the northwest face. At 7,900m on the northwest face A. Ube was killed in anavalanche. In the previous year, three Chinese supporters for reconnaissance had also
been lost in an avalanche.
In 1988, a three country friendship joint venture of Japan (JAC), China and Nepal was
conducted. The objective was cross-climbing over Qomolangma, from China (Tibet) to
Nepal and from Nepal to China. N. Yamada ascended the north ridge from China anddescended the southeast ridge down to Nepal.
Apart from Qomolangma, many first ascents, remarkable challenges on new routes and20

winter ascents were recorded in China as shown in the following tables.

Fist AscentYear Mountain (Height)

AscentRoutesArea

Summiteers

Party

1981

Kangboqen (7281)

Apr. 21

E faceTibet

R. Morimoto + 7

AACK

1981

Anemaqin I (6282)

May 22

S faceQinghai

Y. Yamamoto + 2

Joetsu AC

1981

Siguniang (6250)

Jul. 28

SE ridge

SichuanY. Suita + 1

Doshisha Univ.

1982

Porong R. (7292)

May 17

NE ridge

Tibet

Y. Eto + 1

Oita Pref. M F

1985Naimona’nyi (7694)

May 25W face-W ridge Tibet

T. Wada + 7

Kyoto/Doshisha

1985

Geladaindong (6621)

Aug. 19

N faceQinghai

S. Kurachi + 4

QTPG/Kyoto

1986

Khula Kangri I (7538) Apr. 21

W ridgeTibet

T. Itani + 3

Kobe Univ.

1986

Nyainqentanglha (7162) May 8

W ridge

Tibet

1986

Kunlun (7167)

Aug 16

E ridge

Xingjiang S. Kobayashi + 4

Tokyo Agr. U

1986

Cyo Aui (7354)

Oct. 12

W ridgeTibet

Y. Endo + 3

HAJ

1986

Karajiang N (7216)

Oct. 14

W ridgeTibet

H. Iwasaki + 2

HAJ

1986

Gyala Peri (7294)

Oct. 31

S ridgeTibet

Y. Ogata + 2

HAJ

1987

Lapche Kang (7367)

Oct. 24

W face-W ridge Tibet

O. Tanabe + 7

HAJ/China

1988

Kanggardo (7055)

Mar. 24

NW ridge

Tibet

1988

Genyen (6204)

Jun. 11

S ridge

Sichuan

K. Tobita + 2

HAJ

1988

Unnamed Kunlun (6903) Aug. 22

S-W face

Xingjiang

N. Mohri

AACK

1988

Chakragil (6687)

Sep. 1

SW ridge

Tibet

M. Hirano + 2

Meiji Gakuin

1989

Sicuang Ri (7308)

Apr. 21

W ridgeTibet

N. Okuda + 1

Osaka City U

H. Naganuma + 2 Tohoku Univ.

T. Miyazaki + 1 Doshisha Univ.

There were some notable ascents and attempts though they were not the first ascents.
1.

Xixabangma Main Peak:

Junko Tabei of Female Climbing Club made the 3rd ascent on 30th

April, 1981.
2.

Qomolangma:

Kamoshika Club challenged the winter ascent of the northwest face. Y. Ohkura

and K. Kondo reached 8,450m but returned because of bad weather, on 15th December, 1985.
3.

Cho Oyu:

The first permit to foreigners was given to Kamoshika Club. A. Hayakawa and K.

Kondo reached the summit via the WNW ridge. All the previous ascents of the WNW ridge wereillegal, as they entered Tibetan side crossing the Nampa La with no permit from China, though
they had a permit of the Nepalese Government.
4.

Kongur (7,719m):

T. Sudo, C. Yoshimura and seven other members of Kyoto Karakoram Club

made the first ascent of the north face on 11th July, 1989.
5.

Ulugh Muztag (6,973m):

Y. Fujie and five other members of the joint expedition of Rissho

21University and Xinjiang University made the second ascent via the south face on 31 th August,1989. That was the first ascent by foreigners.

The Indian Himalaya and Bhutanese Himalaya
The asterisk indicates the first ascent and no mark represents the first ascent of a
newly-opened route but not the peak itself. Among them, the first ascent of Mamostong
Kangri (7,526m) and Rimo I (7,385m) in East Karakoram and attempt on the central
ridge of the west face of Gankarpunzum (7,590m), which was the unclimbed highest
peak on the Bhutan-China border, were the most noteworthy.

India
Year

Mountain (Height)

AscentRoute & Notes

Climbers

Party

1980

Bhagirathi I (6856)

Sep. 29＊1st ascent, SE ridge

K. Kanazawa + 2

JWAF Kagawa

1980

Kharchakund (6632)

May 29＊1st ascent, N ridge

T. Hashimoto +1

Torei Club1980

Meru (6672)

Oct. 10＊1st ascent, SW ridge

T. Takahashi + 1

Toyo Univ.

1980

Shivling (6543)

Sep. 4

M. Yamamoto + 2

Tokyo Univ.

1st ascent
N ridge – NW face1981

Kun (7077)

Jul. 5

1st ascent, W face

K. Kondo + 1(Private)

1983

Satopanth W (7045)

May 22＊1st ascent, NW ridge

A. Suzuki + 2(Private)

1983

Shivling (6543)

Sep. 9

1st ascent, S ridge

K. Ohhama + 2

Basarashu

1984

Mamostong Kangri (7526) Sep. 13＊1st ascent, NE ridge

N. Yamada + 4

HAJ/IMF

1985

Saser Kangri II W (7518) Sep. 7＊1st ascent, NW ridge

2 Indian members

HAJ/IMF

1988

Rimo I (7385)＊1st ascent

Y. Ogata + 3

HAJ/ITBPS. Nazuka + 2

HAJ/ITBP

Jul. 28

S face – SW ridge
1991

Kangchenjunga (8586)

May 24

3rd ascent, NE ridgeby foreigners

BhutanYear

Mountain (Height)

AscentRoute & Notes

Climbers

Party

1984

Jitch Drake (6809)

May 20

1st ascent, E ridge

K. Yagihara + 4

HAJ

Y. Ogata + 1

HAJ

G. Hitomi + 3

AACK

to South Peak
1985

Gankarpunzum (7590)

Sep. 30

Reached 6800m
C ridge on W face

1985

Masa Kang (6800)

Oct 13＊1st ascent, N face

The height was changed from 7200m to 6800m.

