Yuji Hirayama Climbs New 5.14d with Peaceful Mountain
Named in response to the war in Ukraine, and for the meaning of his name: 平 ”Hira” (peace) 山 ”Yama” (mountain)
Yuji Hirayama, one of the world’s greatest all-time climbers, has made the first ascent of Peaceful Mountain 5.14d at Mount Futago’s Futagoyama in Japan. In December at the same crag, he made the first ascent of Hanabi 5.14c.
At 53 years old, he’s been pushing the sport of climbing for over 30 years. Peaceful Mountain, which he bolted a year ago, is 30-metres and adds 25 metres to Korossaru, which he sent in 2021 at 5.13b.
In the late 1980s, he climbed what was then considered the hardest sport climb anywhere with Les Specialistes 5.14a. In 1997, he nearly onsighted Salathe Wall 5.13 on El Capitan, Yosemite. In 1999, he onsighted Mortal Kombat, which would’ve been the first-ever 5.14a onsight, but he downgraded it to 5.13d.
In 2003, he made the first ascent of Flat Mountain 5.15a, still considered one of the hardest sport routes in Japan. The following year, he made the first-ever onsight of a 5.14b with White Zombie at Baltzola Cave in Spain. In 2002 and 2008, he and Hans Florine climbed their way into Yosemite history books by getting speed records on The Nose.
In 2009, he made a quick repeat of Cobra Crack 5.14 trad in Squamish during a visit to Canada. Be sure to follow him on Instagram below.
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