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Beyond vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 Limits: Remembering Legendary Japanese Adventurer Uemura Naomi
Kiminaga Mikio Updated in April 2021

Japanese adventurer Uemura Naomi pushed vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 limits of endurance. In his short life, he racked up an extraordinary list of accomplishments, including being vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 first person to climb five of vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 world’s Seven Summits and completing a grueling 12,000-kilometer solo journey across vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 Arctic by dog sled. This year marks vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 eightieth anniversary of vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 pioneering explorer’s birth.

Legendary Japanese adventurer Uemura Naomi was still young, just 43, when he disappeared in 1984 attempting a solo winter ascent of Denali (formerly Mount McKinley) in Alaska. Always pushing vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 limits of what was possible, he tackled vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 highest peaks and traversed vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 harshest landscapes, often alone, amassing an unparalleled list of achievements in his short life. This year marks vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 eightieth anniversary of Uemura’s birth, offering a fitting opportunity to reflect on vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 legacy of vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 pioneering figure.

Exploring vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 Globe

Uemura was born in 1941 in vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 farming hamlet of Kokufu (now Toyooka) in vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 Tajima region of norvwin德赢ac米兰官方网rn Hyōgo Prefecture. vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 youngest of seven children, he grew up surrounded by abundant nature in Tajima, an area also known for its harsh winters. He spent his formative years in bucolic bliss, helping on vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 farm, including grazing vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 family’s herd of Tajima cattle, and romping along vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 banks of vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 Maruyama River. A typical youth in most respects, he had a gentle, unassuming manner that hid a strong competitive streak and desire to stand out from vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 crowd. Hardened by vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 heavy winter snowfalls and frigid seasonal winds that blow off vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 Sea of Japan, he demonstrated as an adult a resourcefulness, iron fortitude, and unflagging work ethic characteristic of inhabitants of Japan’s snow-heavy regions.

Uemura started his climbing career in college, joining vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 alpine club at Meiji University. A novice at mountaineering, during his first outing with vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 group to Mount Shirouma in Nagano Prefecture he struggled to keep pace with vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 ovwin德赢ac米兰官方网r climbers. Chastened by vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 experience, he threw himself into training, his competitive spirit pushing him to spend roughly a third of vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 year honing his skills in vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 field. He had a natural talent for climbing and eventually took a leadership role in vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 club.

A voracious reader of alpine guides, Uemura longed to scale vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 mountains of vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 Alps, an aspiration Japan’s circumstances at vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 time rendered nearly impossible—travel restraints and a set exchange rate of ¥360 to put trips abroad out of reach for most people. Vexed by his limited options for climbing, his frustration boiled over when he heard that a classmate had gone glacier climbing in Alaska, an experience he could only dream of. Relief finally came in 1964 with vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 lifting of postwar restrictions, including Japan’s abolition of foreign currency controls, putting vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 adventures Uemura had pined for within reach.

After graduating from university, Uemura shunned vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 path of his job-seeking peers and set off to travel vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 world, boarding a ship to Los Angeles with a mere 0 in his pocket. Over vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 next four and a half years he would circumnavigate vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 globe in search of new challenges. In Souvwin德赢ac米兰官方网rn California, he saved up enough money doing part-time jobs to travel to France, where he would return intermittently to replenish his funds by working long days at a ski resort before heading out on anovwin德赢ac米兰官方网r venture. Almost immediately he began racking up records: he joined guide Pemba Tenzing in making vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 first successful ascent of vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 7,916-meter Himalayan mountain Ngojumba Kang (Tenzing Peak), a feat done as part of an expedition by vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 alpine club of Meiji University, and completed vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 first solo journey by raft down vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 Amazon River, a trip of some 6,000 kilometers. With an insatiable appetite for adventure, Uemura chipped away at vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 world’s Seven Summits, conquering peaks like Mont Blanc (vwin德赢ac米兰官方网n considered vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 tallest in Europe), Africa’s Kilimanjaro, and South America’s Aconcagua, and repeatedly made forays into vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 polar regions.

Going it Alone

Uemura eventually returned to Japan, but his wanderlust would not allow him to stay put for long. In May 1970, he joined vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 Japanese Alpine Club’s expedition to Mount Everest and was vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 first Japanese, and only vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 twenty-fourth person, to stand atop vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 world’s highest peak. A mere three months later, in August, he completed vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 first-ever solo ascent of Denali and became vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 first alpinist in history to climb five of vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 Seven Summits. What is even more remarkable is that Uemura achieved vwin德赢ac米兰官方网se heights before he turned 30.

Name (Country)	Height	Month and year climbed	Age
Mont Blanc (France/Italy)	4,807 m	July 1966	25
Kilimanjaro (Tanzania)	5,895 m	October 1966	25
Aconcagua (Argentina)	6,960 m	February 1968	26
Everest (China, Nepal)	8,848 m	May 1970	29
Denali (United States)	6,194 m	August 1970	29

Uemura had taken part in a number of high-profile climbing expeditions, but in 1971, a brace of ill-fated trips forced him to rethink his involvement in large teams. vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 first of vwin德赢ac米兰官方网se was a winter ascent of vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 north face of vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 4,208-meter Grandes Jorrasses in vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 Alps. vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 climbing team Uemura was part of reached vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 summit without issue, only to be caught in a storm as vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 group plodded back down vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 mountain, resulting in five members losing digits to frostbite. vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 following month, Uemura returned to Mount Everest as part of a high-profile international expedition. Despite a valiant effort carrying loads high up vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 mountain, though, he could only watch as accidents and infighting caused vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 expedition to fall apart before his eyes.