22International Camps in the Soviet Union
Participants attending the International Camp held in the Pamir range of the Soviet
Union increased in the 1980s. The event attracted many climbers from overseas as it
was held in summer, and they ascended 7,000m peaks in a short period, and the rescue
system was well arranged. Later on in 1989, the International Camp spread to otherfields and was held in Tian Shan Mountains too. However, the collapse of the Soviet
Union caused a political uncertainty in neighboring county including Tadzikistan, andclimbers had to be careful about what was happening in these regions.
A title “Snow Leopard” is given to those climbers who ascended the five summits: Ismoil
Somoni (Kommunizma 7,495m), Korzhenevskoi (7,105m), Lenina (7,134m) in Pamir
and Pobeda (7,439m), Khan-Tengri (7,010m) in Tien Shan. Four Japanese: Kazuyoshi
Kondo, Masaki Hayashi, Yukihiko Shinagawa and Junko Tabei won the title.

23

Increase in Senior Trekkers and Diversification of Himalayan
Climbing (1990s – )In the 1980s the average life span of Japanese had become significantly long. The
population of middle and senior generations (over 40 years) became larger. Their living
standard eminently improved, with more time and money to spare for individual
hobbies. Notwithstanding the economic recession in the 1990s, the middle-aged andsenior trekkers with less experience in climbing began to throng in the mountains.
Outdoor sports were also booming.

Commercial Expedition and Excursion to High Altitudes
The expedition leader, Max Eiselin, of the first ascent of Dhaulagiri I in 1960, organized
a commercial expedition in 1980 in commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the first
ascent, and successfully guided 14 people to the top of Dhaulagiri I. That opened the ageof commercial expeditions to the Himalaya. The field spread from Nepal (Manaslu) to
Karakoram (Gasherbrum I & II, Broad Peak) and then to Tibet (Cho Oyu, Xixabangma) ,and finally reached to Everest/Qomolangma. The clients have mostly attracted tomountains of great renown.
The most important role in the commercial expeditions is performed by Sherpas. In
place of professional guides, Sherpa often accompanied the clients to the summit. Thus
Sherpas accumulated experiences and climbing know-how, ensuring the safety of theclients. After the mid 1990s Japanese began to participate in the commercial
expeditions.
I call such climbing “Excursion to High Altitudes”, since all the critical paths ofobtaining a permit, transport and logistics, root opening operation, setting up highcamps and climbing are left to the company and their guides.
Popularization of “Excursion to High Altitudes” to 8,000m-level peaks is reflected in
fatality rate in the Himalaya. 2,986 people died from 1952 to 1989, whilst 1,685 people
died during the 1990s. A close analysis of fatal accident reveals that the decrease in the
fatalities is partly due to higher levels of technical expertise, knowledge andexperiences on the part of individual climbers but largely because trekkers of“Excursion to High Altitudes” had increased in proportion.
However, despite of commercial expeditions and excursions to high altitude, Japanesealpine climbers continued their challenges in the greater ranges even in the economic

24difficulties from the 1990s to the advent of the 21st century.

First Ascents 1990 – 2004
The first ascent of Namcha Barwa (7,782m) on the eastern rim of the Himalaya, which
had long remained a veiled mountain embraced by the forbidden Tsanpo Great Bend in
Eastern Tibet till China opened the door to foreigners in 1980, must be most remarkablein the chronicle of the 1990s. This may be called the last major achievement by
Japanese in the greater range. The other notable first ascents are tabled below.
Year

Area

Mountain (Height)

AscentRoute

Summiteers

1992

China

Xinqin (6860)

May 18

SW ridge

T. Masuda + 1

1992

China

Namcha Barwa (7782)

Oct. 30

S face-S ridge

1992

Nepal

Himlung Himal (7126) Oct. 3

Party
HAJ

A. Yamamoto + 10 JAC/China

NW ridge

A. Koizumi + 1

Hokkaido Univ.

1993 India

Pyramid Pk M (7123)

Apr. 24

via NE Peak

H. Iwasaki + 6

HAJ/ITBP

1993

Crown (7295)

Jul. 22E faceK. Tokushima + 2

JAC TokaiAug. 6

SW faceN. Yamamoto + 1

Hiroshima AC

China

Karakoram
1993 India

Aq Tash (7016)
East Karakoram

1994

China

Chiring (7038)

ITBP
Jul. 19

E face-S ridge

H. Yoshida + 2

Gifu Univ.

Oct. 7

W ridgeO. Tanabe + 5

Shinshu Univ.

Karakoram
1994

Nepal

Gyajikang (7038)

Nepal Police
1994 India

Twins (7350)

Oct. 31

via E Peak

Sikkim

I. Takashima + 1

Japan-Sikkim(Died on descent)1995 India

Mana NW (7092)

Aug. 18

via Kamet Gl

M. Suzuki + 3

Yamagata/ITBP

1996

Ratnachuli (7035)

Oct. 14

S face-W ridge

O. Tanabe + 3

Shinshu Univ.

Nepal

Nepal Police
1996

Pakistan

Utar II (7388)

Jul. 11

SW ridge

1999

China

Liangkang Kangri (7535) May 5

Yamasaki + 1

JAC Tokai

N ridge

K. Suzuki + 4(Private)

SW ridge

N. Ohta + 2

Sendai H. S.

Tibet
1999

PakistanKoz Sar (6677)

2001

China

Khula Kangri II (7418) May 2

NW ridge

A. Kawamura + 4

Tokai Univ.

