Ah, but a man’s reach should exceed his grasp, Or what’s a heaven for? (Robert Browning)
(Tina) We first heard of Nobukazu Kuriki in 2012: He was already high up on Everest, trying a lonely ascent for the top. Check this story for lots of history and some infographics. The unexpected news came to us locally from Japanese climbers.
Eventually, Kuriki was rescued and due to languages, remained a bit of an enigma. Yesterday his home team sent word they have now updated his homepage with an English version to explain the climber and his motivation.
The disabled mountaineer, currently on Everest north side in his 6th attempt to solo the peak, was born in 1982 in Hokkaido, Japan. He started climbing at University, and – according to the website – soloed four 8,000m peaks without oxygen.
In 2012 his hands, feet, and nose were frost bitten and he lost 9 fingers from the P.I.P. joints. He returned to mountaineering July 2014, reportedly soloing Broad Peak (8,047m) without oxygen.
In fall 2015, his 5th attempt on Mount Everest was cut short at 8,150m by fierce weather.
Kuriki says he got little support when he started climbing and began to broadcast his adventures online in 2009 to break down the ‘barrier of negativity’ and help everyone who attempts to climb ‘invisible mountains’.
Kuriki says he wants not only to climb Mount Everest solo and without oxygen, but also to challenge the psychological barriers of people and society.
Visit Kuriki’s website and read more about his story. Updates on fb, here, and in Pythom news feeds.
Spanish speed climber Kilian Jornet decided to abandon his Everest speed attempt due to dangerous snow conditions on the mountain. A few days ago Nobukazu Kuriki hoped to reach 6800m.
Previous/history
Fall 2016: Tough Conditions on Everest, Manaslu New Routes, Broad Peak Expedition and More
Newsflash: Everest solo, Lhotse summit push (2012)
Mount Everest and Lhotse: summit pushes and speed attempt brewing (2012)
