Everest. Our Naomi Uemura Film Expedition had to wait until after the Indians had made their last summit bid. We set up camps and filmed, but we had to wait well below the South Col while the Indians made repeated unsuccessful attempts. Finally on October 28 we established Camp IV on the South Col and on October 30 seven went to the summit. We were Noboru Yamada (his second time but this time without supplementary oxygen), Hideji Nazuka, Mitsuyoshi Sato, Teruo Saegusa, Etsuo Akutsu and Satoshi Kimoto and me. Akutsu, at 47 years the oldest Japanese atop Everest, became snow blind and very tired. He and Kimoto made an unprepared bivouac at 8600 meters below the South Summit while another member, Kazunari Murakami, carried up oxygen to them very early the next morning, thus probably saving Akutsu’s life. Kimoto was frostbitten and has lost all ten toes.

Kuniaki Yagimara, Himalayan Association of Japan