Khula Kangri III (7381) May 4

NW ridge

G. Sasao + 8

Tokai Univ.

S ridge

H. Sakai + 1

JAC/Bombay

2002 India

Padmanabh (7,030)

Aug. 17

Jun. 25

East Karakoram

25

2002

China

Kaqur-Kangri (6859)

Sep. 24

E faceT. Wada + 7

Doshisha Univ.

Tibet
2002

Nepal

Tengi Ragi Tau (6943) Dec. 4

SE faceK. Ezaki + 3

Hokkaido M. F.

2003

Nepal

Hungchi (7029)

Apr. 19

SW ridge

K. Shimizu + 6

Osaka Eiho C

2004

Nepal

Chhiv Himal (6650)

Sep. 18

NW ridge

K. Kato + 3

JAC Students

New Routes Climbed 1990 – 2004
The highlight was the first complete ascent of the long and massive northeast ridge of
Qomolangma (Everest) accomplished by Nihon University Alpine Club in 1995.
Year

Area

Mountain (Height)

AscentRoute

Summiteers

Party

1990

China

Qogir (K2 8611)

Aug. 8Lower NW face

S. Nazuka + 1

Yokohama M. A.

1991

Pakistan

Trivor (7728)

Aug. 30

NE ridge

T. Ohnuki + 1

Waseda Univ.

1992

China

Siguniang (6250)

Jul. 24

S faceK. Kodera + 1

Hiroshima AC

1993

China

Chomo Lonzo (7816)

Aug. 8NW face-W ridge

H. Takeishi + 1

Rikyo Univ.

1995

China

Qomolangma (8848)

May 11

NE ridge

K. Furuno + 1

Nihon Univ.

1995

China

Makalu (8463)

May 21

Lower E ridge

O. Tanabe + 3

JAC

1995

Nepal

Givigela (7350 Twins) Oct. 16

W faceT. Tanigawa + 10 Tokyo Agr. U

1996

Pakistan

Ultar II (7388)

Jul. 31

S ridge

K. Takahashi + 5

Kathmandu C

1977

Pakistan

K2 (8611)

Jul. 19

Upper W face

O. Tanabe + 2

JAC Tokai

1999

China

Naimona’ nyi (7694)

Oct. 25

N face (Alpine S) H. Iwasaki + 2

HAJ

Ultimate Challenges of Winter Ascents on the Big Wall – Everest & Lhotse
In 1993, Gunma Pref. Mountaineering Federation organized a powerful team of nine
members led by K. Yagihara to attempt the first winter ascent of the Everest southwest
face. On the 18th December, H. Nazuka and F. Goto succeeded in the first ascent. They
took a route from the southwest face to the southeast ridge. On the 20th O. Tanabe andS. Ezuka, and on the 22nd, Y. Ogata and R. Hoshino completed the ascent successively.
JAC Tokai Section challenged twice the Lhotse south face in winter. In December 2001,
a party headed by O. Tanabe reached 7,600m. In 2003 Tanabe again led an expedition of
six members and they almost perfected an ascent, only 250m being left. Tanabe andKitamura reached 8250m, leaving BC on the 18th December, but due to bad weather
and high risk of avalanches they had to retreat. JAC Tokai Section will send a team led
by Tanabe to the Lhotse south face in the winter of 2006 – 2007.

26

Notable Solo Climbs 1990 – 2004 (Yasushi Yamanoi and follower)

Year

Area

Mountain (Height)

AscentRoute

Climber

Notes

1992

Nepal

Ama Dablam (6812)

Dec. 7

W faceY. Yamanoi

1st winter solo ascent

1994

China

Cho Oyu (8201)

Sep. 23

SW faceY. Yamanoi

1st solo ascent by new route

1996

Pakistan

K2 (8611)

Jul. 29

SE ridge

M. Todaka

No oxygen-mask solo ascent

2000

Pakistan

K2 (8611)

Jul. 30

SSE rib

Y. Yamanoi

No oxygen-mask solo ascent

2003

China

Gyachung Kang (7952) Oct. 8

N faceY. Yamanoi

1st solo ascent

Own Style and Light Expeditions 1990 – 2004
Climbing styles became diversified and alpinists sought for and enjoyed their own styles.
Variety is seen in the following table.

Year

Area

Mountain (Height) AscentRoute & Notes

Climber

Party

1991

Nepal

Makalu (8463)

NW face, female

T. Nagao + 1

Bernina C

Oct. 7

No oxygen-mask ascent (partner died at 8,000m)
1994

China

Cho Oyu (8201)

Sep. 25

SW face, alpine style

T. Yamanoi + 1(Private)

2nd ascent of Swiss-Polish route
1995

Pakistan

Broad Peak N

Jul. 19(7543) C (8008) M (8051)
1996

Pakistan

Ultar II (7388)

Jul. 11

2002

Nepal

Lhotse (8516)

2004

Nepal

Annapurna I (8091) May 29

2004

Pakistan

K2 (8611)

Oct. 8Aug. 7

Traverse N-C-M peaks

M. Todaka + 2

FOS

alpine style
1st ascent by alpine style

A. Yamasaki + 1

via W face-SW ridge(Yamazaki died at ABC)

