2020/03/15

Death of Tamotsu Sugino

Death of Tamotsu Sugino

This week was so shocking and spend for nothing but thinking of the death of Sugino, a respected free climbing guide. He died while he was inspecting the cliff in Jyogasaki, a famous trad climbing sea cliff...

Police suspects a strong wind might have brown him away... but he died at the worst place at the worst timing. This death must have been his least wish... of course there is no climber who wants to die at age 55... still, the reason why I say it's worst place and worst timing is this place, the Jyogasaki Cliff is No1. Trad climbing destination in Japan which has a huge access issue.

Jyogasaki has Japan's first 5.14a crack called "Mars". The "Mars " was climbed by Kazumasa Yoshida, in 1988. Back them it was graded 5.13d but later by the second climber, it was re-graded as 5.14a. If so, it was the world's most difficult crack climbing at that time. This crack give a great influence to many climbers in Japan and the one of them is Sugino.

Kazumasa Yoshida had died a few years ago in 2016, and many climbers wrote a tribune to him... one of them was Sugino.

Sugino himself was a great climber and also was a great climbing guide who teach trad at Jyogaki and he wrote so many great articles...called "Old but gold" in Japanese climbing magazine... which inspired a lot of climbers.

Now Sugino is also gone and it happened at the Jyogasaki... which had 3 serious accidents in the beginning of the this year... people were worried for this crag might be closed.

Actually even now, relatively small amount of people know about Jyogasaki, it is a open secret that no beginner is welcomed there.

Japanese trad climbing is considered as a very small community yet I think, considering what it is now in Japan, very bad bolt situation and such, I think the safest choice is the trad climbing.

I am so sorry that his death happened in the exact place that he wanted most, to protect as a trad crag.

Sugino was a sort of opinion leader of free climbing ethics, or should I say, clean climbing ethics.

So there must be some other people too, not just me, are curious about how his death play a part in protecting this too famous crag from further access issues. 

My friends climbing in Jyogasaki trad.