Chapter 26 Final Chapter Untouched Mountains

1 November 9, 1995 at 12:35 am Altitude eight, eight forty-eight.13 meters * I am alone. There are neither rope friends who tie each other with climbing ropes, nor partners who walk together in front, back, left, and right. I walked on the ridgeline of the snow, walking like crawling. The wind blows from the right. The wind was not strong enough to lift even the snow and smoke. As far as the wind on the Everest ridgeline is concerned, it is equal to no wind. In the blue sky near the end of the Rongbuk Glacier, there are a few clouds that look like fine hair of a woman. Seeing clouds like that on the Nepal side means the sky is about to change.

words on this side This side? There is no such side or that at all. I walk on the edge. Not part of one of the human-created regions of Nepal or Tibet, this is an aerial corridor that connects the boundary between heaven and earth. Everest's Sagarmatha A snowy corridor towards the summit of Everest. What a magnificent scenery. To my left and right is the entire ground as far as the eye can see. The Rongbu Glacier runs from east to west. Countless rock peaks. mountains. Also see Lhotse. You can see the snow and rock peak that you looked up from the Nepal side. Today, I am walking higher than the peak of 8,516 meters.

Can you believe it?I am looking down at the top of Lhotse now! Can you believe it? Hello. There is no answer. The answer is violent panting. I approach step by step. Towards higher ground than Lhotse. King of the hills. the king of this earth. Facing the front, there are only round white snow peaks and blue sky. It is a unique place in this world. Mount Everest. I'm getting closer there. Walk one hundred meters an hour. How long do we have to go? Push the snow away with your knees and step forward. step. Then gasp. In order to take a single step, you have to breathe several times before taking the next step.

Repeat that action endlessly. Repeat that action, will the peak be at the end? Can you reach the summit by doing this repeatedly? anaerobic. alone. Want to climb Mount Everest in this state, is it a foolhardy act? It is not like trying to climb the southwest face from the Nepal side in winter like Joji Hanyu. In spring, take the traditional route from the Tibetan side. I can only go this route. Because of being banned from entering the country, I cannot climb the mountain from Nepal. So, from Tibet. As far as routes go, it's easier to climb from Nepal. Compared to the southwest face in winter, it's like hiking.

However, in terms of height, Nepal is the same as Tibet.No matter which side you climb from, you must be at the same height and breathe the same thin oxygen. It seems to be a little windy. The wind seemed to be picking up gradually. However, never mind!The wind is blowing here all year round, and it is abnormal to have no wind. This route and in 1980, Reinho.Messner did the same when he reached the summit of Mount Everest alone without oxygen. This is the route Mallory and Irwin attempted to reach the summit in 1924. Angalin and Ryoko Kishi are at the base camp at 6,500 meters. I said goodbye to the two people five days ago, and if everything goes well, I should see them again at the base camp today.

At 7,900 meters, I took shelter in a tent due to a snowstorm. I was supposed to spend one night there, but ended up spending three nights there. The letter was sent to Angarin in Nepal last May. I want to climb Mount Everest alone without oxygen from the side of Tibet. To go is the traditional route. The season is spring. I wrote: Please help me by all means. Angelin did not reply immediately. June passed, July passed, August passed. According to my plan, a reliable Sherpa is indispensable. And for me, the Sherpa tribe I can trust is Angarin.This climb would not have been possible without his assistance.

Angarine's reply came after September. i assist you So says the letter from Angarin. Angarin wrote: The reason why I replied late was because I was hesitating. I cannot answer whether to assist you or not to assist you.I don't want to lose anyone close to me on the mountain anymore.However, I am determined to assist you. If you haven't decided on a partner yet, I want to be your partner mentioned in the letter. Then, the days of physical training and information gathering continued. Nearly half of the necessary equipment was transported here by yaks from the Nepalese side of the Langkaba Mountains by Angarin.

In September this year, I climbed Cho Oyu. On this mountain climb, An Jialin carried oxygen on his shoulders. I am not using oxygen. I just took the food and equipment I would have taken with me when I climbed Everest, and carried them on my shoulders. Basically, the same as what Hanyu prepared. Once he has prepared the same things by himself, he will understand how Hanyu draws up his own plan over and over again. The difference from when Hanyu was climbing, at most, is that an extra ski pole was added to the equipment this time. It is not necessary to climb rock walls like the southwest wall, so ski poles are quite useful as auxiliary props for climbing snow mountains.

