January 3, 1991.
This is the highest peak in Yunnan Province, Meili Snow Mountain, at an altitude of 6740 meters.
The Sino-Japanese joint mountaineering team gathered in the hinterland of Meili Snow Mountain to prepare for the final sprint to challenge this virgin peak. The snow continues to fall underground. Just after 22:00, Camp Three and Base Camp, located at an altitude of 5,100 meters, began their last communication of the day.
Camp Three: "Camp Three now has a lot of snow and bad vision. The snow is 1.2 meters thick. ”
Base Battalion: "Snow removal operations are required. ”
Camp 3: "We do snow removal every 2 to 3 hours, and if this situation continues, the snow may exceed 2 meters." ”
(At this point, the walkie-talkie has a buzzing noise.) ）
Base Battalion: "The battery is low, please replace the walkie-talkie." ”
Camp Three: "The battery has been replaced, how is it now?" ”
Base Battalion: "It's still the same. Is it because the humidity is too high due to heavy snowfall? ”
Camp Three: "Terminate communication, goodbye." ”
Base Battalion: "Goodbye." ”
At 22:15, communication was terminated.
This was the last contact with seventeen members of the climbing team.
/ /
Mountain turners walking down steep slopes in heavy snow. At the foot is a slope of several hundred meters.
On January 3, 1991, the second largest mountain disaster in the history of human mountaineering occurred in meili snow mountaineering in Yunnan. Seventeen members of the Sino-Japanese Friendship Joint Mountaineering Team suffered an avalanche and all were killed. In the history of modern mountaineering for more than a hundred years, Meili Snow Mountain has also become the only mountain that human beings cannot climb.
The mountaineers have always stayed in the snowy mountains, leaving only their grieving relatives and friends who are not willing to plan for many years of mountaineering. Naotoshi Kobayashi, a member of the Kyoto University mountaineering team, is one of the most reluctant.
At that time, because he wanted to return to his hometown, Kobayashi Naori did not participate in the summit of the Meili Snow Mountain, so he escaped a disaster. At that time, he was in his third year of college. Among the team members killed were his predecessors and his friends of the same grade.
What makes Kobayashi sad is that as time goes on, he finds that the memories of being with his teammates Sasagi Shunichi and Yusuke Yusuke have gradually faded, "How did I do this, I want to keep the memories of living with them." A bold idea popped into Kobayashi's mind: to personally go to the Meili Snow Mountain to find the remains of the victims.
However, it was not easy to find the remains of the victims in the vast Meili Snow Mountain, although for a period of time after that, both China and Japan were actively searching, but there was no gain.
Monument to the Meri Snow Mountain Disaster
In July 1998, more than seven years after the accident, when everyone was gradually losing hope of finding the relics and the team members, the exciting news came from the village of Mingyong at the foot of Meili Snow Mountain: villagers found the remains and relics of mountaineers near the Mingyong Glacier. China and Japan immediately organized a search team to go to Mingyong Village to recover the remains. The families of the killed team members also went together.
It was also this body search operation that changed The Life of Naori Kobayashi. In the following twenty years, he repeatedly searched deep into the Meili Snow Mountain, and has successfully found sixteen bodies.
During the search for the remains, Kobayashi had the first direct contact with the villagers of Mingyong under the Mingyong Glacier where the remains were found, and only then did he realize the rejection and hatred of the locals for climbing the Meili Snow Mountain; as the executor of the long-term search for the remains of the remains in The Village of Mingyong, he lived in the home of the village chief Tashi and interacted with the locals with a nervous heart. In the years that followed, he walked through the snowfields and forests, rocks and deep valleys that he and his teammates had ignored, and gained an insight into the lives and beliefs of the villagers.
The Tashi village chief's family. From left, Yangzong, Tashi, Karma Tsiri, Dolmaram, younger brother.
Kobayashi quit his job at the company and became a photographer and explorer on nature themes, writing nature articles in the Sanjiangyuan area. In his search spanning years, he gradually transformed from an arrogant alien climber to a guardian of the sacred mountain, a photographer and writer on nature themes.
On the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the Meri Snow Mountain Disaster, the Chinese edition of "Meri Snow Mountain: Looking for Seventeen Friends" written by Kobayashi Naotoshi came out. In plain and delicate text, this book records the heartbreaking horrors of mountain disasters, the arduous search, the mysterious style of Meili Snow Mountain, the simple life of the people at the foot of the mountain, the three mountain trips and the changes in local life. In particular, there are photographs of mountain disaster relics developed from film, which is the first time that photos of mountain disaster relics have been made public.
The following is a permission to publish the preface to the book by anthropologist Guo Jing and the chapter "Kawagbo in the Moonlight in October". The pictures accompanying this article are from "Merry Snow Mountain: In Search of Seventeen Friends".
