The Inspiring Yet Tragic Story Of Nobukazu Kuriki
FacebookOne of the many hundreds of photos Nobukazu Kuriki took and uploaded to social media during his climbs.
For climbers and fans, the 2018 death of Japanese alpinist and motivational speaker Nobukazu Kuriki was utterly devastating.
Those who knew him or simply knew his story marveled at his determination. This was a man who, despite losing nine fingers to frostbite on a previous attempt, remained undeterred in his quest to reach Everest’s summit. And when he tried again in May 2018, he came tantalizingly close to achieving his goal.
But with only 5,000 feet left to go before he reached the top, Kuriki was suddenly struck by fever and a debilitating cough. However, his courage compelled him to not only forge ahead but to update his social media accounts to tell the world that nothing would stop him.
FacebookKuriki during a successful climb in 2017.
Sadly, the 35-year-old succumbed to the elements. Tika Ram Gurung of the Bochi-Bochi Trek company confirmed that Kuriki’s body was found near Camp Three at an altitude of around 24,000 feet.
His corpse was discovered in his tent by the sherpas. Despite his seemingly superhuman persistence, he’d now joined the ranks of Mount Everest bodies.
“We are in shock,” said Gurung at the time. “It is a huge loss to the mountaineering world.”
“I have respect for you because you continued to push forward until the very end. Thank you so much for your inspiration and courage,” read one Facebook post dedicated to Nobukazu Kuriki.
For both his followers and his fellow climbers, his story was all the more tragic because he was a highly accomplished climber. He had not only attempted to conquer Everest seven times prior to his death, but he also finished a solo climb of the Himalayas’ Broad Peak — the 12th-highest peak on Earth — which also came after losing most of his fingers in 2012.
The credo that Nobukazu Kuriki espoused until the day he died — to never give up — has become his eternal legacy. Even after posting, “I feel the pain and difficulty of this mountain” on Facebook just one day before his death, he continued to trek upward. Sadly, he never made it to the top.
