When I see someone dedicating their entire life to a single pursuit, I feel a mysterious charge of courage and energy within me. Have you ever felt that way?
Since I started mountain climbing, I’ve naturally become fascinated by professional alpinists. This is likely true for any field—even when we know we can never reach their level or live their lifestyle, we can’t help but wonder: could I touch even a fragment of what they experience? Before I knew it, I found myself faintly dreaming of something I never intended to aim for.
With these thoughts in mind, I recently watched “Life Climber” (produced by TBS, directed by Hiroaki Takeishi, 2022) on Amazon Prime. It is a documentary following Yasushi Yamanoi, one of Japan’s most legendary climbers.
📎 Film Info: Life Climber Official Website
Born in Tokyo in 1965, Yamanoi has consistently challenged the world’s great walls solo, without oxygen, and via unclimbed routes. In 2021, he became the first Asian to receive the Piolet d’Or Lifetime Achievement Award, the highest honor in mountaineering. His wife, Taeko Yamanoi, is also a climber, and the two live together in Ito, Shizuoka Prefecture.
📎 Yasushi Yamanoi Profile: Wikipedia
The most striking parts of the film were the recollections of their accidents. For those who challenge unclimbed peaks, death is an inseparable reality. This makes their stories epic in scale and utterly captivating. Both of them have lost fingers and toes to frostbite. Yet, seeing them continue to head back to the mountains, I felt the sheer toughness and unfathomable potential of the human spirit.
A series of setbacks and yet, a continuation of new challenges. Despite such immense hardships, they never stop searching. I was reminded that it’s okay not to stop—that life is the quiet accumulation of doing what you can, over and over again. This realization slowly filled my heart.
Furthermore, their life in Izu is truly inspiring in its simplicity—tilling the soil, fishing, and training every day. On the extension of a life stripped down to the essentials for climbing, there lies a daily routine full of simplicity and creativity. It is filled with hints on how to enrich a cluttered urban life.
The term “Life Climber” might not apply only to mountaineers. For an amateur like me, climbing a mountain is full of literal ups and downs, a continuous and arduous path. As I take step after step on a trail that feels endless, various life events flash through my mind. I encourage myself by looking back at past struggles, forget my fatigue in the presence of a breathtaking view, feel fulfilled by achievement, or battle through a hopeless rain.
At a time when things haven’t been going well, this film gave me the push I needed to start climbing my own life again, one step at a time.
There is a “survival art” we can learn from those who climb mountains. If you are currently facing difficulties, I truly hope you pick up this work.