"Meili Snow Mountain: In Search of Seventeen Friends", (Japanese) by Naori Kobayashi, translated by Unil, Lefu Culture | Beijing United Publishing Company, January 2021 edition
Should human exploration have limits?
Author | GUO Jing (Researcher, Yunnan Academy of Social Sciences)
While we were planning a series of commemorative books for the 30th anniversary of the Meiriyama Disaster, Naotoshi Kobayashi asked why Chinese still care so much about this matter in Japan. I remember that my answer at that time was a little vague, did not let him, but also satisfied myself. However, an outbreak broke out at the end of 2019 and continues to this day, as if God had revealed the answer -
In the course of centuries of rapid advances, modern Western civilization has established a logic of dividing the world into spiritual "human" and non-spiritual "nature", and solidifying this distinction in a pyramidal classification system. The expedition movement, which originated in the 15th century, was the exploration and manipulation of the "wilderness" and "primitiveness" by "civilization"; and the use of magnificent landscapes to show personal courage and wisdom has also become the core values of the expedition movement.
The watershed of the Lancang and Nu rivers - Dokla Ya (4480 meters). The mountain turners prayed reverently at the Mani pile at the mouth of the turn.
From the 1970s to the 1990s, mountaineering and scientific expeditions against the Himalayan snow-capped mountains gradually moved away from the early situation of going it alone and entered the era of competition. Merry Mountaineers were the most radical wave of the current, but they suffered a crushing defeat with abundant supplies and preparations. The root cause of its frustration is an underestimation of the power of nature, which is not only manifested as a sudden avalanche, but also in the form of local beliefs in the sacred mountains.
The setbacks of Mount Meri may seem incomparable to the immediate scourge that has spread to the Southern Continent, but they both use death to highlight two core issues that have been obscured by technological and economic prosperity: how humans and nature, and culture and culture should live together.
This snowy mountain, known to climbers and tourists as "Meri", means "white snow" (Kawagbo) in Tibetan. The name contains a profound moral: he not only has the natural shape of a rock and a forest, but also gives man a divine nature of awe. For thousands of years, the local people have relied on the patronage of Kawagebo, thus delineating an insurmountable border between man and the sacred world.
The so-called "mountain god" is the symbol of the power that has great power, can bless, and can also destroy many small lives. However, looking at the mountains, rivers, lakes and seas in which we live, human beings who consider themselves to be at the top of the biological chain invade sacred forests, ice peaks, wetlands, and beaches everywhere, "sweeping" the species and landscapes they hate, and at the same time they are bound to be retaliated against for the self-correction of the biosphere. The focus of this conflict is precisely the question that we always avoid but can no longer avoid in the face of disaster: Is nature divine? Should human exploration have limits?
Viewing the summit of Meili Snow Mountain from Camp 2 (Photo: Shipwrecked climbers)
The explorers were caught up in such a violent conflict that they had to bear the brunt of the unforeseen consequences. As a climber with ideals but trapped in the "Mosken Whirlpool", Kobayashi did not avoid it like everyone else. Of course, his original intention was not to understand what the sacred mountain was, in fact, the Japanese also believe in the mountain god, but in their culture, pilgrims can climb to the top of the mountain and pray to the gods. He originally went to search for the remains of his friends, like the water island in "The Harp of Burma", staying in Southeast Asia after the end of World War II to collect the bones of the dead soldiers and let their souls have a home.
On August 5, 1999, I followed village chief Tashi, villager Dawa and Kobayashi Shori to the glacier to photograph their search for the relics of the victims. At that time, Kobayashi knew very little about the Tibetans, and even had doubts. When I went to Da Tashi's house a month later, he had already established a preliminary friendship with the family. Twelve-year-old Baima Tsim and eleven-year-old Song Ji Pinchu chatted with him in Tibetan and Chinese, and Tashi took advantage of the wine to popularize the basics of the Kawagebo faith with him. A tradition that is older and deeper than adventure, seeps into the bodies and heads of Japanese guests bit by bit like alcohol. Like Gauguin and Locke, the renegade man who escaped from the city but was trapped in the mountains, slowly faded his hard armor and transformed into a photographer and explorer of mountain culture.
Examples of this identity and soul transformation are exceptional in the history of exploration. I had the privilege of witnessing this legend on the ordinary road, witnessing the story of a climber being transformed by a snow-capped mountain. This story may have predicted the prospect that, at a time of increasing conflict, even with the meager strength of individuals, a gap can be opened in the wall of separation between culture and culture, human beings and ecological landscapes, and a glimmer of hope can be penetrated.
Mountain disasters bring despair, but they also bring a story of ordinary people turning their fate around. To be precise, Kobayashi did his best, but the destiny that drove this unmatched work also came from the mountain god of the velvet, who would ruthlessly bury the flesh of the climbers, but ultimately save their souls.
