Spring Break
Japanese climbers find death on Alaska's Mount McKinley
June 10, 2008
Beth Bragg - McClatchy NewspapersIssue date: 6/5/08 Section: Real News
ANCHORAGE, Alaska _ One hundred people have lost their lives climbing North America's tallest peak, and an astounding number of them have been Japanese.
The most recent to perish were Tatsuro Yamada, 27, and Yuto Inoue, 24, who were scheduled to return from Mount McKinley's Cassin Ridge on May 22. Officials at Denali National Park and Preserve called off the search for them May 29, estimating they'd been without food and water for as long as 14 days.
Of the 100 climbers who have died on the mountain since 1932, 17 have been from Japan.
Japanese climbers perish at an even higher rate when you include fatalities on other Alaska Range peaks, such as Foraker and Hunter. Nine of the 39 climbers who've died on peaks other than McKinley have been from Japan.
That means 19 percent of Alaska Range climbers who've gone up but never come down are Japanese.
Darryl Miller, a mountaineering ranger at Denali National Park, said many Japanese climbers attempt riskier, more difficult routes than the typical climber, most of whom use the traditional West Buttress route to reach the 20,320-foot summit.
Yamada and Inoue were climbing the Cassin Ridge, which only a handful of climbers have indicated they will attempt this year, according to the Park Service.
"I do believe that the Japanese are very focused on climbing hard," Miller said. "A lot of skilled Japanese climbers and mountaineers come here."
Most of the Japanese fatalities on McKinley _ 14 of the 17 _ happened before 1991. Since then, climbers from foreign countries generally have come to the mountain better prepared because park rangers began translating informational material into eight languages, including Japanese.
Beginning in 1995, climbers were required to register with the Park Service 60 days before their climbs, which gave officials time to provide climbers with information.
"Before that, climbers more or less just showed up," Miller said. "We didn't have a way to deal with some of their questions until they got here, and they may or may not have prepared."
The most recent to perish were Tatsuro Yamada, 27, and Yuto Inoue, 24, who were scheduled to return from Mount McKinley's Cassin Ridge on May 22. Officials at Denali National Park and Preserve called off the search for them May 29, estimating they'd been without food and water for as long as 14 days.
Of the 100 climbers who have died on the mountain since 1932, 17 have been from Japan.
Japanese climbers perish at an even higher rate when you include fatalities on other Alaska Range peaks, such as Foraker and Hunter. Nine of the 39 climbers who've died on peaks other than McKinley have been from Japan.
That means 19 percent of Alaska Range climbers who've gone up but never come down are Japanese.
Darryl Miller, a mountaineering ranger at Denali National Park, said many Japanese climbers attempt riskier, more difficult routes than the typical climber, most of whom use the traditional West Buttress route to reach the 20,320-foot summit.
Yamada and Inoue were climbing the Cassin Ridge, which only a handful of climbers have indicated they will attempt this year, according to the Park Service.
"I do believe that the Japanese are very focused on climbing hard," Miller said. "A lot of skilled Japanese climbers and mountaineers come here."
Most of the Japanese fatalities on McKinley _ 14 of the 17 _ happened before 1991. Since then, climbers from foreign countries generally have come to the mountain better prepared because park rangers began translating informational material into eight languages, including Japanese.
Beginning in 1995, climbers were required to register with the Park Service 60 days before their climbs, which gave officials time to provide climbers with information.
"Before that, climbers more or less just showed up," Miller said. "We didn't have a way to deal with some of their questions until they got here, and they may or may not have prepared."
Be the first to comment on this story