No oxygen-mask ascent, W face
Alpine style, N face

JAC Tokai

K. Amano Meiji Univ.

H. Takeuchi + 2(Private)

No oxygen-mask ascent, SE ridge Y. Mochizuki

JWAF

Conclusion
Climbers who ascended the peaks exceeding 6,000m in the Himalaya for the 53 years’time amounted to 12,720. Those who ascended both 8,000m and 7,000m-class peaks
totaled 350 (including 29 females). Climbers who stood atop 8,000m+ peaks only once27

numbered 213 (including 25 females). Similarly, those who ascended above 7,000m only
once were 857 (including 61 females). The total number of the summiteers of 8,000m –7,000m peaks is 1,420 (including 115 females). Climbers who attempted the peaks over
7,000m in the same period numbered 7,843.
Mountaineering in Japan has not developed in a day, as we have seen in the foregoing
chapters. Super climbers would not appear suddenly. Experience and expertise havebeen handed down from generation to generation. Climbing techniques continued to beinnovated and gears and tools were improved. The new generations availed themselvesof the advanced techniques and devices. Needless to say, information and climbing
techniques from foreign sources were important and influential.
We must mention not only success stories but also accidents. As shown in Appendix I,
the death rate on the high peaks over 6,000m is 2.1%, that is, one out of every 48 died.
No such figure exists except in wars and civil riots. Fatal accidents have been occurring
every year continuously for 37 years since 1968. 269 persons were killed. 138 (51.3%)
died due to “weather conditions”: avalanches, falling rocks, thunderbolts and strong
winds. 113 (41.0%) died of “high altitudes”: high altitude sickness, falling/slipping andfreezing to death. Falls and avalanches account for the remaining 18 who disappeared.
It is obvious that direct causes of accidents in the Himalaya are climate and highaltitude.
Keeping pace with an appeal made by Junko Tabei for enlightenment on protection ofmountain environments, four organizations of JMA, JWAF, JAC and HAJ established“HAT – J” (Himalayan Adventure Trust – Japan) in the autumn, 1990. In compliancewith Tabei’s request, HAJ worked out a manual of “Take in – Take out” campaign. This
movement gradually contributed to forming consensus and common discipline among
visitors to the Himalaya, and their manners improved remarkably.
As the Himalayan climbing became popular in the 1980s, Japanese climbers were
subjected to harsh criticism. Westerners blamed Japanese climbing style to place fixedropes excessively en route, to carry on low level climbing in a group and to abandon a lotof gear and supplies that caused pollution of the mountain environments. To our best
knowledge, their claims and complaints did not always point out the truth. Because oflanguage difficulty the Japanese people were unable to respond promptly or to explain
correctly the situation to the climbing societies from other countries.
As the alpine style climbing came into fashion, some western climbers attempted toascend with insufficient gear and foodstuff. There are numerous reports that they madeuse of Japanese fixed ropes with no consent, and that at higher camps they consumed
food and even oxygen without permission. There was a surprising report that a western28

climber purposely cut a fix rope in front of a Japanese climber who had complained.
For the Japanese and for the westerners alike, the Himalaya is no longer a field ofchallenge. There are fewer ambitious and dream-seeking climbers and explorersinterested in opening new routes or attracted to, unknown peaks and far-flung regions.
The majority’s concern is “good for health” and “fame” to establish a record on famous
mountains. Nowadays lovers of “Excursion at high altitudes” are concentrating on
certain famous mountains of, whether by commercial expeditions or individual
attempts.
As the mountain lovers flock to the Himalaya, the local natural conservation will face aserious crisis. Stricter regulations for the must be established as soon as possible toprotect the environment.

Summary of Remarkable Records on 8000m+ Peaks
Everest (Sagarmatha/Qomolangma)
No Oxygen-mask Climbs
1. Syomi Suzuki (30)Southeast ridge

Oct. 8, 1983

2. Haruichi Kawamura (35)Southeast ridge

Oct. 8, 1983

3. Haruyuki Endo (26)Southeast ridge

Oct. 8, 1983

4. Hironobu Kamuro (31)Southeast ridge

Oct. 8. 1983

Died on descent

5. Hiroshi Yoshino (33)Southeast ridge

Oct. 8, 1983

Died on descent

6. Noboru Yamada (35)Southeast ridge

Oct. 30, 1985

Winter Ascents (including 1st winter ascents)
1. Yasuo Kato (33)Southeast ridge

Dec. 27, 1982

Died on descent

2. Takashi Ozaki (31)Southeast ridge

Dec. 16, 1983

3rd winter ascent

3. Noboru Yamada (33)Southeast ridge

Dec. 16, 1983

same as above

4. Kazunari Murakami (28)Southeast ridge

Dec. 16, 1983

same as above

5. Hideji Nazuka (39)Southwest faceDec. 18. 1993

1st winter ascent

6. Fumiaki Goto (28)Southwest faceDec. 18, 1993

same as above

7. Osamu Tanabe (32)Southwest faceDec. 20, 1993

2nd winter ascent

8. Shinsuke Ezuka (32)Southwest faceDec. 20, 1993

same as above

9. Yoshio Ogata (45)Southwest faceDec. 22, 1993

3rd winter ascent

10. Ryushi Hoshino (26)Southwest faceDec. 22, 1993

same as above29

Other Notable Records
1st Ascent by New Route;Takashi Ozaki (27)Tsuneo Shigehiro (32)

Lower northwest face

May 10, 1980

JAC

(new route) to upper Hornbein couloirFirst Complete Trace
Shigeki Imoto (32), Kiyoshi Furuno (34)Northeast ridge

May 11, 1995

Nihon Univ.

Southwest faceDec. 18, 1993

Gunma Pref. MF

Southeast ridge

May 16, 1975

Female CC

Southeast ridge

Oct. 26, 1973

RCC II

1. Masafumi Todaka (34)Southeast ridge

Jul. 29, 1996

2. Yasushi Yamanoi (35)

SSE ribJul. 30, 2000

1st Winter Ascent
Hideji Nazuka (39), Fumiaki Goto (28)First Female Ascent
Junko Tabei (35)First Post-monsoon Ascent
Yasuo Kato (24), Hisashi Ishiguro (26)

K2 (Qogir)
Solo & No Oxygen-mask Climbs

No Oxygen-mask Climbs
1. Naoe Sakashita (35)North ridge

Aug. 14, 1982

1st ascent

2. Hiroshi Oshino (35)North ridge

Aug. 14. 1982

1st ascent

3. Yukihiro Yanagisawa (27)North ridge

Aug. 14, 1982

Died on descent

4. Kazushige Takami (37)North ridge

Aug. 15, 1982

5. Tatsuji Shigeno (39)

North ridge

Aug. 15, 1982

6. Hironobu Kamuro (30)North ridge

Aug. 15, 1982

7. Haruichi Kawamura (34)North ridge

Aug. 15, 1982

8. Noboru Yamada (35)Southeast ridge

Jul. 24, 1985

9. Yasuhiko Mochizuki (44)Southeast ridge

Aug. 7, 200430

2nd ascent1st Ascent of New Route
1. Eiho Ohtani (34), Nazir Sabir

West ridge-upper SSW ridge

Aug. 9, 1981

Waseda Univ.