Although Angarin was always by my side as a companion, I thought I acted alone, so I took all the necessities and did all the necessary things by myself. Under the same conditions as climbing Mount Everest, climb the 8, 201-meter peak of Cho Oyu.If this mountaineering with the goal of acclimatization gets satisfactory results, I will climb Mount Everest in October. That was the condition that Angarin agreed to assist me with. In September, I fulfilled that condition. In good physical condition. So, I challenged Mount Everest in November. Enter Rongbuk from Tingri in Tibet, and use yaks to transport luggage from there to a point of 6,500 meters, and set up a base camp.

Wait for good weather there, and set off from base camp five days ago. However, Mount Everest is almost 700 meters higher than Cho Oyu. In the Himalayas, if you can climb 500 meters in one day, you can climb up the next day to reach the summit of Notre Dame. Already crossed 8,600 meters. The wind picked up. In the high-altitude wind, I tried to squeeze out my strength. then The journey to the southwest wall is even more painful! At that time, I was mentally prepared to die. However, this time I accumulated more training than I did back then.Also climbed Cho Oyu under the same conditions.

However, I am now in a much higher place than when I climbed the southwest wall. Seven hundred meters higher. Oxygen is thinner. No matter how much you breathe, not much oxygen gets into your lungs. Why climb? Why are you leaving? Did you make up your mind to repeat this painful thing? How long are you going to do this over and over again? Even climbing, even reaching the summit, this is not the first time in the world. Several people climbed the traditional route without oxygen in this season. There are also photos as evidence. The well-known route. Even if you do this kind of thing, there will be no fame and no sponsors. With all your money and what little savings you had, you made it here. After going back, will this mountaineering turn into money in Japan? Won't. won't turn into money. However, I'm not climbing for the money. Wow, that being the case, what are you climbing for? What am I climbing for? I don't know, don't ask me! I know! what do you know? You are climbing for repetition. Repeatedly? That's right, what are you going to do after you get to the top of that peak? What should I do after I stand on it? Is that the end? When I returned to Japan alive, I obviously felt that I would never come to such a hard place again, but my heart would start to feel restless again. It will be unbearable again. I took out the book on mountaineering from the shelf, and before I knew it, I started preparing for the next mountaineering. am I right. Probably that's right. Even if you stand on the top of that peak, there will be no answer. I already know. Neither money nor women will be picked up. Hanyu should also be very aware of this. So, why is that guy crawling? Why climb? You ask me, who do I ask? That sort of thing probably doesn't matter. Why climb a mountain? Hanyu wasn't looking for that kind of answer. Me too. That kind of thing may be said, but it is a scene. Talk about the world and your own scenes. In fact, everyone knows deep down that climbing a mountain by oneself is probably not to find the answer to the question of why to climb a mountain. So why climb mountains? Why go there? do not know. At least, I can say so! I don't know how many times who got to the top of that peak, but for me, it was the first time. For me, it's the first time. do you know? what do you know? myth. myth? The myth of Sisyphus. It's like Greek mythology, right? Yes, you do know that. That's the story of mountaineering too, right? Um. Sisyphus climbed the mountain while rolling the big rock. It seems so. Because that is the work God gave him. Work? No, it should be punishment. That is fate. Yes, that was the fate of Sisyphus. Roll the rock and finally put the rock on the top of the mountain. So the rock rolled down the mountain. Then, Sisyphus moved the rolled rock to the top of the mountain. So the rock rolled down again. Then, presumably, Sisyphus would have moved the rock to the top of the mountain again? That's right, endlessly repeating. So are you. me either? Well, both you and Hanyu are like that. Is it the same for Hanyu? That's right. But what about you? What about me? Not just you and me. Is there anyone in this world who is not Sisyphus? Fukamachi, aren't you thinking about something boring? Because the body is in pain, I can't help thinking about unimportant