Cho Oyu | 1985 W Ridge-W Face

A Japan expedition to Cho Oyu in 1985 via W Ridge-W Face, led by Ken Kanazawa. Summit reached on 3rd October 1985. 4 members recorded.

Expedition Details

Field	Value
ID	209
Imported	2026-03-06 18:04:49.359634
Expedition ID	CHOY85301
Peak ID	CHOY
Year	1985
Season	3
Host Country	1
Route 1	W Ridge-W Face
Route 2	-
Route 3	-
Route 4	-
Nationality	Japan
Leaders	Ken Kanazawa
Sponsor	Kathmandu Club Cho Oyu Expedition
Success 1	True
Success 2	False
Success 3	False
Success 4	False
Ascent 1	16th
Ascent 2	-
Ascent 3	-
Ascent 4	-
Claimed	False
Disputed	False
Countries	-
Approach	-
Basecamp Date	1985-09-21
Summit Date	1985-10-03
Summit Time	1350
Summit Days	12
Total Days	23
Termination Date	1985-10-14
Termination Reason	1
Termination Notes	-
High Point (m)	8188
Traverse	False
Ski	False
Paraglide	False
Camps	3
Fixed Rope (m)	0
Total Members	4
Summit Members	3
Member Deaths	0
Total Hired	2
Summit Hired	0
Hired Deaths	0
No Hired	False
O2 Used	False
O2 None	True
O2 Climb	False
O2 Descent	False
O2 Sleep	False
O2 Medical	False
O2 Taken	False
O2 Unknown	False
Other Summits	-
Campsites	BC(21/09,5200m),C1(25/09,5650m),C2(29/09,6400m),C3(03/10,7200m),Smt(03/10)
Route Notes	BC at 5200m at Dza camp C1 same as Spanish autumn 1984 C1 C2 near point 6446m C3 on West Face (center of face below). Route not so difficult, but very long distances between BC to C1 and C1 to C2. Had problem on big summit snow plateau where snow had light crust on top of it: took 1-1/2 hours on plateau itself to reach summit (11 hours from C3 to top).
Accidents	Little frostbites only
Achievement	1st Japanese ascent of last 8000er
Agency	-
Commercial Route	True
Standard Route	True
Primary Route	False
Primary Member	False
Primary Reference	-
Primary ID	-
Checksum	2452017
Year	1985
Summit Success	True
O2 Summary	None
Route (lowercase)	w ridge-w face

Members

Field	Value
ID	4286
Imported	2026-03-06 18:06:05.675609
Expedition ID	CHOY85301
Member ID	01
Peak ID	CHOY
Year	1985
Season	3
First Name	Ken
Last Name	Kanazawa
Sex	M
Age	0
Birth Date	-
Year of Birth	1945
Calculated Age	39
Citizenship	Japan
Status	Leader
Residence	Takamatsu, Kagawa, Japan
Occupation	Dentist
Leader	True
Deputy	False
Basecamp Only	False
Not to BC	False
Support	False
Disabled	False
Hired	False
Sherpa	False
Tibetan	False
Summit Success	False
Claimed	False
Disputed	False
Solo	False
Traverse	False
Ski	False
Paraglide	False
Speed	-
High Point (m)	False
Personal High Point (m)	6400
Summit Date 1	1985-09-28
Summit Date 2	-
Summit Date 3	-
Summit Time 1	-
Summit Time 2	-
Summit Time 3	-
Route 1	1
Route 2	0
Route 3	0
Ascent 1	0
Ascent 2	0
Ascent 3	0
O2 Used	False
O2 None	True
O2 Climb	False
O2 Descent	False
O2 Sleep	False
O2 Medical	False
O2 Notes	-
Death	False
Death Date	-
Death Time	-
Death Type	0
Death Height (m)	0
Death Class	0
AMS	False
Weather	False
Injury	False
Injury Date	-
Injury Time	-
Injury Type	0
Injury Height (m)	0
Death Notes	-
Member Notes	-
Necrology	-
Summit Bid	1
Summit Term	15
HCN	0
Checksum	2429732
Summit Note 1	-
Summit Note 2	-
Summit Note 3	-
Death Route	-
Name (lowercase)	ken kanazawa
Year of Birth	1945
Year	1985
Age at Expedition	40
Role	Leader