2. Above three members

North ridge

Aug. 14, 1982

JMA

3. Hideji Nazuka (35)

Lower northwest faceAug. 9, 1990

Yokohama

4. Osamu Tanabe (36)West ridge-upper west face

Jul. 19, 1997

JAC Tokai

May 14, 1980

Sangaku Doshikai

May 18, 1984

JAC

Kangchenjunga
No Oxygen-mask Climb & 1st Ascent by New RouteHaruichi Kawamura (32), Syomi Suzuki (27)North face

Naoe Sakashita (33), Ryoichi Fukada (37)Traverse
Toichiro Mitani (26), Seishi Wada (34)South – central pks

Tsuneo Shigehiro (36)

LhotseNo Oxygen-mask Climb
Kazuaki Amano (25)West faceOct. 8, 2002

MakaluNo Oxygen-mask Climbs
1. Makoto Ishibashi (30)Northwest ridge

Sep. 30, 1982

2. Kazuo Yuda (34)Northwest ridge

Sep. 30, 1982

3. Yukihiro Michiwaki (25)Northwest ridge

Sep. 30, 1982

4. Taeko Nagao (35)Northwest ridge

Oct. 7, 1991

1st Ascents by New Route
1. Hajime Tanaka (33), Yuichi Ozaki (31)Southeast ridge

May 23, 1970

JAC Tokai

2. Osamu Tanabe (34), Toshihiko Arai (23)Lower East ridge

May 21, 1991

JAC

Atsushi Yamamoto (31), Masayuki Matsubara (30)

Cho Oyu31

Solo, Alpine Style & 1st Ascent by New RouteYasushi Yamanoi (29)Southwest face

Sep. 24, 1994

NWW faceNov. 6, 1988

Alpine Style
1. N. Yamada (38), Teruo Saegusa (31)HAJ

Osamu Shimizu (30), Atsushi Yamamoto (26)
2. Taeko Nagao (38), Yuka Endo (28)

SW face, Swiss-Polish R

Sep. 25, 1994

Northeast ridge

Jun. 2, 1981

High Altitude R

South ridge

May 10, 1978

Yeti ClubSoutheast ridge

Oct. 19, 1978

Gunma Pref. MF

Dec. 13, 1982

Hokkaido Univ.

Oct. 20, 1970

Doshisha Univ.

Dhaulagiri
Solo & Alpine Style
Hironobu Kamuro (29)

1st Ascent by New Route
1. Toshiaki Kobayashi (29)
Tatsuji Shigeno (35)
2. Tsutomu Miyazaki (30)
Akira Ube (30), Hiroyuki Tani (26)

1st Winter Ascent
Akio Koizumi (26), Nima Wongchu Sherpa

Northeast ridge

1st Post-monsoon Ascent
Tetsuji Kawada (31), Lhakpa Tenzing Sherpa

Northeast ridge

Manaslu
1st AscentToshio Imanishi (42), Gyaltsen Norbu

NE face

May 9, 1956

NE faceDec. 14, 1985

JAC

Winter Alpine Style
Noboru Yamada (35), Yasuhira Saito (32)Kamoshika C

1st Ascent by New Route
Kazuharu Kohara (31), Motoki Tanaka (22)West ridge

32

May 17, 1971

Tokyo

Nanga Parbat
1st Ascent by New RouteHiroshi Sakai (38), Yukio Yabe (29)

Lower North face

Jul. 23, 1995

North face

May 29, 2004

South faceDec. 20, 1987

Chiba I. T.

Takeshi Akiyama (31)Annapurna I
Alpine Style
Hirotake Takeuchi (33)Winter AscentNoboru Yamada (37), Yasuhira Saito (34)

Gunma Pref. MF

Teruo Saegusa (30), Toshiyuki Kobayashi (22)
(Kobayashi and Saito fell and were lost on descent)

1st Ascent by New Route
Yukihiro Yanagisawa (26), Hiroshi Aota (23)South faceOct. 29, 1981

Yeti Club

Gasherbrum I
1st Ascent by New Route
Osamu Shimizu (28), Kiyoshi Wakui (27)North ridge couloir

Aug. 2, 1986

Masafumi Todaka (33), Toru Hattori (25)

N – C – M peaks

Jul. 19, 1995

Toshiyuki Kitamura (32)(descent on W face)

Tohokeiryu C

Broad Peak
Alpine Style Traverse

33

FOS

34

TSUNEMICHI IKEDA

From the Japanese Alps to the Greater Ranges of the World
Winter Climbs in Home Grounds Fostered Japanese Himalayan Expeditions

1

Although it’s highest Mt. Fuji is merely with 3,776 meters of altitude, and themountains without glacier in the Japanese archipelago, the spine mountain chains of its
largest Honshu Island in the winter dramatically change their appearance. They are
deeply buried under thick snow, and ice cover steep surface. Hikers enjoy the walks on
the ridges of 3000-meters in the snowless seasons, but the bitter coldness and one of the
deepest snow in the world, up to 6 meters, turns the mountains severe targets even toaccess.
The Japanese archipelago lays long from northeast to southwest along the AsianContinent at latitudes from 20 degrees to 43 degrees north for 3,500km. Arctic cold air
through Siberia and over the Sea of Japan brings snow to the northern section of its
western side from December through April.
Winter mountaineering in Japan began in the 1920s and the practices were graduallyregarded as the important training for the Himalayan expedition climbing, the ultimate
targets for the serious mountaineers. This is a brief history of who did what and how on
the heavy snow mountains.

