Inside the Stunning First Ascent of Pholesobi (6,651m)

Flying light, fast, and under the radar, Japanese climbers Hidesuke Taneishi and Hiroki Yamamoto pioneered their way up a brutally steep, unclimbed North Face onto a virgin summit in Nepal: Pholesobi (6,651m/21,824ft). They climbed their 1,500-meter  route, graded ED+, from October 28 to 31.

Pholesobi lies a little more than two miles west of the infamous Kumbhakarna (better known as Jannu), a 7,709-meter mountain that has been the scene of both triumph and tragedy in recent months. An American trio made the first ascent of the main peak’s North Face last fall—for which they received a prestigious Piolets d’Or —and another American, Michael Gardner, died attempting the North Face of its subpeak Jannu East, with partner Sam Hennessey.

This was Taneishi and Yamamoto’s second time on Pholesobi, which rests in Jannu’s shadow. A 2023 attempt saw them retreat from 6,149 meters on the North Face, after Yamamoto developed pneumonia and pulmonary edema and nearly died. “He was almost unable to move,” Taneishi told Climbing. “He ended up staying in the same hospital in Kathmandu as the American members of the Jannu North Face team for a week.”

Yamamoto and Taneishi returned this year to put their climb to bed. The latter spoke matter of factly of their motivations. “We wanted to climb a wall, and Pholesobi had a steep wall,” he said. “It was also an unclimbed mountain that no one had attempted, and as climbers, we wanted to see the North Face of Jannu, which is very fascinating.”

Their route, which they dubbed the North Face Direct, consisted of spectacular mixed climbing on gleaming white granite, steep ice climbing, and sections of deep snow requiring extensive excavation.  “[The snow climbing] was mentally exhausting because we were [constantly] runout,” Taneishi said.

“The upper wall was solid verglas and the rock was exposed, so it was easy to take protection. Therefore, although it was technical, it was mentally easy,” Taneishi said. The route’s crux was a mixed pitch consisting of “mottled verglas and rock” at around 6,349 meters. “[Our route] was much steeper than other Himalayan walls we have tried,” Taneishi said. “It felt like climbing [Alaska’s Mount] Hunter or the North Face of [Grandes] Jorasses.”

Due to the wall’s steepness, Taneishi reported that they experienced very little rockfall on route. “There were occasional rock falls from the lower wall,” Taneishi said, “but because the slope was steep, there was little risk of the rocks hitting [us] directly; the rocks seemed to fall down [behind us].” On the upper wall, there was no rockfall whatsoever. The team also had little issue with wind, just like in 2023. “I feel protected by Jannu,” he explained. “I spoke with Sam [Hennessey] after Michael’s accident, and it seems that the wind is strongest on Jannu East, and tends to get weaker as you go west, to Jannu Main and Pholesobi.”

Last year the pair brought a tent, but were only able to pitch it in the middle section of the face, where its angle eased off. Their other two bivouacs were spent sitting upright. This time, they used an inflatable Grade VII Equipment 1.5-person POD and a two-person sleeping bag, both given to them by Hennessey, after he descended from Jannu East.

Taneishi said the POD was a real boon. “You don’t have to think hard about where to set it up, like you would with a tent,” he explained. “Being able to sleep anywhere is a lot easier mentally when climbing a big wall with no information.” Still, he noted that sharing the 1.5 POD was not nearly as comfortable as sharing a two-person tent. And due to the squishy, inflatable nature of the POD, which had incurred a few holes and deflated during the night, it was rather unstable. Boiling water was also difficult without a hanging kit for their stove.

Taneishi was reluctant to dive into the specific difficulties of any pitch, noting that he felt an overall ED+ was the only way to accurately grade the route. “The conditions in alpine climbing are always changing from time to time, and the grade is almost meaningless,” he said. “For example, the Japanese team who climbed Pandra [6,850m] in the Kangchenjunga area this year, said that the grade was completely different from the previous climb by the French team.”

Neither Taneishi nor Yamamoto are particularly well known in the West—despite being highly accomplished alpinists, big wallers, and 5.14 sport climbers—and both have full-time jobs. Taneishi, 38, was classically understated when he spoke with Climbing about his career thus far. “⁠I don’t have any particular climbs that I’m proud of,” he said. “I still consider myself a very active climber,” he remarked, laughing, “so I don’t want to look back on the past just yet, I want to enjoy climbing in the present and the future.” Still, he has completed hard alpine climbs in the Alps and Alaska Range, and big wall free climbs in the Dolomites. Yamamoto has climbed hard around the world as well, notably putting up lauded new routes on peaks like Kang Nachugo (6,736m) and Cerro Kishtwar (6,173m).

The two make a good team, because “⁠Yamamoto and I are the same age, so we can talk about anything casually,” Taneishi said. He added that, unlike many Japanese people, they’re both naturally casual and informal. “We don’t use honorific language when speaking to older people, and we both have families and full-time jobs. Our [home lives] are very similar.”

This season likely brought mixed feelings for the men returning to Jannu. Several well-known Japanese climbers have passed away this year, including big waller Keita Kurakami on Mt. Fuji and alpinists Kenro Nakajima and Kazuya Hiraide on K2, not to mention Gardner’s death on Jannu East only weeks before. Not only that, but Taneishi and Yamamoto were using the same shelter and sleeping bag Gardner and Hennessey had used on their climb.

But Taneishi said that learning to cope with these losses is a critical part of alpinism, and something he constantly struggles with. “After many years of alpine climbing, death is so close to me that I’m pretty dry and calm about it,” he said. “Many of my friends have died so far.” Nakajima’s death, in particular, was hard for Yamamoto to accept. The two had been climbing partners for nearly 20 years, since their days at university. Upon learning of his death, Taneishi said his and Yamamoto’s “motivation to climb was momentarily extinguished.”

“I believe Hiroki overcame Kenro’s death by meeting with his surviving family, talking with them, empathizing with them, and sharing his story of death and his way of life with them,” Taneishi said. He added that, after spending some time with Nakajima’s family, they received “warm encouragement” to continue climbing and to pursue their objective on Pholesobi.

Taneishi and Yamamoto dedicated their climb of Pholesobi’s North Face Direct to Michael Gardner and Toshiyuki “Toshi” Yamada, an original member of the team who suffered a herniated disc and had to bail on their trip.

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