things. Can't help thinking. However, even thinking, wouldn't it be great to take a step forward? However, once you think too much, your brain will turn into a puddle of mud, and it will flow out of your nose! How far is it? look up There is nothing to look up. A little further down. Oh, there it is. The ground is only as high as my head, and the peak of the snow is at eye level. The pure white peak is there. However, how far away. The last distance will never be shortened. Is there another ten meters? Don't stop! go! Steadfastly, walk on the snow. Saw. I saw it! is that one. Saw a tripod there. In 1975, the tripod placed by the Chinese team for correct measurement. oh. My eyes are already higher than the peak. Not so much. oh Something crawled up my ass. Climbing up the spine, climbing up the veins, it slowly climbed up. what is it What's this? Oh shit! Isn't there a little left? There is only a little left. Saw. Saw the Nepal side. I saw the snow slope in the West Valley. Saw Lhotse Peak. Saw Nubu Peak. Saw Pumori Mountain. The scenery stretches as far as the eye can see. In the wind. The wind whistled against my body. The sky was so blue, and I poked my head into the blue sky. The head belongs to the sky. And chest. eyelid. waist. knee. What a nice view. What a beautiful scenery, I want to join this scenery. Thick things pierced through the back and rushed to the forehead. Why climb a mountain? Why live? That kind of question and answer disappears like garbage, and the body and consciousness penetrate the sky. The knees tremble frequently. This is how the same thing? am i shaking oh What a delight. Dip your left foot into the snow, lift your right foot, then lower your right foot. then I set foot on the earth. 2 November 10, 1995 at 10:28 8,100 meters above sea level * How far have I come? It should have descended 200 meters from the northeast edge. He clearly guessed the location by looking around, but he didn't know where he was.The viewing distance is at most 20 to 30 meters. Snow gallops through the fog. Look at the downside of the slope on the left, and climb down the slope. In this way, you should come to the ridge line descending from the northeast ridge to the North Col. If you can reach the North Col at an altitude of 6990 meters within today, there is always a way. Because if the food and fuel ran out, Angarin would climb up from below. However, if you get the wrong route, it will be a dead end. Death must be waiting for me. It's that cirrus cloud. It was the bad cloud. Starting to descend from the peak, I was suddenly surprised that a large number of clouds rose to the sky of Khumbu Peak, approaching Mount Everest. As the wind picked up and clouds covered directly overhead, snow began to drift. Descend in the snow. Because if you don't manage to get back to the tent at 8,350 meters, you will die. At that time, the only way he could manage to get back to the tent was because the footprints left in the snow had not disappeared. There, listening to the wind all night in a sleeping bag.All kinds of auditory hallucinations began to strike. I always feel that someone is calling me for a while, and someone comes to visit and knocks on the door that cannot exist.In addition, voices and laughter were heard. I also saw the figures of Ioka and Funashima, and had a conversation with them that I didn't even know what I was talking about. Fukamachi. Fukamachi. do not go. don't go back. They even got into sleeping bags and hugged me tightly with their icy bodies. I wrestled dimly all night with auditory hallucinations and hallucinations. Could hardly sleep.The boundary between dream and reality became blurred, and I didn't even know where Jinggang and Chuandao belonged. He clearly saw the figures of Jinggang and Funashima several times, but only Hanyu's figure, even if it was a hallucination, he didn't see it. Hanyu, come out!I also heard my own voice saying that. Once you show up, I will find you dead and turned into a ghost, so you don't show up, right? Hanyu, come out! I can do it! Although not as good as you, I have conquered Mount Everest! alone. Hey, let's drink! I muttered and talked to my inner dead all night in my frozen sleeping bag. Morning The wind and snow did not stop. Use the radio to communicate with Angarin in the base camp. Fatigue is at its peak. If I stay at this altitude for another night, even if the weather improves, I will probably be unable to move. Now, I can still move. The degree of wind and snow here is not as good as when climbing the southwest wall. There is only enough food left for