2Winter mountaineering that prepared the first ascent of Nanda Kot
Local hunters went deep into the snow covered mountains and valleys before the 20th
Century. But it was Katsunobu Itakura who originated Japan’s winter mountaineering
to make the first solo attempt of Mt. Yarigatake 3,180m, standing in the center of theNorthern Japanese Alps in March, 1919.
Prior to Itakura, in 1911 Theodor von Lerch, Austrian major, introduced skiing forJapanese army, and himself attempted ski mountaineering on Kubiki Mountaingroup(2500ms), and Mt. Fuji. In the Alps Isuke Tsujimura with two guides climbed
Jungfrau in January, 1914.
Itakura was inspired by these achievements proclaimed and practiced “dynamic
mountaineering”, which means rock climbing, snow climbing and skiing rather thanwalking slops up. But he was lost in the deep snow on Mt. Tateyama in 1923.

Aritsune “Yuko” Maki, accompanied by three guides made the first ascent of theMittellegi Ridge of Eiger in 1921. He introduced the Alpine climbing and brought backnumber of gears to Japanese mountaineers of university clubs. Their practices in 1920s
were mainly intending the first winter ascents of major Japanese peaks with guides and3

porters, and little was practiced in difficult rock wall routes. Meanwhile Maki led aparty to Mt. Alberta of Canadian Rockies in 1925.
In the 1930s hunting for the first winter ascents of major peaks were over, and races totraverse plural peak ridges became popular in the winter. Mountaineering clubs of theuniversities such as Keio, Gakushuin, Kyoto and Tokyo were the contenders. An
exceptional non-university club mountaineer at that time was Buntaro Kato, who madesignificant number of first winter solo traverses, was lost on Mt. Yarigatake in 1936
before realizing his dream to go to the Himalayas.
In the early 1930s Japanese mountaineers were attracted by the challenges by Paul
Bauer to the Nordoetsporn (Northeast Spur) of Kangchenjunga in the eastern
Himalayas in 1929 and 1930. They were more interested in the German climber thanthe main-stream British expeditions to the Himalayas by Britons to Mt. Everest thatstarted in 1921, and who made the first ascent of Kamet in 1931.
Probably the Japanese at that time were sympathetic to the Germans who challenged
boldly to the giant in the depressive period after the defeat of the country in the WorldWar I. Particularly the snow caves that Bauer frequently employed for bivouacs becamea fashion among the Japanese students for their sieges in the winter on the Japanesemountains after Eizaburo Nishibori of Kyoto University deployed siege as a training on
the slopes of Mt. Fuji in the winter of 1932.
On the other hand, Yaichi Hotta of Rikkyo University practiced “rush tactics ” together
with siege. The party led by Hotta made the first ascent of Nanda Kot in Garhwal in
1936. Rikkyo, which was relatively small and late starter, made the first Japanese
Himalayan ascent, while the major Kyoto University club, led by Kinji Imanishi,
prepared for ambitious attempt to K2. But it was shortly before the World War II, theKyoto University Club was forced to give up expediton to the Himalayan peaks. Instead,they changed targets to Baegudusan (2744m) in Korean Peninsula, and Dixan’anling
Shanmai Range (1500m class) in the Northeastern China. They repeated siege
expeditions to these East Asian mountains as their alternative targets.
On the Japanese mountains Waseda University club concentrated in the climbs on thewestern rock face of Mt. Kita-Hotakadake 3100m, named Takidani in 1932. The rockwall is difficult even in the snowless season. It was the first winter rock route in Japan.

4

Wseda’s style was relatively few in the Alps at that time. (The first winter ascent of theNorth Face of Cima Grande was made in 1938 and the South West Face of Marmolada
was made in 1950.)

Conspicuous climber at the time was Zensuke Oyabe at Tokyo College of Commerce(now Hitotsubashi University) rejected siege and made number of first winter ascentson Japanese rock faces in the winter.
What he did was the Alpine style. Very regrettably however, Oyabe died in 1945 andcould not get the chance to challenge in the Himalayas. Another notable climber was
Akira Matsunami, who made number of ascents in progressive style for traverses andon rock faces died on Mt. Yarigatake in the winter, 1949. His dream to the Himalayas
also was not materialized.

5

First Ascent of Manaslu, the first Japanese climb of 8000m giant

Japanese Alpine Club’s expedition in 1956 made the first ascent of Manaslu (8125m) intheir third attempt. It was a nationally celebrated achievement in the year
commemorated by a special postage stamp in Japan. But the successful siege
overwhelmingly confined the Japanese expeditions to the Himalayas and other big
mountains thereafter. The term “kyokuchiho”(polar method) was added in Japanese
vocabulary even out of mountaineering circles.
Two Japanese climbers, Jiro Taguchi and Masataka Takagi both of who were studyingin Europe and the outbreak of the World War II prevented them to go back home. They
stayed in Switzerland and devoted in climbing on the North faces of Moench andWetterhorn and others during the war time. What they absorbed were the updated ice
wall climbing techniques, and the safe passing method of glaciers. Big improvements
had been made in the Alps since Maki and others’ acquisition in the early 1920s. JAC
decided to tackle Manaslu in 1952 and a reconnaissance party was sent in the same year.
The two were actually the core members of the team to transfer new climbing
techniques to other members.

