The 2025 edition of Japan’s Himalaya Camp will target unclimbed Bijora Hiunchuli (6,111m) in Western Nepal. A team of young Japanese climbers led by Yasuhiro Hanatani will attempt the beautiful northwest ridge.
Started by the Japan Alpine Club (JAC) in 2015, the Himalaya Camp is a yearly project that aims to pass on the club’s strong mountaineering culture to future generations. The JAC selects people in their 20s and 30s with little or no experience with overseas mountaineering and trains them over a few months. The final activity is the “camp” itself: a Himalayan expedition to an unclimbed 6,000’er.
Off the beaten track
As usual, the 2025 expedition has clear exploratory values, with information about their target area scarce. The Himalaya Camp’s 2024 team suggested Bijora Hiunchuli after climbing in the area last year.
The peak is located in Western Nepal. Photo: Himalaya Camp
The team will start the approach trek from Pele village in Western Nepal, making their way toward a glacier junction known as Bhot Khola. The team noted that there are records of other climbing teams passing through the Bhot Khola Junction. Further to the northeast is Sanctuary Peak, which was first climbed by the 2024 team.
The approach to the peak. Map marked by the Himalaya Camp 2025 Expedition. Photo: Himalaya Camp 2025
Team leader Yasuhiro Hanatani (48) is a seasoned climber with some first ascents under his belt, such as Ratna Chuli (7,035m, Nepal) in 1996, and the first ascent of the South Pillar of Kyashal (6,770m, Nepal) in 2013, which earned him a Piolet d’Or. He will lead Masatake Higa (24), Masayuki Takenaka (35), Sota Kodama (35), Mei Okajima (27), and Akiyoshi Tanaka (36).
Alpine style
According to the American Alpine Journal, Bijora Hiunchuli was attempted in 2013 by Paulo Grobel of France. As he described in a report, Bijora Hiunchuli is a subsidiary summit on the northwest ridge of Kasi Dalpha (6,386m). “The small snowy top is clearly visible from Jumla airport, and access is relatively simple,” Grobel wrote.
Grobel led a team to the north-northwest ridge — which “offered an elegant route to the summit” — in alpine style, but with no success. That also seems to be the Japanese team’s goal, and they will likewise climb without fixed ropes or porters.
Photo of the north face of Bijura Hiunchuli, shot by members of the 2024 Himalaya Camp expedition, and the planned route. Photo: Himalaya Camp 2024