one meal. Immediately there is a conclusion: eat all the food that can be eaten in one go. Keep the food that can be eaten during the operation, and eat the rest. Every second counts. Don't stay at an altitude of more than 8,000 meters for an extra second. Keep walking and arrive at the North Col within today. The drop altitude difference is 1,300 meters. If you spend another night here, there is only one dead end. No matter how hard it is, you can only go down the mountain desperately. I'm going up the North Col.Angalin said so. I will climb up to the North Col with food and oxygen, and set up a tent there to wait for you. no problem.You can do it.I will prepare a sumptuous hot pot for you at the base camp, said Ryoko. Six thousand five hundred. For Ryoko, this is the first height experienced. Although after training, I have experienced 5,800 meters on Cho Oyu, but 6,500 meters is not an easy height. Ryoko was waiting there. I will definitely go back.With that said, I started preparing to descend the mountain. The weight of luggage must be kept to a minimum. Put tents and sleeping bags at 8,350 meters, because it is useless to take them back. Down the mountain to the North Col, there are tents, sleeping bags, and food. With a difference of a thousand meters, even the air would thicken. So, I started down the mountain. All pots and stoves stay. Only to reach the North Col, that was the only way I survived. How much has it dropped? The wind blows up with the snow from below, sometimes swirling. Although there is no wind that will blow me off the slope, I know that if I stop for a moment, the wind will immediately take away my heat. There is no feeling in the little finger of the left hand. Even with the right hand holding the left hand through the glove, the feeling of being held disappeared. Just like normal rocks. It's just a frozen rod-shaped stone sticking to the hand instead of the little finger. The little finger and the ring finger of this left hand are probably lost.Even if he returns alive, his limbs will have to be amputated. In addition, there may be a few toes amputated. walk. Walk all the way. Take a step, breathe in that position for ten breaths, and then take another step. The footprints I stepped on when I came here have disappeared due to the wind and snow. A slice of chocolate. Five biscuits. I want to eat them, and take them out of my pocket behind a rock. When I tried to handle them with gloves on, a particularly strong wind blew up from the lower slopes. The gust of wind snatched the chocolate from my fingers. The chocolate was blown lightly into the air, and fell obliquely downward in the blink of an eye. When I wanted to bend down and stretch out my right hand to pick up the piece of chocolate, another gust of wind even snatched the biscuit from my right fingertips. I stood there for a full ten minutes before taking the next step. Despair deepened. Because the food we ate during the operation was gone. step forward. I took a desperate step down the hill. Then How long have you been walking? The sense of time has been lost. Fall down several times and then get up. I thought I was walking, but actually I was crawling. He clearly thought he was walking, but before he knew it, he was curled up in the snow or behind a rock. I curled up and muttered to myself. It won't work like this I told myself so, straightened up. walk. Take a few steps, then curl up. The waist is weak. Not only that, but my whole body was exhausted. Sometimes a fire-like enthusiasm will be ignited and go forward for a while. Still, ten steps at most.At the eleventh step, he curled up and muttered to himself. I already did that, right? I've fully achieved my goal, right? I lowered my head and muttered to myself. yes.you have fully achieved your goal Sounds can be heard. Jing Gang is by my side. Ship Island is by my side. It's time to rest! come here! No, I murmured. stand up slowly One more step. After another step. If you can move like this, take another step. Then, if you really can't move, when the time comes So, stand up! Stand up unsteadily. step. two steps. Go to the third step, fall down and gasp. Well, there are rocks there. walk to that rock Arrived at the rock. Then walk to the next rock. Go there and rest and get a little sleep. Even if you fall asleep, it doesn't matter if you don't wake up forever. Hungry. You must move while taking in sugar. However, there was no food left. It took ten minutes to reach the rock ten meters ahead. Two falls on dangerous slopes. It was a miracle that it didn't fall down. Arrive