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Denali at Ages 51 and 59: A Slideshow

Athlete Stories By Updated:
Ishidera resting after Pig Hill on Summit Day, around 5 p.m. Yet again, the weather was perfect. The pair got a late start from high camp, as they’d been planning a rest day there. “When we’d moved up from basecamp to high camp, Mori got really sick or tired,” says Ishidera. “I wasn’t sure whether he could climb the next day, so for sure we were going to take a rest at high camp.” But then, the next morning, Mori awakened before Ishidera and was up cooking and ready to go. The pair set out around 11 a.m. Photo: Hikari Mori

Kazu Ishidera is 51 years old and the store manager at REI San Carlos, in California. In June 2022, he and his longtime friend and mentor Hikari Mori (Mori-San), 59, summited Denali (20,310 feet) in good style, pulling off their ascent of the West Buttress during a stable weather window. The two have been climbing partners since 2000, when they met as part of the team that opened REI’s first—and only—international store, in Tokyo, Japan. They typically enjoy classic mountain routes and moderate multi-pitch climbs, and often pick their goals from the book Fifty Classic Climbs of North America.

Ishidera grew up in the Tokyo megalopolis, where his family wasn’t outdoorsy. “We did play outside but I wasn’t exposed to outdoor sports until I went to ski through my high school, part of a generation when skiing was very big in Japan. That became my passion,” he says. He studied abroad at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, diving into outdoor sports like downhill skiing, backcountry skiing, telemark skiing, climbing, and backpacking during his five years there. Ishidera has been working for REI for 22 years, and holds a demanding full-time job.

For years he trained somewhat haphazardly for his alpine goals. “I would just do six to eight hours of a big climb on my day off, or go hiking or trailing running for 20 miles and feel good about it,” says Ishidera. “And then I’d go climb a big mountain prior to the big climb. My approach was completely wrong”—in other words, it was neither graduated nor systematic, to allow for incremental strength and performance gains. 

Long a fan of Steve House’s climbing and writing (he’s read Beyond the Mountain in Japanese “more than several” times), Ishidera reached out to Uphill Athlete for coaching help, and ended up working with Mark Postle and Nate Emerson. He also signed up for the How to Self-Coach for Mountain Sport Lecture Series, 24-Week Expeditionary Mountaineering Training Plan, and the TrainingPeaks.com premium plan, with its powerful analytics tools and direct line of coach-to-athlete communication. “The book, the forum, and the training program helped me to keep myself motivated and focused,” Ishidera says. “I truly believe it is a shortcut to knowing how to train properly, especially for older climbers like me.” He also appreciated how responsive Postle was to his questions, whether they were about the training itself or Denali logistics. “To ask a world-class climber who has guided multiple times on Denali, that was a tremendous help,” says Ishidera.

Here is a slideshow of their ascent of Denali, from May/June 2022.

