Makalu | 1970 SE Ridge
A Japan expedition to Makalu in 1970 via SE Ridge, led by Masao Kumazawa, Yohei Ito. Summit reached on 23rd May 1970. 20 members recorded.
Expedition Details
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| ID | 2483 |
| Imported | 2026-03-06 18:04:49.359634 |
| Expedition ID | MAKA70101 |
| Peak ID | MAKA |
| Year | 1970 |
| Season | 1 |
| Host Country | 1 |
| Route 1 | SE Ridge |
| Route 2 | - |
| Route 3 | - |
| Route 4 | - |
| Nationality | Japan |
| Leaders | Masao Kumazawa, Yohei Ito |
| Sponsor | Makalu Expedition 1970 |
| Success 1 | True |
| Success 2 | False |
| Success 3 | False |
| Success 4 | False |
| Ascent 1 | 4th |
| Ascent 2 | - |
| Ascent 3 | - |
| Ascent 4 | - |
| Claimed | False |
| Disputed | False |
| Countries | - |
| Approach | Dharan->Sedua->Shipton La->Barun Glacier (BC) |
| Basecamp Date | 1970-03-24 |
| Summit Date | 1970-05-23 |
| Summit Time | 1910 |
| Summit Days | 60 |
| Total Days | 66 |
| Termination Date | 1970-05-29 |
| Termination Reason | 1 |
| Termination Notes | - |
| High Point (m) | 8485 |
| Traverse | False |
| Ski | False |
| Paraglide | False |
| Camps | 6 |
| Fixed Rope (m) | 0 |
| Total Members | 20 |
| Summit Members | 2 |
| Member Deaths | 0 |
| Total Hired | 25 |
| Summit Hired | 0 |
| Hired Deaths | 0 |
| No Hired | False |
| O2 Used | True |
| O2 None | False |
| O2 Climb | True |
| O2 Descent | False |
| O2 Sleep | False |
| O2 Medical | True |
| O2 Taken | False |
| O2 Unknown | False |
| Other Summits | - |
| Campsites | BC(24/03,4700m),C1(27/03,5300m),C2(30/03,5900m),C3.ABC(01/04,6500m),C4(24/04,7100m),C5(11/05,7500m),C6(18/05,7950m),Smt(23/05) |
| Route Notes | Dr. Hara - 20 June 70 Goto and Hashimoto in Biratnagar. Goto to KTM after 1 week, others not know; attending to baggage to Japan via CCU Arrive today Kurazawa and Ito gone already; neither ever reached base camp. Hasegawa Ashiya Ikuta Yoshihara Koshiyara Asami Ichikawa We as Japanese are ashamed of Everest Expedition; weakest party ever to Everest; social structure of Japanese the cause. Americans failed because bad weather. Everest and Makalu very good weather this year. Used 100 of 120 cylinders. Near top summiters supply exhausted and from 8300m up none left; spent 65 days to climbs Makalu. 20 days more than schedule and food, fuel and oxygen not enough. SE Ridge very long and had very difficult place where black gendarme was more difficult then we expected; took 18 days to push way up this and move above it. C5 - 7500m Even if weather fine, Americans could not succeed because they said black gendarme rather easy; we got to black gendarme and tried and found it more difficult then Americans said; our members very strong and they had fighting spirit and good team work. Climbed black gendarme around it and half directly up it. Another reason for a success, our Sherpas very good and a very strong. Hara 22nd to NDH and arrive Japanese 24th. Expedition dispersing in KTM. 23 May weather bad; that last chance for expedition to succeed. Goto not going to climb Dhaulagiri I this fall. Onoe - 16 June 70 All others come tomorrow, Onoe and Tani today. 