at the rock to shelter from the snow and go around behind the rock. Just one click.sleep a little So, I saw it behind a rock. Narrow rock shed, a tiny bit of space. Two figures huddled there Those were two bodies. The whole body was covered with snow and turned white. It's freezing. One was a long-dead body. However, his body was limp, as if his spine was broken, his body was slightly bent forward, and his size became nearly half of his body length. What are you wearing? Not modern winter clothing. Looks like old duffel clothes.He wore a coat and a woolen scarf around his neck. Protruding from the side of the rock is the head of the ice stick. Those who climbed mountains with this kind of dress were probably in the 1920s And it's British. At that moment, a man's name came to mind. George.mallory. Is it Mallory! At 12:50 on June 8, 1924, the man O'Dell saw for the last time on the northeast edge of this building. O'Dell saw him walking from the first step to the second step, a man who has never been heard from since. No, it could also be Irving. However, if it was Irwin, he probably didn't bring the ice stick.After all, Irwin's ice stick was discovered by the fourth Everest team in England in 1933. Is it Mallory! And another corpse. It died not long ago. He was wearing a fiery red windbreaker jacket. Also, I recognize that color.In the camera's viewfinder, the last seen color. Hanyu?I can't help but speak out. It was Joji Hanyu. Like the fossils of the trilobites, like the fossils of the nautilus, the remains of two humans sleep at this height. Hanyu, who climbed from the Nepal side, why is he in such a place on the Tibet side? To protect himself from the wind, Hanyu hugged his backpack on his stomach, rested his chin on it, and raised his head. What's more, Hanyu didn't want to die in peace. His eyeballs were frozen, and ice was everywhere on his face, but Hanyu opened his eyes, staring straight ahead dead. Hanyu maintained his will until the moment of death. However, why is Hanyu in such a place? impossible. Why would you go the wrong way? In any case, one thing can be clearly stated. No matter what happens, this alone is certain. Hanyu stood on the summit of Mount Everest. It is precisely because of standing on the summit of Mount Everest that Hanyu is in this place on the Tibetan side. He did it. I think so. Hanyu, you did it. You climbed that rock wall and stood on a unique place in the world. Yes, I stood there. I always feel that Hanyu answered. Because I am Joji Hanyu. Hanyu said that to me. Good things for you. What are you going to give me? Don't ask so much, just take it. this is yours. I checked Hanyu's pocket. So, two things were discovered. A slice of chocolate, and a handful of raisins. He didn't eat all of them, which means that Hanyu is not desperate in this place, he is thinking about how to survive. A piece of chocolate and raisins, that's what I gave Hanyu. Hanyu intends to rely on them to descend from Mount Everest. Or, even in this situation, did Hanyu still want to act alone until the last moment, and refused to eat them? What a stubborn man. Besides, there is one more thing small notebook. Open. A few pages were blown into the air and disappeared. read it. Written in Hanyu's handwriting. I see. Did you lose your vision at the summit due to lack of oxygen and then mistook the route? He didn't know where he noticed that he had taken the wrong route. Perhaps he arrived at this place without realizing it. Did Hanyu arrive at the place where he found Mallory's camera by accident, or did he remember that this area was the only place where he could sleep rough, and then arrived here? Think hard. This is the last entry in the notebook. Tears flowed down. I didn't expect the tears that flowed out to be so hot. Hey, Hanyu, let's go. I hold your body. let's go. Hanyu, I will take you with me. Come back with me. Hanyu's body was dragged. I was dragging Hanyu's body in the wind.Move over rocks and snow. I'm crazy. Let's go, I'll take you with me. Mallory's figure is behind. pant. Lack of air, lack of oxygen. Hanyu's body stopped there as if refusing. Hanyu was still staring at the sky, not looking at me. Hanyu was no longer looking at the world. I came to my senses. What a fool am I trying to do? Impossible. Carrying another person's weight to move at this height. oh I see. Hanyu, I understand. I can't take you away. Just like you didn't take me away at that time, I want to keep you here. leave you here. I thought to myself, I must go. Must go. Take Hanyu's last food. If you search Mallory's hiking