Yuji Hirayama
 Yuji Hirayama at TEDxTokyo 2009 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Nationality | Japanese | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | February 23, 1969 Tokyo | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 173 cm (5 ft 8 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 65 kg (143 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Website | ameblo | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Climbing career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Type of climber | Sport climbing | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Highest grade | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Known for | First man to onsight 8c (5.14b) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Retired | 2007 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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| Updated on 13 May 2013 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Yuji Hirayama (平山ユージ; born February 23, 1969) is a Japanese rock climber specializing in lead climbing competitions. He won two Lead World Cups, in 1998 (becoming the first Asian climber to win the title)[1] and in 2000.[2] He is notable for being the first-ever climber to onsight an 8c (5.14b) route, and for his various speed records on El Capitan.
Climbing career
[edit]On November 25, 1999, Hirayama onsighted Mortal Kombat (Castillon, FRA), which gained some historical relevance because it was initially believed to be the world's first onsight of an 8c (5.14b); however, a few days later, Hirayama himself downgraded it to 8b+,[3] which has become the consensus grading.[4]
On September 29, 2002, Hirayama and Hans Florine climbed The Nose in 2:48:55, setting a new speed record.[5]
In 2003, he made the first ascent of a proposed 9a+ (5.15a) called Flat Mountain.[6]
On October 6, 2004, he onsighted the 8c (5.14b) graded White Zombie in Baltzola Cave, ESP. This was the world's first-ever onsight of an 8c in history.[4][7]). On 2005 Aug 10, Tomas Mrazek had the 2nd 8c onsight, Pata Negra at Rodellar in eastern Spain.[8]
In 2007, his El Capitan Nose record was broken by the German brothers Alexander Huber and Thomas Huber. The Hubers climbed The Nose on October 8, 2007 in 2 hours, 45 minutes and 45 seconds.[9] On July 2, 2008, Hirayama and Florine retook the record in a time of 2:43:33.[10] Then on October 12, 2008, they lowered the record to 2:37:05.[11]
In 2008, he made the third ascent of boulder problem, Uma V14 (8B+) at Shiobara, and the first ascent of Ginga V14 (8B+) at Kanoto.[12] In 2009, he made the 6th ascent of Cobra Crack in Squamish, British Columbia.
In 2012, he freed a multi-pitch route called Pogulian Do Koduduo in the Mount Kinabalu National Park in Borneo with one pitch at 9a.[13]
Business career
[edit]In 2010, Hirayama opened "Climb Park Base Camp", a climbing gym in Saitama prefecture, Japan.[14]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Rankings - UIAA Climbing Worldcup 1998 - MEN lead". ifsc-climbing.org. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
- ^ "Rankings - UIAA Climbing Worldcup 2000 - MEN lead". ifsc-climbing.org. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
- ^ "Yuji Hirayama first to onsight 8c!". planetmountain.com. Note: The title of this article is misleading, as the article contains an interview in which Hirayama downgraded the route to 8b+
- ^ a b "Yuji Hirayama world's first 8c on-sight!". planetmountain.com.
- ^ "Hirayama and Florine set new Nose record". planetmountain.com. 2 October 2002. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
- ^ Jeff Achey (15 June 2012). "Flat Mountain". climbing.com. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
- ^ "Yuji Hirayama White Zombie Onsight". Youtube. Archived from the original on 2021-12-12.
- ^ "Mrazek onsights Pata negra 8c!". planetmountain.com. 13 September 2005. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
- ^ Luke Bauer (9 October 2007). "Huber brothers break speed record on the Nose, twice". alpinist.com. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
- ^ Eric Perlman (4 September 2008). "The Nose goes quicker". climbing.com. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
- ^ Larry Arthur (30 May 2012). "Yuji and Hans Speed Up The Nose – An El Capitan Dispatch from Yosemite, CA". climbing.com. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
- ^ "Yuji Hirayama Still Has the Power". climbing.com. 24 April 2008. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
- ^ "Borneo, new extreme rock climbs by Yuji Hirayama, Daniel Woods and James Pearson on Mount Kinabalu".
- ^ "Home". b-camp.jp.