Hikari Mori (left) and Kazu Ishidera (right) used Sheldon Air Service to get flown into Denali, upon the recommendation of a friend and coworker at REI. As soon as they were back at basecamp after their successful climb, they sent a photo to Sheldon via InReach and were picked up from the glacier the very same day.
Hikari Mori (left) and Kazu Ishidera (right) used Sheldon Air Service to get flown into Denali, upon the recommendation of a friend and coworker at REI. As soon as they were back at basecamp after their successful climb, they sent a photo to Sheldon via InReach and were picked up from the glacier the very same day.
Mori Hikari, aka Mori-San, at Camp 2 on another splitter day on the mountain. “Fortunately we had awesome weather windows,” says Ishidera. “The only bad weather we had was from Ski Hill to Camp 2. There was a whiteout and it was a little bit windy, but that was it.” He adds that for the two weeks that they climbed or cached, every day (except for rest days) was physically demanding. But “It would have been way more challenging if we’d had bad weather,” says Ishidera.
Mori Hikari, aka Mori-San, at Camp 2 on another splitter day on the mountain. “Fortunately we had awesome weather windows,” says Ishidera. “The only bad weather we had was from Ski Hill to Camp 2. There was a whiteout and it was a little bit windy, but that was it.” He adds that for the two weeks that they climbed or cached, every day (except for rest days) was physically demanding. But “It would have been way more challenging if we’d had bad weather,” says Ishidera.
Ishidera on the summit. The two took a few hours to return to high camp, reaching their tent around midnight. “I realized that my understanding of training, or at least the training I did in the past, was completely wrong,” he says. Uphill Athlete helped him to understand a few key concepts: 1) Heart-rate zoning, 2) Training cycles and methodology, 3) Recovery, and 4) Sport-specific training. “I had never done a weighted-heel hike before, and it certainly strengthened my climbing ability, particularly this time on Denali,” he says. “Understanding the training method was tremendously helpful, and I felt much stronger in terms of core strength and endurance. I could tell from trail running on the same routes [as before]that I could run faster.” Photo: Hikari Mori
Ishidera on the summit. The two took a few hours to return to high camp, reaching their tent around midnight. “I realized that my understanding of training, or at least the training I did in the past, was completely wrong,” he says. Uphill Athlete helped him to understand a few key concepts: 1) Heart-rate zoning, 2) Training cycles and methodology, 3) Recovery, and 4) Sport-specific training. “I had never done a weighted-heel hike before, and it certainly strengthened my climbing ability, particularly this time on Denali,” he says. “Understanding the training method was tremendously helpful, and I felt much stronger in terms of core strength and endurance. I could tell from trail running on the same routes [as before]that I could run faster.” Photo: Hikari Mori
A Sheldon Air Service airplane, just big enough to hold the pilot, two climbers, and their gear. Mount Hunter is visible in the background. Says Ishidera of the allure of massive, frigid mountains like Hunter and Denali, “My personality and endurance do well with type-two fun; I’m a glass-half-full person most of the time.”
A Sheldon Air Service airplane, just big enough to hold the pilot, two climbers, and their gear. Mount Hunter is visible in the background. Says Ishidera of the allure of massive, frigid mountains like Hunter and Denali, “My personality and endurance do well with type-two fun; I’m a glass-half-full person most of the time.”
Mori-San below the spire of Washburn’s Thumb, an iconic landmark at ~16,000 feet. “I could see Mori-San’s custom-made nose guard, which I kind of make fun of all the time,” jokes Ishidera.
Mori-San below the spire of Washburn’s Thumb, an iconic landmark at ~16,000 feet. “I could see Mori-San’s custom-made nose guard, which I kind of make fun of all the time,” jokes Ishidera.
A view from the top of the West Buttress, just below high camp at 17,200 feet. “We were planning to make it to high camp and cache, but we were so tired that we couldn’t even make it. We found the hole from the previous party, and we used that,” says Ishidera. “When we finished, we could see the ridgeline clearly so we took two pictures.”
A view from the top of the West Buttress, just below high camp at 17,200 feet. “We were planning to make it to high camp and cache, but we were so tired that we couldn’t even make it. We found the hole from the previous party, and we used that,” says Ishidera. “When we finished, we could see the ridgeline clearly so we took two pictures.”
The weather-forecast whiteboard, posted at Kahiltna basecamp via the Denali National Park and Preserve ranger station. It shows “High pressure dominant through the weekend,” which is when the pair summited. Ishidera also received daily weather updates from his wife via InReach.
The weather-forecast whiteboard, posted at Kahiltna basecamp via the Denali National Park and Preserve ranger station. It shows “High pressure dominant through the weekend,” which is when the pair summited. Ishidera also received daily weather updates from his wife via InReach.
A panoramic view of Mount Hunter from Kahiltna basecamp.
A panoramic view of Mount Hunter from Kahiltna basecamp.
Mori-San moving up to high camp on a spectacular section of the West Buttress under cloudless skies. Because of the excellent weather, the route saw lots of travel, leading to these perfectly cut steps. “We loved this section, but certainly it was the toughest part of the climb,” says Ishidera.
Mori-San moving up to high camp on a spectacular section of the West Buttress under cloudless skies. Because of the excellent weather, the route saw lots of travel, leading to these perfectly cut steps. “We loved this section, but certainly it was the toughest part of the climb,” says Ishidera.
A traditional alpine-trip selfie inside the tent, with Ishidera on the left and Mori on the right.
A traditional alpine-trip selfie inside the tent, with Ishidera on the left and Mori on the right.
A busy day at Camp 3 at 11,000 feet, with the route winding up Motorcycle Hill visible above.
A busy day at Camp 3 at 11,000 feet, with the route winding up Motorcycle Hill visible above.
Mori-San on the way back to Camp 1 from caching at Camp 2 at 9,700 feet. The two climbers planned out their trip by watching videos that Mark Postle and Steve House had posted on YouTube: “Denali clothing and gear tutorials, how to climb Denali strategy and advice,” says Ishidera. “I watched them many times, and it was really, really, really helpful.”
Mori-San on the way back to Camp 1 from caching at Camp 2 at 9,700 feet. The two climbers planned out their trip by watching videos that Mark Postle and Steve House had posted on YouTube: “Denali clothing and gear tutorials, how to climb Denali strategy and advice,” says Ishidera. “I watched them many times, and it was really, really, really helpful.”
Hikari Mori on the summit of Denali (20,310 feet). The pair summited around 7:50 p.m. under brilliant, ever-lit Alaskan summer skies.
Hikari Mori on the summit of Denali (20,310 feet). The pair summited around 7:50 p.m. under brilliant, ever-lit Alaskan summer skies.

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