Solo in Winter on Foraker

Japan’s Masatoshi Kuriaki summited 17,400-foot Mt. Foraker in the Alaska Range on March 10, completing the first solo winter ascent of the sixth-highest peak in North America. Kuriaki flew onto the Kahiltna Glacier in late January and spent weeks ferrying loads and working his way up the seldom-climbed Southeast Ridge of Foraker.

The 135-pound, 33-year-old man, nicknamed the “Japanese Caribou” in Alaska, has also soloed Denali in winter, via the West Buttress (1998). He has made three attempts on the West Ridge of 14,573-foot Mt. Hunter in winter, reaching as high as 9,000 feet. Last winter, he spent 58 days on Denali in winter, reaching 12,300 feet on the South Buttress, despite losing most of his climbing hardware to an avalanche at 11,600 feet.

Remarkably, although his climb this year marked the first calendar-winter solo ascent of Foraker, it was Kuriaki’s third trip up the mountain during the winter season. He also climbed the peak in 1999 via the Sultana Ridge, reaching the top on April 3, and in 2001 via the Southeast Ridge, summiting on March 31 for the route’s first solo and fourth overall ascent.

Date of Ascent: Summit reached March 10, 2007

Sources: Jonathan Waterman, Daryl Miller, japanesecaribou.com, ktuu.com.

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