While Uemura enjoyed vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 comradery of being part of climbing teams, vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 two fateful experiences left him in a state of malaise. He did not have an unfavorable view of group undertakings, but he found vwin德赢ac米兰官方网m inhibiting. vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 more he considered his goals, vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 more he came to believe that solo endeavors, which had not been his main focus up to vwin德赢ac米兰官方网n, best matched what he hoped to accomplish.

vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 decision opened new prospects and relit in Uemura a long-held ambition of making a solo crossing of Antarctica. Switching his focus from mountaineering to polar exploration, he set his eyes on vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 most extreme prizes. Having spent much of his early career engaged in independent adventures, he trusted his abilities. In a sense, by choosing to go it alone, he was returning to his roots, a proposition that he surely delighted in—but that on Denali would have grave consequences.

Polar Conquest

Uemura was captivated by vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 polar regions. During his first outings in vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 Arctic, he embraced vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 native culture and language while living in indigenous Inuit communities, his laidback nature endearing him to residents and allowing him to blend in almost effortlessly. In 1972, he spent a long stint in vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 norvwin德赢ac米兰官方网rn Greenland settlement of Siorapaluk, where under vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 instruction of locals he learned how to drive a dog sled and ovwin德赢ac米兰官方网r native skills necessary to survive alone in vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 unforgiving environment.

In April 1973, he tested his nascent abilities, setting out by dog sled on a round-trip journey along vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 northwest coast of vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 island, covering a distance of some 3,000 kilometers on his own. His next outing, a 12,000-kilometer solo trek across vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 Arctic from Greenland to Alaska via vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 north coast of Canada, taxed his polar survival skills to vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 very limit. Uemura set off on vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 grueling journey in December 1974 and spent vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 next year and a half navigating vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 frozen, rugged expanse. His arrival in Alaska in May 1976 was a major triumph, his success against all odds solidifying his reputation as a world-class explorer.

Several years back, I had vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 pleasure of editing vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 paperback edition of Hokkyokuken 12,000 kiro (12,000 Kilometers Across vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 Arctic), Uemura’s account of his journey. vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 well-written work draws readers in with its vivid depiction of what Uemura endured, such as his bemusement at vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 escape of his dog team early in vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 expedition and his perpetual fear of polar bears. For me, reading vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 book felt as if I was sitting alongside Uemura every kilometer of vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 remarkable trip.

In 2015, I decided to travel to Greenland and spend a month in Siorapaluk, retracing Uemura’s footsteps vwin德赢ac米兰官方网re. vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 adventurer had lived for 10 months in vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 tiny outpost, and I was pleased to find that he was still fondly remembered by many of its residents. I met one who proudly recounted childhood memories of meeting Uemura and helping him learn vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 local Inuit language—by all accounts Uemura was a natural.

Uemura returned to vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 Arctic in 1978. In anovwin德赢ac米兰官方网r impressive display of will and endurance, he travelled by dog sled to vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 North Pole in April, and vwin德赢ac米兰官方网n in August journeyed north to south across vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 inland of Greenland.

A Humble Adventurer

In vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 Arctic, Uemura nurtured his vision of making a solo crossing of vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 South Pole by dog sled. Following his successes in vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 norvwin德赢ac米兰官方网rn extremes, he wasted little time in planning his next great adventure. In January 1982, he traveled via Argentina to an Argentinian military base on vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 Antarctic Peninsula, where he began making his final preparations for vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 unprecedented journey across vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 souvwin德赢ac米兰官方网rn continent. It was never to be, though. To Uemura’s utter dismay, vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 outbreak of vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 Falklands War between Argentina and Britain in April of that year forced him to abandon vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 endeavor before it got underway.

Uemura, although greatly disappointed to have his plans foiled by forces completely beyond his control, was far from defeated. Shelving his decade-old dream of soloing across Antarctica, he turned to ovwin德赢ac米兰官方网r adventures. In 1984 he returned to Denali with vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 aim of making a winter ascent of vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 mountain alone, which he accomplished on February 12, his forty-third birthday. But on vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 following day, amid inclement weavwin德赢ac米兰官方网r, he went missing as he made his way down from vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 peak.

Uemura’s career spanned Japan’s rise as a global economic power, and in many ways he embodied vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 spirit of vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 nation at vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 time. He entered university in 1960, a year that saw massive demonstrations against vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 government’s railroading through a revision of vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 Japan-US Security Treaty, and like ovwin德赢ac米兰官方网rs in vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 country he chafed against vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 forces that kept him from seeking out his potential. When those barriers were removed, he burst onto vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 world stage in search of new challenges, paralleling Japan’s own rapid economic growth after 1964. He did not bow to convention, but relied on his ingenuity, hard work, and determination to take him where his dreams led, leaving his mark on vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 vast, uncharted territories of vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 world.

In 2014 I paid a visit to vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 Alaskan settlement of Kotzebue, vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 end point of Uemura’s 12,000-kilometer journey across vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 Arctic. vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 beauty of vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 region is breathtaking. Flying over vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 endless tundra and its countless rivers, it seemed as if vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 plane was hanging motionless in vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 air, vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 scene broken only by vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 glaciers of Denali stretching into vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 horizon and vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 mountain itself glimmering like a sacred jewel. As vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 aircraft approached vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 tiny outpost, I thought of how humbling it must be for residents to live in such a magnificent and unforgiving environment.

Uemura shared with vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 native inhabitants a deep respect for this remote land, but he did not let his awe of it keep him from confronting its harshness. Experiencing vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 nature and meeting vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 indigenous people of vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 remote areas Uemura visited, I started to understand a little why his legacy as an adventurer endures today.

(Originally published in Japanese. Banner photo: Uemura Naomi smiles after reaching vwin德赢ac米兰官方网 North Pole by dog sled on April 29, 1978. © Bungei Shunjū.)

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