Mountaineer Kei Taniguchi fell to her death while climbing this week in the snowy Daisetsuzan range in northern Japan’s Hokkaido. She was 43.
Taniguchi, who climbed Mount Everest in 2007, became the first woman to win the prestigious Piolet d’Or (Golden Ice Axe) mountaineering award in 2009.
A friend and fellow climber, Hiroshi Hagiwara, said yesterday that she fell while taking a break on 1,984m Kurodake after she and four companions had reached the peak.
Photo: Kyodo News via AP
“It’s a great loss for our community. I had climbed with her in the past,” said Hagiwara, an editor at Yamakei magazine. “She was one of us and it’s very unfortunate.”
Taniguchi had detached herself from the rope she and fellow climbers were using, then went behind a boulder. The group found a glove and signs that she had fallen, and a search, delayed by bad weather, found her buried in snow hundreds of meters below.
She was carried out by helicopter and confirmed dead on Tuesday.
Taniguchi and her climbing partner, Kazuya Hiraide, won acclaim for technically challenging climbs in Alaska, Nepal, Tibet, Pakistan and China.
In an essay published last month in the Alpinist Magazine, Taniguchi quipped that she might have been drawn to climbing peaks because she was short, but she also mused on the allure of Japan’s mountains and the unknown.
“When I was a child, reading adventure stories in a house by the sea, I often dreamed about worlds above the clouds,” she wrote. “One day, my father took me on a hike up a nearby mountain. It was just a little one — a rocky summit poking through a thick carpet of trees — in the Fukushima Prefecture of Japan, but for the first time, I thought I could touch the clouds.”
“In severe, high places, I’m forced to see how small and powerless all humans are, compared to the vastness of the wild,” she added. “At the same time, I realize our unlimited potential: I decide whether to encounter the hardships of the mountain or not. To go up or down, right or left. No one forces me. No one leads me by the hand.”
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
Taiwan’s Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan on Saturday won the men’s doubles bronze medal at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, after they were bested by the hosts in their semi-final. The Taiwanese shuttlers lost to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who advanced to yesterday’s final against Malaysia’s Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzudin. The Chinese pair outplayed Lee and Yang in straight games. Although the Taiwanese got off to a slow start in the first game, they eventually tied it 14-14, before Liang and Wang went on to blow past them to win 21-17. In the second game, Lee and