backpack, there may be negatives. The negatives that could solve the mystery of the first ascent of Mount Everest. However, it doesn't matter anymore. That kind of thing doesn't matter anymore. I can't use physical strength for this. Hanyu I struggled to get something out of my pocket. Something that should have been given to Hanyu two years ago. Beautiful green stone. The turquoise that Ryoko once wore around her neck. Hang it around Hanyu's neck. I'm leaving, I told Hanyu. I will definitely go back alive. I will definitely reach the North Col. You are listening. Hanyu. Hanyu's soul. You will probably die with regret. Now, you are probably somewhere on this mountain, gnashing your teeth and glaring. Hanyu, attach yourself to me! Attach to me, follow me! Hanyu. I am you. I don't rest like you. If I cry tired and want to rest, just push me down the valley. kill me! eat my meat! Hanyu, I promise you!I will definitely go back alive. Go back alive, and then back up the mountain. I will probably keep repeating this behavior. That's all I can do. I can only do this. Hanyu, I'm leaving. I stared at Hanyu's face, gritted my teeth, and stepped forward again in the wind and snow. Yes, I've been thinking about that all my life.And what's thinking about now is that everyone has a role to play.As a result, history chose me as a witness. Fortunately or unfortunately, history did not choose me as the climber of Mount Everest, but the last eyewitness and witness of Mallory and Irving. And, in my life so far, whether I like it or not, I've told over and over again what I've seen. Now, I will tell you about that time in the same way. Of the two, who is likely to stand on the top of Mount Everest? When it comes to possibilities, of course they have. But relatively, it may not be on the top of Mount Everest. If you think about it carefully, it is my figure. And, it's yours too. All the people living in this world look like those two people. Mallory and Irving are still walking today. Walking to reach the summit. keep walking. And sooner or later death visits the person on the way. Human life cannot be easily priced. When the man died, what was he on the way? I think that's probably the most important thing. Whether it's good for me or good for you. on the way If that incident has taught me anything, this is probably it. n. E．Interview with O'Dell, London, January 1987 "Yue Wang" March 1987 "Witness to the Himalayas" * n. E．O'Dell died in England in February 1987.I was ninety-six years old. (full text) postscript 1 This story was conceived more than twenty years ago. I just wanted to write a mountaineering story, a story about a man who wanted to climb the world's highest mountain. I've always loved heart-wrenching stories about a man looking for something. Therefore, I like people like Tang Sanzang and Kukai, and I also like men like Miyamoto Musashi or Kawaguchi Huihai. For me, the central idea of ​​the story may be to learn from the West. The story of what to get from where you are now. For me, the story of fighting a man stronger than myself, or climbing a mountain, to put it bluntly, may be a change in the plot. However Everest, the highest mountain in the world, has been climbed.So, what kind of climbing story can be written in modern times? I wholeheartedly believed that if I wanted to write a story, it would have to be a story about Mount Everest anyway, so I even thought about fabricating a fictional mountain like Dumasle's "Le mont analogue" (Le mont analogue).This imaginary mountain later became a giant tree in "Human Beast Change" (in fact, in that book, I wanted to describe the content of climbing the tree in more detail, but I was still unable to do so), so in this book , I want to write the story of climbing Mount Everest in the Himalayas anyway. Note①: Rene Daumal (1908︱1944), French writer, philosopher and poet. At that time, I met Mallory's disappearance and mountain disaster, which can be called the biggest unsolved case in the history of Himalayan mountaineering.Moreover, this Mallory may have stood on the top of Mount Everest, and also left clues that can reveal the truth. Did Mallory reach the summit of Everest before anyone else? To know this, one only had to remove the negative from the camera that was supposed to be next to Mallory's body and develop the print. When I knew this, the inspiration for this book flashed through my mind. This can be written. What would happen if the cameras that were supposed to stay 8,000 meters above Mount Everest were being sold on the streets of Kathmandu? If the camera was originally owned by a Japanese before it was sold in the store The core of the story took shape immediately, but there was no way to write it right away. Because when I was twenty-five or six years old, I was not capable enough, and I had only climbed the Himalayas once at that time.If I want to write, at least I want to go to the base camp of Mount Everest first. As a result, it took more than 20 years from the idea to the writing. After I started writing, it took me four years to write 1,700 pages of manuscript paper. 