21st May Goto and Kawaguchi night out; very strong wind and route very difficult rock and ice. On SE Ridge all the way. Left camp 4:00 am and reached about 80-100 below summit; stopped for bivouac 6:30 pm (biv on snowfall little bit down); no tent, no sleeping bag. 22nd May - sunglasses of both broken during nights bivouac so 6:00 am started to return to C6 (no attempt to go up on 22nd). 6:30 pm arrived C6. Ozaki and Tanaka C6 came up to lead them down at 3:30 pm at 7900m. 23rd Ozaki and Tanaka left C6 2:30 am; reached summit 7:10 pm. No C7 because route too difficult to take loads there. Goto and Kawaguchi fixed ropes on 19th and 20th and not intended be summiters; plan for others to come up to C6 but they ill and unable reach C6; also Tanaka and Ozaki didn't reach C6. 21st as planned so Goto and Kawaguchi attacked. Summiters couldn't take photos because shutter frozen; stayed on summit 20 minutes; returned to C6 at 2:00 am 24th. Kawaguchi little frostbite 2 fingers but already healed. All others in good health; no accidents, no serious illness. All members thought not succeed because very late and route very difficult; before C6 established thought this, but "when they establish C6 then Ok, we succeed." Most leave Nepal after 2-3 days; 2-3 to stay 1 week. Shah, MFA - 2 June 70 23rd May Najima Tanaka and Yuichi Ozaki reached summit at 19:10 hrs from SE Ridge route. Celebrating success 28th May. Leaving base 29th May if weather and coolies Ok; reach Dharan in 16 days. On 18 May Goto and Yonosuke Kawaguchi established C6 at 14 hours at 7750m. Programme had been to put this camp at 8000m, but too difficult to put camp there so at 7750m. Goto and Kawaguchi attempted 21 May to reach summit but unable and also unable to return to C6 and spent night out and on 22 May they tried again for summit but again unsuccessfully because of snowblindness. 23 May summiters left C6 at 02:00 hr - took 17 hours 10 minutes to reach summit; put flags of Japanese and Nepal on summit. Makalu Expedition - 16 Feb 70 All members now here. Leave 20 Feb by air to Biratnagar on RNAC regular flight and trek from Dharan. Base 4700m 15 March. SE Ridge, the route once tried by Siri expedition 1954. Difficulties expected 7000-8000m many difficult rock and ice gendarme including 250m high black gendarme at end of summit assault. April base and 6 camps; 8100-8200m highest camp. Advance base begin April at 6500m (C3) with C4 just below gendarmes and C5 and C6 above them. Return KTM end of May unless 2nd attempt on summit mid-May. 20 Feb 70 Goto and Ozaki already in Dharan arranging porters. Dr. Ito comes only in April (arrive KTM 6 April). 16 to Biratnagar today. Japanese Makalu Expedition Sponsor: Japanese Alpine Club Firm: Tokai Section of JAC (office C/O Hara Hospital 3-17, Wakatake-cho Chikusa-ku, Nagoya) Members Director-General: Masao Kurazawa born May 4 1904 Leader Yohei Ito born Feb 5 1923 DM, D Med. Sc, Dir and Exec Laboratory of Virology, Aichi Cancer Center |
| Accidents | - |
| Achievement | 1st ascent of Makalu SE Summit |
| Agency | - |
| Commercial Route | - |
| Standard Route | - |
| Primary Route | False |
| Primary Member | False |
| Primary Reference | - |
| Primary ID | - |
| Checksum | 2443645 |
| Year | 1970 |
| Summit Success | True |
| O2 Summary | Used |
| Route (lowercase) | se ridge |
Members
20 recorded members.