Field	Value
ID	4287
Imported	2026-03-06 18:06:05.675609
Expedition ID	CHOY85301
Member ID	03
Peak ID	CHOY
Year	1985
Season	3
First Name	Mitsugu
Last Name	Kitamura
Sex	M
Age	0
Birth Date	-
Year of Birth	1958
Calculated Age	27
Citizenship	Japan
Status	Climber
Residence	Ise, Mie, Japan
Occupation	Geomorphology student
Leader	False
Deputy	False
Basecamp Only	False
Not to BC	False
Support	False
Disabled	False
Hired	False
Sherpa	False
Tibetan	False
Summit Success	True
Claimed	False
Disputed	False
Solo	False
Traverse	False
Ski	False
Paraglide	False
Speed	-
High Point (m)	True
Personal High Point (m)	8188
Summit Date 1	1985-10-03
Summit Date 2	-
Summit Date 3	-
Summit Time 1	1350
Summit Time 2	-
Summit Time 3	-
Route 1	1
Route 2	0
Route 3	0
Ascent 1	16
Ascent 2	0
Ascent 3	0
O2 Used	False
O2 None	True
O2 Climb	False
O2 Descent	False
O2 Sleep	False
O2 Medical	False
O2 Notes	-
Death	False
Death Date	-
Death Time	-
Death Type	0
Death Height (m)	0
Death Class	0
AMS	False
Weather	False
Injury	False
Injury Date	-
Injury Time	-
Injury Type	0
Injury Height (m)	0
Death Notes	-
Member Notes	-
Necrology	-
Summit Bid	5
Summit Term	1
HCN	0
Checksum	2434354
Summit Note 1	-
Summit Note 2	-
Summit Note 3	-
Death Route	-
Name (lowercase)	mitsugu kitamura
Year of Birth	1958
Year	1985
Age at Expedition	27
Role	Member

Field	Value
ID	4288
Imported	2026-03-06 18:06:05.675609
Expedition ID	CHOY85301
Member ID	02
Peak ID	CHOY
Year	1985
Season	3
First Name	Toichiro
Last Name	Mitani
Sex	M
Age	0
Birth Date	-
Year of Birth	1956
Calculated Age	29
Citizenship	Japan
Status	Deputy Leader
Residence	Marugame, Kagawa, Japan
Occupation	Life insurance salesman
Leader	False
Deputy	True
Basecamp Only	False
Not to BC	False
Support	False
Disabled	False
Hired	False
Sherpa	False
Tibetan	False
Summit Success	True
Claimed	False
Disputed	False
Solo	False
Traverse	False
Ski	False
Paraglide	False
Speed	-
High Point (m)	True
Personal High Point (m)	8188
Summit Date 1	1985-10-03
Summit Date 2	-
Summit Date 3	-
Summit Time 1	1350
Summit Time 2	-
Summit Time 3	-
Route 1	1
Route 2	0
Route 3	0
Ascent 1	16
Ascent 2	0
Ascent 3	0
O2 Used	False
O2 None	True
O2 Climb	False
O2 Descent	False
O2 Sleep	False
O2 Medical	False
O2 Notes	-
Death	False
Death Date	-
Death Time	-
Death Type	0
Death Height (m)	0
Death Class	0
AMS	False
Weather	False
Injury	False
Injury Date	-
Injury Time	-
Injury Type	0
Injury Height (m)	0
Death Notes	-
Member Notes	-
Necrology	-
Summit Bid	5
Summit Term	1
HCN	0
Checksum	2433501
Summit Note 1	-
Summit Note 2	-
Summit Note 3	-
Death Route	-
Name (lowercase)	toichiro mitani
Year of Birth	1956
Year	1985
Age at Expedition	29
Role	Deputy

Field	Value
ID	4289
Imported	2026-03-06 18:06:05.675609
Expedition ID	CHOY85301
Member ID	04
Peak ID	CHOY
Year	1985
Season	3
First Name	Norio
Last Name	Nakanishi
Sex	M
Age	0
Birth Date	-
Year of Birth	1958
Calculated Age	27
Citizenship	Japan
Status	Climber
Residence	Tateyama, Toyama, Japan
Occupation	Travel agent
Leader	False
Deputy	False
Basecamp Only	False
Not to BC	False
Support	False
Disabled	False
Hired	False
Sherpa	False
Tibetan	False
Summit Success	True
Claimed	False
Disputed	False
Solo	False
Traverse	False
Ski	False
Paraglide	False
Speed	-
High Point (m)	True
Personal High Point (m)	8188
Summit Date 1	1985-10-03
Summit Date 2	-
Summit Date 3	-
Summit Time 1	1350
Summit Time 2	-
Summit Time 3	-
Route 1	1
Route 2	0
Route 3	0
Ascent 1	16
Ascent 2	0
Ascent 3	0
O2 Used	False
O2 None	True
O2 Climb	False
O2 Descent	False
O2 Sleep	False
O2 Medical	False
O2 Notes	-
Death	False
Death Date	-
Death Time	-
Death Type	0
Death Height (m)	0
Death Class	0
AMS	False
Weather	False
Injury	False
Injury Date	-
Injury Time	-
Injury Type	0
Injury Height (m)	0
Death Notes	-
Member Notes	-
Necrology	-
Summit Bid	5
Summit Term	1
HCN	0
Checksum	2434211
Summit Note 1	-
Summit Note 2	-
Summit Note 3	-
Death Route	-
Name (lowercase)	norio nakanishi
Year of Birth	1958
Year	1985
Age at Expedition	27
Role	Member

