Climbing
When most people think about flying the first things that may pop in people’s minds are frustration, headaches, and waiting in long lines. Most people would agree that losing your luggage is one of the most frustrating things a person can deal with when traveling. However, can you imagine getting your gear and equipment stolen for a once-in-a-lifetime trip? That is what happened to three Japanese men who traveled to Alaska to climb Denali. Subaru Takeda, Genya Takenaka, and Toranosuke Nagayama spent two years planning the expedition to Denali when someone stole all their gear.
Nagayama flew to Anchorage from Canada and Subaru Takeda and Genya Takenaka traveled from Japan. Once they arrived, they left their bags unattended in the lobby of an apartment they had rented. They left their luggage there for a few hours and when they returned all their bags were gone. Nagayama estimated that between $10,000 to $20,000 worth of climbing gear was stolen. “I gave up at the time, like I gave up the expedition,” Nagayama said according to Alaska Public’s Instagram Post.
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Planning a big-time trip like this and having all your gear stolen must have been a devastating blow to the three men. Where and how could you replace that amount of equipment in such a short time? “I was really ready for climbing, and I was so excited to see the glacier. I was really disappointed at the time,” Nagayama said. The next day, Takeda posted a handwritten sign at an REI store asking if anyone had information about their stolen gear. Someone did see the sign that Takeda hung up on REI, took a picture of it, and uploaded it to the Alaska Rock Climbing Facebook page.
We all know how some posts on social media can go viral in hours and that is what happened to the post on the Alaska Rock Climbing FB page. People started reaching out to see how they could help in any way and even offered to lend equipment to the three men. Dana Drummond, the owner of The Hoarding Marmot, organized a spreadsheet of everything they needed for their expedition to help out. “The Alaskan people were really kind,” Nagayama said. “I didn’t expect it. So it was so quick. And then we thought, ‘Oh, we might be able to continue this trip’. It was a really good day.”
After gathering gear from other climbers from around the area, Nagayama, Takeda, and Takenaka set out to make their expedition. They took two weeks to acclimate to the elevation and then it took 10 days of trying to climb the summit of Denali. However, hypothermia turned them around just before the summit. Their main goal was to link two climbs together: the West and East Kahiltna peaks with the Cassin Ridge of Denali. No one has ever successfully done this before in one self-supported endeavor. Even though they did not reach the summit of Denali, they were still happy with completing their main goal of linking Hahiltna peaks with the Cassin Ridge. “The glacier was really beautiful, like a huge and flat glacier,” Nagayama said. “We are so excited.”
Setting out on an expedition, reaching the start point, and then almost having it not ever begin had to be mentally tough for the three men. However, with the help of locals from Anchorage, the three men were able to complete their expedition. Takeda said that he is so grateful to everyone who came to help them. “I could never do this without Alaskan people’s help,” he said. After completing the expedition and flying home, they returned all the gear they borrowed to the local climbers who helped make their trip successful.
