It’s about time. This Saturday in Briancon, France, when Yasushi Yamanoi from Japan receives the Piolet d’Or, the „Oscar of mountaineers“, for his lifetime achievement, this prestigious award will go to Asia for the first time. At the age of 56, Yasushi is also the youngest of the 13 mountaineering legends to be honored.
The previous twelve were mostly from Europe: Italian Walter Bonatti (in 2009), South Tyrolean Reinhold Messner (2010), Britons Doug Scott (2011) and Chris Bonington (2015), Frenchman Robert Paragot (2012) and his compatriot Catherine Destivelle (2020), Austrian Kurt Diemberger (2013), Poles Wojciech Kurtyka (2016) and Krzysztof Wielicki (2019), and Slovenian Andrej Stremfelj (2018). In addition, the two US Americans John Roskelley (2014) and Jeff Lowe (2017) were honored for their mountaineering lifetime achievements.
“ Whether solo, as a married couple, or with friends, Yasushi Yamanoi’s climbing has shown great creativity, commitment, and resilience,“ the makers of the Piolet d’Or pay tribute to the Japanese climber, who is well known in Asia but little in the West. „His minimalist style and often discreet ascents paved the way for younger Japanese climbers to operate in modern alpine-style.“
„Yasushi Yamanoi, a silent star of climbing“ weiterlesen
