for Foregn Readers　(ROCK & SNOW No.57 2012 Autumn)

Translation by Isao Tezuka

P_004 The First World Cup Victory
At the opening of the Lead World Cup 2012 held in Chamonix on July 12 and 13,
Sachi Amma won his first victory in the men’s event. This notable accomplishment
was achieved eight years after his first challenge in 2005. In the competition held in
Briancon on July 20 and 21 he achieved his second victory. Now Japan has two
winners in Men’s Lead Climbing: Yuji Hirayama and Sachi Amma. In Women’s Lead
Climbing, which took place in Imst on August 10 and 11, Momoka Oda won her first
victory. This is the first World Cup victory in Women’s Lead Climbing.

P_007 Hirotaka Takeuchi conquered 14 8000ers
On May 26, Hirotaka Takeuchi summited Mount Dhaulagiri and became the first
Japanese climber that summited all fourteen 8000ers. The first accomplishment was
made by Reinhold Messner in 1986. Takeuchi is the 29th of the verified climbers who
have reached the summit of all 14 eight-thousanders.

P_009 Junior Olympic Cup
From August 11 through 13, the 15th Junior Olympic Cup was held in Nanto, Toyama,
in which 212 junior sports climbers participated.

P_011 Parties selected for the Overseas Expedition Support Program
For the first half of 2012, the following six parties were selected for the Overseas
Expedition Support Program of the Japanese Alpine Club, a public interest
incorporated association: (1) the party of Kazuya Hiraide and Takuya Mitoro for
attempting the first ascent of Shispare Southwest Face; (2) the party of Kei Taniguchi
and Hiroki Suzuki for Langshisa Ri Northeast Face; (3) the party of Katsutaka
Yokoyama and Ryo Masumoto for traversing Monte Fitz Roy Massif; (4) the party of
Yasuhiro Hanatani, Hiroyoshi Manome and Tatsuya Aoki for attempting the first ascent
of Kyashar South Ridge; (5) the five-member student party of the Japanese Alpine
Club led by Yusuke Ohori for attempting the first summiting of PT6165 in Zanskar; (6)
the eight-member 70th Anniversary Party of the Hiroshima Alpine Federation led by
Akira Kyo-o for attempting the first ascent of Amphu-1. The student party that
challenges PT6165 is also subsidized by The North Face Overseas Expedition Fund,
which supports young climbers of north faces.

P_013 Feature Article: Climbing Records of the World ? Climbers on the Front Line
Adam Ondra, the Mutant
Adam Ondra is demonstrating superhuman abilities. His climbing looks spontaneous,
but it is well calculated. He accomplished four first ascents of 9b. He confirmed the
grade 9b by second ascending Chris Sharma’s Golpe de Estado. Soon after his first
climb of V16 in his native Czech Republic, he second ascended Christian Core’s Gioia
in Italy, confirming V16. On June 8 he flash attempted Realization (9a+). Though he
failed in this, his daring challenge received applause from the media. His name is now
found in the starters’list of the World Championship in Paris to be held in September.
If he wins, it will be big news as he has been away from competitions for nearly one
year.
Adam’s sister climbs 5.14a
Probably there are not many who know Kristyna Ondra, Adam’s sister. In October
2011, she climbed Kudlanka (8b+) at her native Moravian Karst.
At the moment there are nine routes of 9b, the world most difficult grade
Every few years the difficult climbing grade has been upgraded and a more difficult
grade was set. But the upgrading pace became slower compared with that of the 80’s
and 90’s. Action Direct (9a) was an exceptional case. That climb was too much ahead
of the times and it took 10 years to step up to the next grade. Apart from this
exceptional case, it took seven years to step up from Realization (9a+) to Jumbo Love
(9b). There are only two climbers in the world that achieved 9b. They are Adam Ondra
and Chris Sharma. Just like the 100-meter sprint, is climbing also approaching the
limits of human abilities? Will the day come when someone achieves 9b+ (5.15c)?
9b (5.15b) Routes Completed by Adam Ondra
(1) La Capella 9b (Spain), February 2011
(2) La Planta de Shiva 9b (Spain), March 2011
(3) Chilam Balam 9b (Spain), April 2011
(4) Chaxi Raxi 9b (Spain), May 2011
9b (5.15b) Routes Completed by Chris Sharma
(5) Jumbo Love 9b (USA), September 2008
(6) Golpe de Estado 9b (Spain), December 2008
(7) Neanderthal 9b (Spain), December 2009
(8) First Round First Minute 9b (Spain), April 2011
(9) Fight or Flight 9b (Spain), May 2011

P_024 From Mazeno Ridge to Nanga Parbat Summit
There is a long ridge that stretches 13 km southwestward from the summit of Nanga
Parbat, separating the Diamir Valley from the Rupal Valley. This may be the longest
ridge of an 8000er and there are six summits higher than 7000m along the way,
including Mazeno IV Peak. Mazeno Ridge is located toward the end of this long ridge.
Parbat following this long ridge.

