Elite Japanese Climbers Die on K2

Two elite mountaineers have died on K2. Kazuya Hiraide, 45, and Kenro Nakajima, 39, fell from approximately 24,500 ft. on the mountain's West Face.

Hiraide and Nakajima on the summit of Tirich Mir / Ishii Sports

Two Elite Mountaineers Fall to Their Death on K2

Two elite, famed mountaineers have died on K2. The Japanese Embassy in Islamabad reported that Kazuya Hiraide, 45, and Kenro Nakajima, 39, fell from approximately 24,500 ft. on the second highest mountain in the world on July 20th, and their condition was unknown. Since the report, two motionless bodies were spotted from a helicopter by a rescue team, and are assumed to be the fallen climbers. This marks a tragic end to an incredibly ambitious goal by the fallen climbers. The video below shows the experienced mountaineers prior to their tragic K2 West Face Expedition - Explorersweb.

Piolets d’Or – The Golden Ice Axe

Hiraide has won three Piolets d’Or Awards for best expeditions of the year. The first with his late partner Kei Taniguchi, and the two others two were with Nakajima - in 2022 for their climb on Karun Koh, and for their expedition in 2023 on Tirich Mir. The Piolet d'Or, or Golden Ice Axe, is one of the most prestigious awards in the world of mountaineering. Established in 1991 by the French magazine Montagnes and the Groupe de Haute Montagne (GHM), the award celebrates the spirit of adventure, technical skill, and the values of mountaineering through recognition of the year's most remarkable ascents. Hiraide once noted, “For me, climbing is about carving out my own path, not following somebody else’s route.”

The Perilous North Face

Kazuya Hiraide and Kenro Nakajima had recently ventured to Pakistan to attempt pioneering a new route on the West Face of K2. They planned to climb alpine style – carrying minimal gear and going fast. They were climbing with no fixed ropes on the perilous West Face. The most common route on K2 is the Abruzzi Spur, named after the Duke of Abruzzi who attempted the climb in 1909. The west face of K2 is characterized by its vertical rock walls, ice fields, and complex serac formations, and has been rarely attempted.

It involves more bare rock and icy couloirs than the more standard Abruzzi Route.  The west face offers an incredibly demanding route that has seen few successful ascents. In fact, the only successful summit of the West Face on K2 was executed by a Russian team led by Viktor Kozlov in 2007. The elite Japanese climbers were also climbing without the aid of supplemental oxygen, just as the Russians did on their expedition. In the photo below, the red route was taken by the Russian team in 2007, and the blue route was attempted by the fallen climbers.

The West Face of K2 / Animal de Ruta

Detailed Planning For Historic Climb

The elite climbers embarked on their K2 journey highly prepared. In 2017 the pair established a remarkable new route on the Northwest Face of Sispare, after which Hiraide and Nakajima trekked over to K2 to study the West Face. There they began to devise their ambitious climb, and spent years preparing for this 2024 expedition. Hiraide said this about the K2’s West Face in 2017: “By accumulating experience and taking small steps, I can turn the impossible into the possible. I’ve always tried to climb mountains like this, so even if it takes me 20 years to accomplish the impossible, it’s still fun. That’s what the West Face is all about.” Prior to departing for this historic attempt, Hiraide reflected, “In my heart, I have expectations, hopes, worries, fears…I can’t narrow it down to just one word,”  (From Explorersweb and Angela Benavides)

Rest In Peace

Fallen Climbers Kazuya Hiraide and Kenro Nakajima / Archive Kazuya Hiraide