Everest

2021/05/01

(May 29 = Everest Day)

Hisashi Tanabe

Former Vice President of the Japanese Alpine Club, Former President of the Daiei Hawks; 1954 Pol., 56 Econ.

I grew up in the Tachikawa High School and Keio University Alpine Club. After joining Mitsukoshi, I participated in the Himalayan expeditions commemorating the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Japanese Alpine Club and Keio University, and made the first ascent of the previously unclimbed peak Himalchuli (7,864m).

One day, while I was continuing my life as an employee at Mitsukoshi, I received a phone call from Hideki Miyashita, who was one year my senior in the Alpine Club and later served as the president of the Japanese Alpine Club. He said, "Hey! Nabe, come to Everest with me." Mr. Miyashita was to lead a reconnaissance team of the Japanese Alpine Club to challenge the then-unclimbed Southwest Face of Everest with an all-Japan team, and he wanted me to join.

There were various circumstances, but I decided to take on the challenge, thinking, "Mountain climbing is the only way I can challenge something that is number one in the world." Unfortunately, however, my body could no longer withstand the altitude of the Himalayas, and I had to descend the mountain at a limit of 6,000m, leaning on the shoulders of a Sherpa.

While I have led a turbulent business life since then, the Himalayas have invited me back many times, and I have responded by visiting the Himalayas with a sketchbook in hand.

Tomoko Narabayashi

Director of Narabayashi Internal Medicine and Respiratory Clinic; 1993 Law

At high altitudes, the partial pressure of oxygen in the atmosphere drops due to the decrease in atmospheric pressure; at the summit of Everest, it is one-third of that at sea level. SpO2 (arterial oxygen saturation) falls to the high 60s or 70s. While a person would normally collapse in such a hypoxic state, the body adapts to high altitudes by increasing cardiac output, hemoglobin, and respiratory rate. It is necessary to increase altitude gradually. At altitudes as high as Everest, almost everyone develops symptoms of altitude sickness. An altitude of about 8,000m is likely the limit at which humans can breathe.

Therefore, climbing Everest is a challenge to physiological limits and is life-threatening. It is particularly difficult for those in their 50s and older to adapt to high altitudes, and their arterial oxygen saturation becomes lower. Furthermore, when hemoglobin increases to adapt to high altitudes, blood clots form more easily, increasing the risk of cerebral infarction and myocardial infarction. Climbing Everest is extremely high-risk for middle-aged and older people.

Middle-aged and older climbers account for 75% of the total. To prevent altitude sickness, it is necessary to increase altitude gradually, maintain proper hydration, and have the courage to turn back if symptoms become severe.

Yuji Chiba

Teacher at Keio Yochisha Elementary School, Director of NPO Japan Society for Children and Traditional Play

I have successfully summited Everest many times.

You might think this is a lie when you hear these words, but it doesn't mean I actually climbed it. There is a kendama technique called "Everest," and I successfully performed it at the All Japan Kendama-do Championship, the pinnacle of competitive kendama. As a kendama competition event, it is a technique of the highest difficulty.

This technique is successful if you hold the spike (ken) part of the kendama, first land the ball on the rim of the small cup, then move the ball to the middle cup—which represents the summit of Everest—and finally land the ball on the rim of the large cup.

There is also a technique called "Uguisu no Tanivatari" (Nightingale's Valley Crossing) where the grip is reversed, and it is a required technique for the 5th dan level of Kendama-do.

Everest is a coveted technique in the world of kendama, and the path to the summit opens by concentrating your nerves from the very first step. The sense of achievement and fulfillment when the technique is finally completed can be experienced even with a kendama.

Recently, I have been practicing so that I can "summit Everest" with Hiroshi Miyama, an enka singer with whom I achieved a Guinness World Record for kendama on the stage of the NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen.

Mari Miyamoto

Associate Professor, Faculty of Business and Commerce, Keio University

The yak is a large bovid that lives at high altitudes of 3,000 meters or more. Most are raised in the region spanning the Tibetan Plateau to the Himalayan highlands. While the milk of female yaks produces cheese and butter, most male yaks are slaughtered a few years after birth, and their meat becomes a commodity exchanged for rice and barley. Their long, sturdy hair is used for blankets and clothing, and also produces the ropes and mobile tents essential for the lives of pastoralists. The white tails are particularly prized and sold at high prices as ritual tools and ornaments. For high-altitude pastoralists, the yak is a treasure that provides everything.

Yaks are also suitable for carrying loads. Ekai Kawaguchi, who traveled alone through Tibet during the Meiji period, survived the Tibetan winter by loading his gear onto yaks and riding on their backs across steep peaks and cold rivers. Pastoralists in the Himalayan region decorate their yaks beautifully at the change of seasons and move by loading their tents, which are their precious homes. Their movements are slow but powerful, and the sight of them advancing leisurely through the morning mist with heavy loads on their backs is even majestic. The sacrifices made by pastoralists to the mountain gods contain prayers for the health and prosperity of the yaks.