P_027 Legendary route of Cerro Torre was free climbed
In 1970 Cesare Maestri opened a new route on Cerro Torre Southeast Ridge by drilling
more than 400 bolts into the rock using a petrol-driven compressor. The route was
opened so artificially and aggressively that it was called the“Compressor Route.”
This route was free climbed for the first time by the pair of Hayden Kennedy (USA)
and Jason Kruk (Canada). A few days later, David Lama and Peter Ortner made the all-
free ascent of Cerro Torre by the route from which Kennedy and Kruk removed the
bolts.

P_030 Big Wall Climbing in Remote Places
In our last issue Nicolas Favresse reported about big wall climbing in the Guiana
Highlands. That was just one example of climbing in remote places. In remote places
of the world there are many more problems that are waiting to be challenged by the
climbers. This article introduces the big walls of Baffin Island and Greenland as well
as the big walls around the world.

P_034 Tooth traversed, passing all six points
Moose’s Tooth in the Ruth Gorge of Alaska is surrounded by six peaks in a stretch of
5 km. By traversing all six peaks, Renan Ozturk and Freddie Wilkinson completed the
“Tooth Travers”taking a few days from May 17 through 22.
P_041 Interview with Ashima Shiraishi
Ashima Shiraishi is a Japanese residing in New York. In March this year she surprised
the world by climbing V13 in Hueco Tanks at the young age of 10. Accompanied by
her father and Obe Carrion, she visited Japan for the promotion of the DVD“Reel
Rock Tour.”She had two other purposes for this visit. One was to climb with Yuji
Hirayama and Dai Koyamada. The other was to do shopping in Harajuku.

P_062 Redpoint Kingdom – Hokkaido
Two climbers are actively climbing in Hokkaido: Ken Ishiwatari and Takashi Oyamada.
They talk about the peculiarity of climbing in Hokkaido and about redpointing of highly
difficult routes.
Special Gift
DVD: BEST OF #3
This DVD lasts about two hours and is provided by PETZL.
It is a collection video clips of various types of climbing, caving,
canyoning and trail running as well as movie clips from Rock Trip China,
Rock Trip Mexico, Scottish Ice Trip and Holtanna Antarctica. The world top
climbers demonstrate their superb performances in this DVD.

P_089 Yuji Hirayama 2012
Even in his 40’s Hirayama does not slow down, and instead he seems to have become
more active in his activities.
“KINABALU”
Since last year, Hirayama has been working on his project in Kinabalu of Borneo. He
accomplished it by climbing Pogulian do Koduduo 5.14d. Putting this accomplishment
aside, he commented that the most meaningful thing was that he could climb with the
climbers of different backgrounds from all over the world such as Daniel Woods,
Chuck Fryberger, James Pearson and Caroline Ciavaldini.
“TWO INTERNATIONAL EVENTS”
As a climber, Hirayama participated in Master de Bouldering Chile in South America
and ranked second. Now as a route setter, he participated in Boulderactive in
Singapore and contributed to the success of this big event with 500 climbers mainly
from southeast Asian countries.

P_101 Nagiso Crag
From 2003 to 2011 Hisao Nagai and other climbers were working to open routes on
Tadachi Hudoiwa in Nagiso, Nagano. Consequently, 11 multi-pitch routes of 2 to 3
pitches were opened. For the approach it requires as long as one hour and a half, but
one can enjoy granite of superb quality.

P_106 World Cup is coming to Inzai
The Lead World Cup is going to be held in Japan after three years. On October 27 and
28 it will be held in the gymnasium of Inzai City, Ibaragi. Japanese climbers are
expected to show a good performance. They are introduced in this article together
with the participants from other countries.

P_109 The Complete Climber #8: Rope Bags
Rope bags are indispensable for carrying and protecting ropes. This is a catalog of 24
rope bags that are available in Japan. Effective ways to use the bags are also introduced.