2 It seems that I have a problem with writing about the climax of the story. If you write a fighting story, you will only blindly write about men fighting with men like "Legend of Hungry Wolf".The focus is neither on the karate-skilled detectives nor the strong protagonists of adventure novels, but on the fact that the protagonists of fighting novels have been fighting against men with strong martial arts one after another.On the simple theme of not allowing anyone to be stronger than me, I wrote more than 4,000 pages and still haven't finished. If you write a Buddhist story, take Siddhartha the Buddha as the main character, and spend more than ten years writing about his process from the moment of enlightenment to the moment of enlightenment ("The King of Nirvana"). If you write a mountaineering story, you should try your best to describe the extremely simple content of the man who climbed the world's highest mountain until there is nothing to write. At the end of this series, I wrote the following in "Thanks" in the July issue (1997) of "Xin Xiao Ang": □□□ I have no regrets * Just now, I just finished writing "Mountains of the Gods".From start to finish, it took more than three years. It has been nearly twenty years since I started wanting to write this story. About 1,700 pages of manuscript paper. During the serialization process, I feel that no matter how I write, the scenes and content I want to write will not decrease. No matter how much you write, there is still room to write. Obviously the last scene was decided very early, but it was too late to write it there. In a certain container in the body, there is still a lot of unfinished content left. I always feel that writing this manuscript is like using a small ladle to repeatedly scoop up the content and sprinkle it on the manuscript paper. When I finally saw the end, I wrote another 50 pages, and then I wrote another 50 pages. No matter how I wrote it, there would still be something to fill in. After thinking that it was almost finished, the serialization dragged on for another half a year. After writing, there is no longer any residue left in the body. All written. Spit it all out. Parts that are powerless. It's all painstaking work. From the age of ten, all the things accumulated in the body from mountain climbing have been taken out. It was also like throwing a ball from the front and writing a serious mountaineering story. Not a mountaineering story like a change ball. Straight ball.A straight ball thrown with the strength of breastfeeding. I will probably never write a mountaineering story again. This is the first and last time. Because I write so much content. I am afraid that such a long mountaineering novel will not appear again. Besides, that's not something everyone can write. How is it, have you been defeated by me? On a certain day in April 1997 in Odawara oops. 3 In the book "Oulu Olane, the Old Man Playing the Cat" published when I was 27 years old, there was an article "The Man Who Born Down the Mountain", which seemed to be the beginning. Would you like to write a climbing story? At that time, there were several manuscripts coming to the door. One of the short stories became the story of Siddhartha climbing a giant tree in "The Change of the Phantasmal Beast", and the other short story became this book. It was more than fifteen years ago that I agreed to write this book. Oops, sixteen years?Maybe seventeen years ago or so. Sitting at the counter of a certain bar in a certain hotel, having a drink with an editor from Shueisha. At that time, the editor suddenly said this seriously: By the way, Mr. Tapir.Do you know how many best-selling author's chairs are there? This question came out of the blue. do not know.How many are there? Fifteen. Fifteen? Do you know why? Because I counted them.As far as I can count, there are only fifteen chairs for a best-selling author in any era.If someone sits on it, someone falls off.When someone falls off, someone sits on it.To put it bluntly, to become a best-selling author is to grab