| Name | Sex | Year of Birth | Citizenship | Status | Residence | Occupation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yohei Ito | M | 1923 | Japan | Leader | - | Director & executive, Laboratory of Virology, Aichi Cancer Centre | Details Other expeditions |
| Hisamitsu Tani | M | - | Japan | Climber | - | Reporter of Asahi Shimbun, Nagoya | Details Other expeditions |
| Makoto Hara | M | 1936 | Japan | Climbing Leader | - | Surgeon, Hara Hospital | Details Other expeditions |
| Yukihiro Ichikawa | M | 1947 | Japan | Climber | Hanno, Saitama, Japan | Bank officer, Saitama Bank | Details Other expeditions |
| Hajime Tanaka | M | 1937 | Japan | Climber | Japan | Civil engineer, Pacific Consultants Ltd | Details Other expeditions |
| Masaji Matsuura | M | - | Japan | Climber | Nagoya, Japan | Surgeon | Details Other expeditions |
| Noboru Onoe | M | - | Japan | Climber | Japan | Mechanical engineer, Onoe Machine Co. | Details Other expeditions |
| Hiroshi Ikuta | M | - | Japan | Climber | Japan | Mechanical engineer, Ohyabu Machinery Sales Co. | Details Other expeditions |
| Yuichi Ozaki | M | 1939 | Japan | Climber | - | - | Details Other expeditions |
| Toshihiro Goto | M | - | Japan | Climber | Japan | - | Details Other expeditions |
| Masao Asami | M | - | Japan | Climber | - | Student at Nagoya University | Details Other expeditions |
| Atsutaka Hashimoto | M | - | Japan | Climber | - | Student at Miekenritsu Medical School | Details Other expeditions |
| Yonosuke Kawaguchi | M | - | Japan | Climber | - | - | Details Other expeditions |
| Masakatsu Yoshihara | M | - | Japan | Climber | - | - | Details Other expeditions |
| Masao Koshiyama | M | - | Japan | Climber | - | - | Details Other expeditions |
| Nakaseko Naoko | F | - | Japan | Climber | - | - | Details Other expeditions |
| Ashiya Yoko | F | - | Japan | Climber | - | - | Details Other expeditions |
| Shiro Shirahata | M | - | Japan | Photographer | - | - | Details Other expeditions |
| Tani Hisamitsu | M | - | Japan | Photographer | - | - | Details Other expeditions |
| Masao Kurazawa | M | - | Japan | Commander General | - | - | Details Other expeditions |
References
12 recorded references.
| Expedition ID | Journal | Author | Title | Publisher | Citation | Yak 94 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MAKA70101 | HJ | Hara, Makoto & Asami, Masao | Makalu, 1970 - The First Ascent by the South-East Ridge | - | 30:129-140 (1970) | - |
| MAKA70101 | AAJ | Hara, Makoto & Asami, Masao | Makalu's South Ridge | - | 45:234-240 (1971) | - |
| MAKA70101 | JAC | Hara, Makoto & Asami, Masao | Makalu, 1970 | - | 66:13-18 (1971) | - |
| MAKA70101 | AJ | Hara, Makoto & Asami, Masao | Makalu - First Ascent by the South-East Ridge | - | 76:35-42 (1971) | - |
| MAKA70101 | - | Hara, Makoto & Asami, Masao | Makalu 1970 | Japanese Alpine Club, Nagoya, 1971 | - | jH35 |
| MAKA70101 | MM | - | - | - | 10:6 (Jul 1970) | - |
| MAKA70101 | MM | Hara, Mokoto & Asami, Masao | The Japanese on Makalu | - | 16:11-13 (Jul 1971) | - |
| MAKA70101 | MM | Dyhrenfurth, G. O. & Dyhrenfurth, Norman | Makalu | - | 64:46-49 (Nov 1978) | - |
| MAKA70101 | JAC | Hara, Makoto & Asami, Masao | Makalu, 1970 | - | 66:66-78 (1971) | - |
| MAKA70101 | - | - | http://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/12197123400/Makalus-South-Ridge | - | - | - |
| MAKA70101 | - | - | https://www.himalayanclub.org/hj/30/8/makalu-1970/ | - | - | - |
| MAKA70101 | - | - | https://www.alpinejournal.org.uk/Contents/Contents_1971_files/AJ%201971%2034-42%20Hara%20Makalu.pdf | - | - | - |