4 recorded members.

Name	Sex	Year of Birth	Citizenship	Status	Residence	Occupation
Ken Kanazawa	M	1945	Japan	Leader	Takamatsu, Kagawa, Japan	Dentist	Details Other expeditions
Mitsugu Kitamura	M	1958	Japan	Climber	Ise, Mie, Japan	Geomorphology student	Details Other expeditions
Toichiro Mitani	M	1956	Japan	Deputy Leader	Marugame, Kagawa, Japan	Life insurance salesman	Details Other expeditions
Norio Nakanishi	M	1958	Japan	Climber	Tateyama, Toyama, Japan	Travel agent	Details Other expeditions

References

Field	Value
ID	152
Imported	2026-03-06 18:06:36.307770
Expedition ID	CHOY85301
Reference ID	01
Year	1985
Type	2
Journal	AAJ
Author	Cheney, Michael J. & Hawley, Elizabeth
Title	-
Publisher	-
Publication Date	1986
Language	-
Citation	60:235 (1986)
Yak 94	-
Notes	-

Field	Value
ID	2184
Imported	2026-03-06 18:06:36.307770
Expedition ID	CHOY85301
Reference ID	02
Year	1985
Type	2
Journal	JAC
Author	Mitani, Toichiro
Title	Cho Oyu 1985
Publisher	-
Publication Date	1986
Language	English
Citation	81:31-36 (1986)
Yak 94	-
Notes	Route map and photos in English included in Japanese section

Field	Value
ID	4224
Imported	2026-03-06 18:06:36.307770
Expedition ID	CHOY85301
Reference ID	03
Year	1985
Type	3
Journal	MM
Author	-
Title	-
Publisher	-
Publication Date	1986
Language	-
Citation	108:11 (Mar 1986)
Yak 94	-
Notes	-

Field	Value
ID	6030
Imported	2026-03-06 18:06:36.307770
Expedition ID	CHOY85301
Reference ID	04
Year	1985
Type	2
Journal	JAC
Author	Mitani, Toichiro
Title	Cho Oyu 1985
Publisher	-
Publication Date	1986
Language	Japanese
Citation	81:33-37 (1986)
Yak 94	-
Notes	Includes route map and photos in English

Field	Value
ID	6908
Imported	2026-03-06 18:06:36.307770
Expedition ID	CHOY85301
Reference ID	05
Year	1985
Type	3
Journal	IWA
Author	-
Title	-
Publisher	-
Publication Date	1986
Language	Japanese
Citation	:51-52 (1986)
Yak 94	-
Notes	-

Field	Value
ID	12406
Imported	2026-03-06 18:06:36.307770
Expedition ID	CHOY85301
Reference ID	06
Year	1985
Type	5
Journal	-
Author	-
Title	http://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/12198623501/Asia-Nepal-Cho-Oyu
Publisher	-
Publication Date	-
Language	-
Citation	-
Yak 94	-
Notes	-

6 recorded references.

Expedition ID	Journal	Author	Title	Publisher	Citation	Yak 94
CHOY85301	AAJ	Cheney, Michael J. & Hawley, Elizabeth	-	-	60:235 (1986)	-
CHOY85301	JAC	Mitani, Toichiro	Cho Oyu 1985	-	81:31-36 (1986)	-
CHOY85301	MM	-	-	-	108:11 (Mar 1986)	-
CHOY85301	JAC	Mitani, Toichiro	Cho Oyu 1985	-	81:33-37 (1986)	-
CHOY85301	IWA	-	-	-	:51-52 (1986)	-
CHOY85301	-	-	http://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/12198623501/Asia-Nepal-Cho-Oyu	-	-	-