Keita Kurakami, Yosemite Soloist, Has Died
From epic highballs to historic rope-solos to run-out 5.14 trad routes, the Japanese climber was among the best in the world
Yosemite rope-soloist and overall expert climber Keita Kurakami has died after spending time on Mount Fuji. He was 38 years old. The exact details of his death are unknown, but it was known that he was suffering from a heart condition that nearly killed him three years ago.
We first reported on Kurakami in 2016 after he made the first ascent of Senjitsu no Ruri on Mount Mizugaki in Japan, a seven-pitch 5.14R. The following year, he made the first ascent of Neutralism, a highball boulder in Japan which he opened ground-up, opting out of inspecting it top-down. He then went on to make the fifth ascent of Walk of Life, a famous E9 slab climb in the UK.
Taking his skills to Yosemite, he became the first climber ever to rope-solo free-climb The Nose on El Capitan. He spent five days climbing everything on lead and free. He fell around a dozen times, but would lower to the base of the pitch and start again. In 2019, he made a rope-solo ascent of Mare, a 5.14c on Mount Futago in Japan, likely the most difficult rope-solo ever of a single-pitch sport climb. The following year, he made the first ascent of a new 5.14d/15a in Japan called The V.
In 2021, Kurakami suffered a ventricular arrhythmia and nearly died, resulting in doctors telling him to stop climbing or risk dying. In 2022, he told a Sports Graphic, “I thought giving up climbing would be a choice I would regret. Even if I lived to be 70 or 80 without climbing, would that really be a happy life?” Earlier this month, he climbed Freedom 5.13 in Japan using his lead-rope-solo techniques he’d come to perfect. Our condolences to Kurakami’s family and friends.
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