6

The first expedition was sent next year in 1953, led by Yukio Mita, and the second teamin 1954, led by Yaichi Hotta. But both challenges ended unsuccessful. The third team in
1956, led by Aritsune “Yuko” Maki, employed loyally the siege tactics of the successful
British Everest team in 1953. And they succeeded in reaching the top of Manaslu.
When we look back the siege for the 8125m peak, it was a little bit too much, and that
reminds us of the old Chinese proverb, “using a meat cleaver to bone a chicken”. For themembers who had no experience in the big mountains of the Himalayas or even inAndes or Alaska, the employment of cautious siege was inevitable. Another reward by
the success was that the Japanese mountaineers had confidence that their decades oftrainings on the Japanese mountains in the winter, could be applied to the Himalayan
Giants.
The successful ascent of Manaslu stimulated Japanese pride in the period of national
depression after the defeat in the World War II in line with the world record of thefree-style swimmer Hironoshin Furuhashi (1947-49), wrestler Shohachi Ishii’s gold
medal in the Helsinki Olympic Games (1952), Dr. Hideki Yukawa’s Nobel Prize inPhysics (1949) and Kinuko Ito’s third prize in the Miss Universe Contest (1953).
The heavy press coverage of the ascent of Manaslu drew public attention andmountaineering boom emerged in Japan. Improved mountaineering gears used by theManaslu team such as Vibram sole boots, nylon ropes and tents, wind breaking jacket
and down jacket appear in the market. Above all, the newly developed canvas boots forthe approach march with the brand name “Caravan” got a big hit.

Japanese mountains in the winter as a training site for the Himalayas
In the two decades from Nanda Kot to Manaslu, overwhelming number of leading
mountaineers were from university clubs. Their ultimate targets were Himalayan
Giants. Therefore they concentrated in training the siege tactics on Japan’s 3000m classmountains by setting to start far away from the top and fixing ropes on long ridge lines
and repeated load ferrying. Actually, the distance was enough with a several bivouacs,
unless bad weather bothers them.
The pseudo Himalayan expeditions on the Japanese mountains sometimes extended amonth-long and only a few selected members stood on the top. The siege provided a
merit for club leaders that they could train all members at a time. It became thestandard for university mountaineering clubs. Dissent to the polar method was a weak
voice, and each university club began to organize individual expeditions after the 1956
Manaslu. And number of them piled first ascents of 6000ms and 7000ms in the7Himalayas in the 1960s.
Beginning Chogolisa in 1958 by Kyoto University team, Himalchuli in 1960 by Keio
University, Api by Doshisha University, Noshaq by Kyoto University in the same year,
and Chamlang in 1962 by Hokkaido University, Saltro Kangri by Kyoto University andSaipal in 1963 by Doshisha University were climbed.
Climbing clubs out of university mushroomed and the leading edge of them actively
began to climb steep rocks in the winter in the late 1950s. Because they were difficult to
get long vacations out of work, they formed small parties in the weekends, and focused
to climb rock faces with a several bivouacs. First winter ascents were marked by them
particularly in the winters of 1957/58 and 1958/59 and their achievements filled therecord pages of mountaineering magazines. The first climbing magazine in Japan, “TheIwa to Yuki” (means rock and snow) was published in 1958 to cover the climbing scene
responding to the quickly growing new trend in the mountaineering in Japan.
They organized All Japan Mountaineering Federation and sent Himalayan expeditionsin 1960 and 1961, both of which failed, and made the first ascent of Big White Peak
7083m (now Loenpo Gang 6979m) in 1962. Two years later in 1964 they made the first
ascent of Gyachung Kang (7952m). The party employed a siege and used Oxygen as
JAC’s Manaslu team did, though the peak is technically more difficult.
Other forces of non-university clubs aimed at the difficult “grade 6” walls in the Alps.
Three Big North Faces were their popular targets. In order to achieve their ambitious
targets, they trained by inventing successive-wall-climbing in an attempt on the shorter
Japanese faces than of the Alps. They were not interested in the siege but withminimum rope fixing and support members and repeated bivouacs on the walls.
The common perception shared by JAC and AJMF was that both forces regarded that
the Japanese mountains as a minor stage merely as the training sites for either
Himalayan or Alpine climbs. When looking back the climbing scene on the Japanesemountains at that time they were not so serious to try to find more sophisticatedclimbing style. We need to wait until 1970s to find a renaissance on the Japanese rocks
not only in the winter but also in the rock climbing.
Political tensions between Nepal and China on the border intensified in 1965, and the
Nepalese government banned foreign expeditions to the Nepalese Himalayan range.
The Japanese expeditions were forced to find alternative targets in Hindu Kush, Andes
and Alaska. And climbing-oriented forces aimed at more on the Alps. On the Japaneserocks climbers sought the remaining problems and new routes. Newly imported
Climbing gears newly imported from the Alps after 1965 advanced both techniques andgears on the Japanese rocks.

8

The new direct routes in the Alps such as Sachsenweg of Cima Grande in 1963 or the
Eiger Direct in 1966 gave impacts to the Japanese climbers. Some of them used fixedropes and expansion bolts and the Italian term “direttissima” became a fashionable
word. Some extremists fixed ropes and set pitons and bolts in the snowless time inadvance of their challenge in the winter. Their deeds invited criticism in the climbing
circles. Ethics and style at last became concerned in the Japanese climbing circles.

Catching up with the world’s first class
Himalayan expeditions quickly became to focus variation routes after Nepalese lift ofthe ban in 1970. Major peaks had already been climbed in the 1960s. JAC resumed its
expedition plan of 1966 to Everest in the spring of 1970. The party aimed at its SouthWest Face. The party recruited 5 non-university club climbers. The attempt retreatedfrom a 8050m point on the South West Face. It was a big change on the side of JAC thatthey realized usual siege training on the Japanese mountains in the winter was noteffective to make powerful climbers.
JAC Tokai Branch expedition led by Makoto Hara climbed the South East Ridge ofMakalu in 1970 with the combined university and non-university clubs members. A
Tokyo party led by Akira Takahashi climbed the North West Spur of Manaslu in 1971
with the non-university clubs members only.
The South West Face of Everest rejected repeatedly the challenges by international
teams in the springs of 1971 and 1972, and by a British team in the autumn of 1972,
and by a Japanese party in the autumn of 1973. The big face was finally climbed by
the British team led by Chris Bonington in the autumn of 1975.
The Japanese Everest team of 1973 had weakness in the management of expedition andlogistics operation. The mood of necessity to fill each weakness were shared both by JAC
and non-university clubs and a merger to fulfill each strong-point was sought. A joint
team successfully made the first traverse from the East Peak to the Main Peak of
Nanda Devi in 1976. JAC led with non-university club members made the first ascent of
the Direct North West Face of Everest in 1980, and another team traversed
South-Central summits of Kangchenjunga in 1983.
A conspicuous non-university club climber in the time from late 1960s through 1980s
was Masatsugu Konishi. With two others he made the third winter ascent of the North
Face of Matterhorn in 1967. His club mates made the second winter ascent of the Harlinroute on Eiger in 1970. Konishi himself was invited to the JAC Everest expedition in thesame year.