these chairs. Really? True.He nodded confidently. By the way, Mr. Tapir, are you interested in sitting on one of these fifteen chairs? He said, adding: In fact, there is a chair vacant right now. What kind of chair? Not long ago, the writer Jiro Nitta sat in the chair.he said. He said no one had sat in that chair since Master Jiro Nitta passed away. His persuasive skills are beyond words. That being the case, I had an interesting idea, so I brought up the content of this book. That's funny.So, just write the story. Things are being finalized right away, but the question is when will it be written. I haven't finished collecting the information yet, so I don't know when I will start writing. Please wait for the left sentence, please wait for the right sentence, let him wait for more than fifteen years. During that period, I cooperated with him and wrote "Respect to the Storm" (野き风に话げょ), "Amazing ．Wrestling Waka Collection" (Yangtian.プロレス Waka Collection), "Lament of Laborers" (Shi Shi Shi たちの Lament), "Amazing.The Karate Sword of the First Year of Heisei" (Yang Tian. Heisei First Year の Karate ぃヨツプ), "Amazing.Literary World and Song Collection" (Yangtian. Literary World and Song Collection), "Amazing Literature Series" (Yangtian Literature Series) and other books. Basically, every book is because I have not yet been able to start writing a book, so I follow his advice: In this case, how about this subject matter?And writing works. As a result, the reason why I was able to start writing this book was because I went to the base camp of Mount Everest from the autumn of 1993 to the winter.That was the sixth time to climb the Himalayas. So, starting from the spring of 1994, it began to be serialized in "Novel Ang". During the same period, "The Dalai Lama's Secret Envoy" (ダライ.ラマの秘课者), which has been in the making for more than 20 years, also began serialization in a certain magazine.This is also Kailash Rinpochen, who went to Tibet all at once, collected books all at once, and finally got in a state where he could start writing, and then started serialization. (It is the story about Sherlock Holmes, Kawaguchi Huihai and Professor Moriarty ③accepting the secret order of the Dalai Lama and climbing up Kailash Rinpochen. The content of Holmes who fell into the Reichenbach Falls and went to Tibet is from reading "The Empty House" Some people will know the bridge.) But unfortunately, this book is currently out of serialization. Note ②: Gang Rinpoqin means the king of snow mountains in Tibetan, and is the main peak of the Gangdise Mountains. It is located in the Ngari area in western Tibet and is one of the sacred mountains of Tibetan Buddhism. Note ③: Sherlock Holmes' deadly enemy. 4 In writing this book, thanks to the help of various people. First of all, when I went to Manaslu Peak to watch the cranes flying over the Himalayas, Mr. Yoshimichi Fuqi, who was the captain of the Manaslu Peak skiing and mountaineering team.自從一九九四年冬天，和降旗先生在白馬討論本書以來，向他借了貴重的資料四年，一直沒還。 我和東京書籍的山田和夫先生，數度一同前往喜瑪拉雅山及其周圍山區，包括天山、卓奧友峰、聖母峰、岡仁波欽。如同字面上的意思，我們是生死與共的好兄弟。 調查聖母峰的無氧登頂者時，山溪的池田常道先生很幫忙我。他像是登山史的活字典，替我查的登山名單成了非常珍貴的資料。 佐瀨稔先生的《狼不歸登山運動家．森田勝的生與死》，也對我助益良多。當我對羽生丈二這個男人的角色設定猶豫不決時，重看《狼不歸》，終於決定了羽生丈二這個角色。 順帶一提，羽生丈二這個名字源自於將棋的羽生善治先生。開始寫本書時，我是羽生先生的棋迷（當時，羽生先生躍身成為名人），基於這份機緣，我決定使用羽生這個姓氏。 一九九三年，我去聖母峰的基地營，也受到企圖登頂西南壁、群馬山岳連的八木原圀明先生的照顧。當時我差點沒命，費盡千辛萬苦才抵達基地營，在那裡享用的炒麵滋味，永生難忘。我因為高山症而幾乎吃不下飯，許久之後才能吞嚥下肚的食物，就是當時的炒麵。 當時，群馬隊首度在冬天登頂西南壁。 於是，包含上述的山田先生在內，我和第二次RCC的須田義信先生、及川美奈子小姐在這段連載期間內，一個月會見一、兩次面，用餐喝酒。每次對於登山有不明白的事，只要在這個聚餐時討論，大部分的事都會茅塞頓開。這是非常有助於寫作的餐會。 須田先生是於一九九〇年組成的卓奧友峰中年登山隊隊員。 當時，我也去了卓奧友峰的基地營。 當我針對聖母峰的西南壁詢問時，須田先生從起點到峰頂，以二十公尺為單位，猶如身歷其境地告訴我：如果要爬這面巨大的岩壁，如果要爬三十公尺、四十度的冰壁，要從哪裡往左Ｚ字形攀登二十公尺，然後從哪裡以雙斧爬上斜度四十五度的冰壁。 我從中感受到一種文化衝擊。能夠如此詳細訴說西南壁的人，這地球上寥寥可數。 除此之外，還有數不清的人幫過我，我想，光靠我一個人的力量大概沒辦法寫完這部長篇小說。 我想對你們說：謝謝你們的幫忙。 許多熟人和朋友給了我言語無法道盡的，有形、無形的力量。 寫完本書時，我不禁落淚，感慨萬千。 我把心裡想的事、想要寫的事，全部傾倒一空。 本書中塞滿了現在的我的全部。 本書就是夢枕貘現在的化身，毫無力有未逮，或者說力不能及的部分。 除了這本書之外，沒有一本書是以這種心情寫完的。 我猜不到讀者究竟究竟會如何閱讀這本書。 當然，我覺得它是登山小說，是登山推理，也是冒險小說。 就寫法來說，我從開始寫之後就沒有特別意識到任何事，如果有，也只是自覺到現在正在寫一本有聲有色的小說，對自己而言極為貴重的故事。 全部寫完了。 我已了無遺憾。 夢枕貘，平成九年七月四日前往海部川的早晨，於新宿 文庫版後記 這次決定替文庫版寫後記，是有原因的。 因為我修改了後半部，所以和原本的版本多少有所不同。 為何這麼做呢？ 那是因為一九九九年五月初，對這個故事而言，發生了一起事件。 馬洛里的遺體在聖母峰北壁標高八、一六〇公尺處附近被人發現了。 由喬琛．漢姆萊這位登山史研究家提案組成的馬洛里／厄文調查遠征隊（隊長為艾瑞克．Ｒ．西蒙森）所發現。 其實當時，我為了這本《眾神的山嶺》的事而去了尼泊爾。 late april 《眾神的山嶺》在集英社的《Business Jump》中改編成漫畫，我和漫畫家谷口治郎先生等人一起去蒐集題材，在加德滿都東遊西蕩。 回來之後，得知發現馬洛里遺體的新聞。 我驚訝之餘，也鬆了一口氣，慶幸在這之前先寫完本書。 然而，因為這個緣故，我在不更動故事架構的範圍內，改寫了最後一幕。 至於如何改寫，在這裡就容我賣個關子。 馬洛里的屍體被人發現了，但是相機卻沒有找到。 It's incredible. 說不定令人意想不到的是，被雪崩沖走的王洪寶拿著那架相機。 這個謎大概永遠解不開了。 不過這樣反而會使喜瑪拉雅山登山史令人產生無限遐思。 夢枕貘，二〇〇〇年六月於小田原 (End of the book)