Yuji Hirayama

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.

Yuji Hirayama
Yuji Hirayama at TEDxTokyo 2009
Personal information
NationalityJapanese
Born (1969-02-23) February 23, 1969
Tokyo
Height173 cm (5 ft 8 in)
Weight65 kg (143 lb)
Websiteameblo.jp/stonerider/
Climbing career
Type of climberSport climbing
Highest grade
Known forFirst man to onsight 8c (5.14b)
Sport
Retired2007
Medal record
IFSC World Championships
Silver medal – second place1991 FrankfurtLead
Silver medal – second place1999 BirminghamLead
Bronze medal – third place1993 InnsbruckLead
IFSC Climbing World Cup
Bronze medal – third place1991Lead
Bronze medal – third place1993Lead
Winner1998Lead
Winner2000Lead
Rock Master
Winner1991Lead
Updated on 13 May 2013.

Climbing career

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

In 2010, Hirayama opened "Climb Park Base Camp", a climbing gym in Saitama prefecture, Japan.[14]

See also

References
  1. "Rankings - UIAA Climbing Worldcup 1998 - MEN lead". ifsc-climbing.org. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
  2. "Rankings - UIAA Climbing Worldcup 2000 - MEN lead". ifsc-climbing.org. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
  3. "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+
  4. "Yuji Hirayama world's first 8c on-sight!". planetmountain.com.
  5. "Hirayama and Florine set new Nose record". planetmountain.com. 2 October 2002. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
  6. Jeff Achey (15 June 2012). "Flat Mountain". climbing.com. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
  7. "Yuji Hirayama White Zombie Onsight". Youtube. Archived from the original on 2021-12-12.
  8. "Mrazek onsights Pata negra 8c!". planetmountain.com. 13 September 2005. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
  9. Luke Bauer (9 October 2007). "Huber brothers break speed record on the Nose, twice". alpinist.com. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
  10. Eric Perlman (4 September 2008). "The Nose goes quicker". climbing.com. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
  11. 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.
  12. "Yuji Hirayama Still Has the Power". climbing.com. 24 April 2008. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
  13. "Borneo, new extreme rock climbs by Yuji Hirayama, Daniel Woods and James Pearson on Mount Kinabalu".
  14. "Home". b-camp.jp.
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