00:08
A climber scales an enormous wall of solid ice created by nature.
00:14
This is ice climbing.
00:26
In this episode, come and experience
00:29
the thrill of ice climbing in frozen Hokkaido.
00:41
Cape Notoro protrudes into the Sea of Okhotsk
00:45
in eastern Hokkaido.
00:56
The ice floes are dashing against these cliffs
00:59
which are the site for today’s activity.
01:07
Mark O Flaherty from Ireland
01:09
is trying his hand at ice climbing.
01:12
He has only been doing it for three years
01:15
after discovering it right here in Hokkaido.
01:23
Today, he’s going ice climbing
01:26
with his regular climbing companions.
01:33
The Sea of Okhotsk comes into view.
01:38
Yeah, we can see some.
01:41
The falls they’ve chosen to climb are right below.
01:48
It’s an enormous frozen waterfall
01:53
The surface is bumpy and sloped
01:55
until about 10 meters up
01:58
which makes it relatively easy to climb.
02:01
But around the middle, the ice is almost vertical
02:05
making climbing a lot more treacherous.
02:12
Mark and his friends begin preparing for the climb.
02:16
They secure the rope at the top of the waterfall.
02:24
They’ll use the rope to rappel down the cliff.
02:32
This part of the day is always like a little…
02:36
I’m always a little nervous
02:37
before we rappel down the waterfall.
02:45
Mark has eight years of experience as a rock climber,
02:49
but the temperature and unpredictable conditions of ice climbing
02:53
make it both fun and challenging at the same time.
03:04
Mark has very carefully checked the condition of the ice.
03:13
The ice looks pretty good.
03:16
Last night was quite cold so
03:20
it’s good and hard.
03:22
And sometimes if it’s a little warm,
03:25
the water can kind of flow and can drip on you while you’re climbing.
03:29
But it’s properly frozen today so it should be nice.
03:36
The group is ready to begin a 40-meter-high ice climb.
03:45
They are going to work in pairs.
03:47
…if I fall, if I suddenly fall…
03:54
The green rope that connects two people
03:57
has been wrapped around the support point at the top of the falls.
04:07
Kimura Hideki taught Mark how to ice climb.
04:14
As Mark’s partner, he’ll be responsible for gripping the rope
04:19
to prevent Mark from falling even if he happens to slip.
04:30
He trusts that I’ll be vigilant so that I can immediately stop him from falling.
04:44
Mark is holding an ice axe in each hand.
04:48
As he climbs, he drives the axe into the ice
04:52
while he makes footholds by kicking in with his feet.
05:11
Chopping into the ice over and over
05:13
with the ice axes uses up a lot of energy.
05:17
It’s important to check each indent very carefully.
05:33
Then there are his feet.
05:35
He digs his crampons into the ice,
05:37
forcing his toes to support his weight.
05:40
Ice climbing is a true test of strength and endurance.
05:56
After five minutes, Mark has reached a difficult point.
06:15
The ice is almost completely sheer,
06:18
and every swing of his arms forces his upper body to bend backwards.
06:32
He’s gradually starting to lose strength in his arms.
06:47
It’s just two meters to the goal.
06:58
He’s been climbing for 15 minutes.
07:10
Hideki pulls the rope taut.
07:20
Mark has reached the goal!
07:33
He can finally catch his breath.
07:36
Stretched out in front of him
07:38
is the superb view of the Sea of Okhotsk.
07:42
Great place to climb ice.
07:46
In the peak of winter, the water surrounding the cape
07:50
becomes covered in ice floes
07:52
that are blown in from the north by northerly winds.
07:57
This spectacular natural landscape can be especially enjoyed
08:01
while ice climbing on Cape Notoro.
08:05
The view from the top is great.
08:08
It’s a nice reward for making it to the top.
08:15
Mark relishes his sense of achievement.
08:26
– Thank you.
– Great work.
08:29
– You made it.
– I’m happy I did.
08:35
My arms are on fire.
08:38
I got a good pump going on.
08:44
Mark and his companions set off for the next ice climbing challenge.
08:53
This waterfall is said to be even more difficult
08:56
than the previous one.
09:05
It’s also 40 meters tall.
09:07
The left side is covered in icicles
09:10
and can’t be scaled.
09:18
The righthand side is almost a vertical wall of ice.
09:29
It’s also a little bit difficult.
09:32
The bottom of it is kind of nice.
09:35
There’s a lot of kind of broccoli-shaped
09:39
ice that you can easily hook the ice axe into.
09:42
But after that, there’s quite a long pitch
09:50
Do your best, Mark!
10:04
Mark begins the challenge.
10:21
There are countless icicles at his feet.
10:26
He has to deal with those.
10:33
Just tread lightly, don’t kick them.
10:38
Mark tries to find footholds as he climbs
10:41
without breaking the icicles off.
10:54
He’s trying to conserve energy.
11:05
After about five minutes,
11:07
he’s scaled about a third of the waterfall.
11:17
He climbs the perpendicular wall
11:19
by pressing up close to it with his body.
11:32
Again, his toes are supporting his body weight.
11:51
His arms are losing strength as he holds the ice axes.
12:04
Mark finds a pocket next to the waterfall to rest a little.
12:34
Mark is encouraged by his companions.
12:40
Look around and enjoy the view!
12:45
It’s still a great view, though.
12:56
Mark starts up the climb again.
13:06
His arms have reached peak exhaustion.
13:16
I can’t grip the axes anymore.
13:22
Mark, how many meters to go?
13:26
– One.
– Just one? Nearly there!
13:38
He calls on the last of his strength.
13:48
He’s been climbing for 20 minutes.
13:58
– Tension!
– Tension!
14:02
He finally made it to the top!
14:16
It’s very difficult.
14:18
My arms are super tired.
14:21
I couldn’t close my hands on the axe anymore.
14:28
Yeah, this is a really nice place to climb.
14:30
There’s not so many places in the world that you can do that, I think.
14:34
And there’s definitely something special to here.
14:41
The severe cold conditions here on the coastline of the Sea of Okhotsk
14:46
have created spectacular natural ice falls,
14:49
an irresistible magnet for adventurous climbers.
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