9Konishi’s hard training imposed upon club members is now a legend. He urged members
to tackle the steep Takidani Face of Mt. Kita-Hotakadake (3100m) without gloves in thewinter in order to gain durability against frostbite. Or he demanded jumarings byhanging ropes on the volcanic wall at the top of Mt. Fuji. His club, Sangakudoshikai
made the first ascent of the North Face of Jannu in 1976. Nearly all members reached
the top in the feat. Konishi also led his club team to make the first ascent of the North
Face of Kangchenjunga in 1980 and led an all-Japan team to the North Ridge of K2 in
1982, both without Oxygen bottle aid.
Japanese climbers’ strenuous efforts, which are symbolically represented by Konishi,
were single-mindedly aiming at “catching up with the world’s top level”. Theirachievements, e.g., the climbs of difficult variation routes without the aid of Oxygen
bottle on the 8000ers, by all means were brilliant accounts of the time. However, theway they did to make strong members by imposing hard training and sought joint
target was quite similar to the deeds conducted by team sports at the Olympic Games,
and the companies of manufacturing industry during the rapid economic growth period.
We gave to point out now that those “group oriented” and “sharing united target”
overshadowed the originality of each member in target and style selection.
Speedy climbing with light gears and loads
Double-axe climbing on the iced face, which was developed in the Alps, was introduced
to Japan in early 1970s. The new technique enabled developing new routes on gullies
and couloirs which usually had been unclimbable because of the danger of avalanches.
Climbers found many new climbing routes in the heavy snow regions. Moreover they
tried frozen waterfalls and vertical ice walls. The winter climbing stages expanded at astroke. Free climbing on the various rocks began in late 1970s and became popularthrough 1980s in Japan.
A big change in the whole mountaineering scene was visible in those days. Contrary to
the scares mountaineering information overseas up to early 1960s, the Japanese wereallowed to go abroad freely in 1964, and they began to go out overseas repeatedly in the
1970s and some climbers stayed long time at major climbing sites. Their experiences
and hot information accelerated the changes in the practices on home mountains, andtheir activities on the Himalayas and other greater mountaineering ranges also became
faster.
In the Himalayan range, Japanese parties made the first ascents on Latok 1(led by
Naoki Takada), Latok 3(led by Youji Teranishi) and the North Ridge of Rakaposhi (led10

by Eiho Otani) in 1979. The North Ridge of Shivling (led by Norio Yasuda) in 1980, and
the West Face of Kun by Kunihiko Kondoh and Minoru Nagoshi in capsule style in 1981.
The West Ridge of K2 (led by Eiho Ohtani), the Central Pillar on the South Face ofAnnapurna (led by Hiroshi Yoshino) in 1981.
In the Andes the party led by Ikuo Kakimoto made the first ascents of the South Face ofHuandoy Sur, the South Face of Chacraraju Este, and the North East Face of Yerupaja
in 1976. The team led by Saburo Mizobuchi made the first ascent of the South Face ofTaulliraju in the same year.

Sticking to the siege in the Himalayas
Still, however, majority of Japanese first ascents have been made by fixing ropes. The
rope-fixed siege is employed more frequently, the altitude of the mountains are higher.
The tendency has changed little in the 21st Century. The successive fatal accidents inthe early 1980s due to the bold challenges on high-altitude drew criticism on “sticking tostyles too heavily”, and the number of Japanese expedition to the Himalayas
temporarily shrank. It may be an after-effect of the set back that the majority ofJapanese expeditions is depending on the rope-fixing siege.
A few Japanese Himalayan expeditions rejected the siege with rope-fixing. The North
Ridge of Kungur was first climbed in semi-alpine style by the party led by Etsuro
Yasuda in 1989. Masafumi Todaka with two others made the second ascent of thetraverse of Broad Peak’s North-Central-Main summits in Alpine style in 1995. Akihito
Yamasaki and Kiyoshi Matsuoka made the first ascent of Ultar Sar in 1996 in Alpine
style. Yasushi Yamanoi climbed a new route on the South West Face of Cho Oyu in 1994.
The women pair, Taeko Nagao (now Yamanoi) and Yuka Endo made the second ascent of
the Swiss-Polish route on the South West Face of Cho Oyu in the same year. Up until
now they are the only women that climbed a difficult variation route in Alpine style on
the 8000er. Now climbers are attracted more at free rock climbing, vertical ice andmodern mix climbing. The participants to expedition have been decreasing in number
year by year.
On the other hand, some have begun mobile approach on skies for climbing. We now do
not see any group struggling to maintain long rope-fixed lines to siege a summit in thewinter on the Japanese mountains. Japanese climbers’ ability has dramaticallyenhanced both physically and technically through the practices of free rock climbing
and vertical ice climbing. The number of expedition to the Himalayas has decreased but
a few who still do it now are the climbers are greatly different from the predecessors two

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decades ago in their climbing attitude and technical skill. The term “Alpine style”
means that the climbing of Himalayan giants in the same manner as the way done on
the Alps. It is desired that the Japanese climbers go and challenge the Himalayan peaks
as the way they are doing on the Japanese mountains in the winter.
(translated by Kanji Takamasu)

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