Photo/Illutration Kazuya Hiraide, left, and Kenro Nakajima pose for a photo at the Aconcagua base camp in Argentina in January 2019. (Motoki Kaneko)

Mountaineers have been paying tribute to two experienced climbers who are missing on K2, the world’s second-highest mountain.

Kazuya Hiraide, 45, and Kenro Nakajima, 39, are two of Japan’s most accomplished mountaineers. They were trying to scale the peak in Pakistan using minimal equipment on a route that no other climber has succeeded with.

“Both of them are among the world’s strongest mountaineers,” said professional skier Yuichiro Miura, 91, who has worked with the men on previous expeditions.

The men went missing on July 27. A helicopter searching for them was unable to land nearby, according to equipment supplier Ishii Sports, quoting Pakistani authorities.

At 8,611 meters, K2 is second in height to Mount Everest but is known as the more difficult to climb.

For this reason, it is dubbed the "devil’s mountain" or ruthless mountain. Many climbers have tried and failed to scale K2.

Kiyoshi Furuno, the former president of the Japanese Alpine Club, was involved in planning this expedition from the beginning.

He said that the pair aimed for a route up the middle of K2’s west face, a path no one had attempted due to its extreme difficulty. However, another team has previously ascended a route along the edge.

Hiraide and Nakajima were climbing in so-called alpine style, using no oxygen tanks or back-up team support. This approach, which spurns assistance, is seen by purists as the most authentic form of mountaineering.

The pair were supported for the expedition by Ishii Sports. The company said on its Instagram account that the two men had been waiting at base camp at the foot of the mountain for a weather window before setting off a few days ago on what they considered to be their last chance.

A fellow mountaineer said the pair would have encountered great difficulty.

“The slopes are steep and the rocks are incredibly fragile,” said Yuka Komatsu, 41, a photographer who has climbed K2.

“The temperatures vary greatly, with snow in the morning and torrents of water in the evening. The environment changes rapidly, requiring precise and quick decision-making,” she said.

Mountain photographer Takuya Mitoro, who has climbed with both Hiraide and Nakajima, describes ascending an unclimbed route on an 8,000-meter peak as “unimaginably difficult.”

“The body’s functions deteriorate, and just being there brings you close to death,” he said.

Climbing an unexplored route, he added, “requires high-level judgement since most things are not known until you actually climb it.”

EXTENSIVE EXPERIENCE

The missing climbers are well known for their skill and past achievements.

Miura said they both have “impressive achievements and extensive experience.”

Hiraide accompanied Miura to the Mount Everest summit as a photographer during Miura’s 2013 expedition at the age of 80.

He and Nakajima also joined Miura’s 2019 expedition to Mount Aconcagua, the highest peak in South America. Miura chose the young climbers for their reliability, prudence and insight.

But Miura said even careful preparation can be overmatched in the field.

“Nature has a terrifying power that surpasses any human effort,” Miura said.

Mountain journalist Yukio Kondo, who is a friend of the two climbers, said, “Hiraide considered this climb his biggest challenge.”

Kondo added that K2’s route is steep and avalanche prone, with far fewer successful summit attempts than on Mount Everest.

Hiraide is a three-time winner of the Piolets d'Or, an annual award that honors great mountain ascents. Nakajima has won it twice.

Kondo said, “They have accomplished many great feats and are world-class mountaineers and athletes.”

The two spent years meticulously preparing for this challenge.

In particular, they ascended new routes on two other mountains in Pakistan: Mount Rakaposhi at 7,788 meters in 2019 and Mount Tirich Mir at 7,708 meters in 2023.

Hiraide reportedly said that he felt these achievements earned them the right to challenge K2.

(This article was written by Ryo Oyama, Kaho Matsuda and Ayako Nakada.)

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