The crew who transport supplies in sleds. The snow between Camps Two and Three is soft and easy to trap, so using a sled is an effective way to do it. (Relic photo)
Kawagbo in the moonlight
The author | (Japanese) Kobayashi Shori
Translated by | Unil
Entering October, the corn has begun to be coated with a golden color. At the beginning of October, it was the end of the rainy season, so I set off with the villagers of Myungyong Village to start the journey from The Snow Mountain in Meili.
Meili Snow Mountain is located at an average altitude of 4,000 meters above sea level in the transition from the Tibetan Plateau to the plains. Because three large rivers flowing north and south and the steep mountains running parallel to them block east-west traffic, this mountain range is called the "Hengduan Mountains". The three major rivers are the Jinsha River (upper reaches of the Yangtze River), the Lancang River (upper mekong river), and the Nu River (upper Salween River).
The turning path of Meili Snow Mountain is a long mountain road from the main stream of the Lancang River through the watershed at an altitude of about 5,000 meters to the Nu River, and then through the watershed back to the Lancang River. From the dry and hot valley where cacti grow, through the forest with the fragrance of pine mushrooms, all the way to the cold pass full of alpine plants, the diversity of the climate along the way is staggering, and it is hard to believe that all of this belongs to the same region.
Look out over the main peak from Camp Two. The black dot on the far side of Camp Two may be an alternative location for Camp Three. (The picture is the film printing image of the mountain disaster relics that was first published)
Twenty days of mountain turning allowed me to observe the land with a broader vision. Seeing the people living around the mountain, and seeing the believers who came to the mountain from a distant place, I really felt the existence of the Meili Snow Mountain as a noble faith.
After the trip to the mountain, I realized my ignorance of the Meili Snow Mountain, and I felt abandoned by the mountain. But it was precisely because of this feeling that I was determined to take the Merry Snow Mountain seriously. I started planning to experience each different season in the land.
When I came back from the mountain, I found that there was no snow on the glacier, so I decided to do another search. At this time, the mountain is already a pleasant autumn scene.
This time new remains were found. This is the last time this year that a search on the glacier has been done. A total of ten searches were conducted during the year, and the remains of seven people were identified. They are Tetsuo Sasaki, Shunji Kudo, Yusei Somori, Wang Jianhua, Hayashi Bunsen, Jiro Inoue, and Lee Jo-yun. Together with the remains found last year, the remains of twelve team members have been confirmed. This work was accompanied by another achievement. There has never been a formal measurement of the flow rate of the Mingyong Glacier in history, and we conducted actual measurements while conducting the search and learned that the horizontal flow rate of the Mingyong Glacier is 32 meters per month. In addition, from the distance the remains moved, it can be calculated that the flow rate of the Mingyong Glacier is between 200 meters and 500 meters per year.
The site of the search for remains. Tashi village chief they are crossing the ice gap at the end of the glacier.
According to the research of glacier scientists, the fastest flow rate of glaciers in the Himalayas is only a few tens of meters per year. The flow rate of the Mingyong Glacier is about ten times the value. This glacial flow rate illustrates the amount of snowfall in the Meili Snow Mountain and the steepness of the mountain's terrain. Geography magazines and newspapers about the Mingyong Glacier said: "[It] is likely to be one of the fastest flowing mountain glaciers in the world." ”
Among the seventeen killed were experts in ice, snow and meteorological research. They paid with their lives to let us know that such a glacier exists.
In late October, the rainy season ended completely. I never seemed to have seen such a clear blue sky, and I could see the Meili Snow Mountain all day long. Because of the snowfall in the summer, there is more snow on the top of the mountain.
On the surrounding hills, you can clearly see the autumn leaves spreading from the top of the hillside to the foot of the mountain. The corn in the field has been harvested, and the walnut leaves are slowly turning golden.
Base battalion of the Body Containment Team.
In the gap between the mountain and back to Japan, I began to have the opportunity to photograph Kawagebo at night. Although I have tried many times before, I have not succeeded once because of the bad weather in summer.
On this night, the moon will be full. Bathed in dissolved moonlight, the snowy mountains under the night sky are clear. I went to the roof of the house with the best angle, put on a tripod, opened the shutter of the camera, and laid down in a sleeping bag. Two hours later the alarm went off, and I opened my eyes nervously and thought, "I don't know what the weather is like?" ”
"It was amazing! It's still sunny! ”
The Merry Snow Mountain under the night sky is like a floating white silk, and it seems that the mountain itself is a white luminous body, what an incredible sight!
Turn off the shutter and I immediately move on to the next exposure. I repeated five shots that night. Looking at the starry sky and slowly falling asleep, it is really at the peak of happiness.
At 6:30 a.m., the sky slowly brightened. It was a little cold, but it was another sunny day and the camera was still on. At 7:30, a ray of light was reflected on the summit of The Snow Mountain of Meili, which was the moment of sunrise on the ground. The thin, peach-colored light gradually became stronger and soon covered the entire summit. At the moment when it shone through the mountain, the morning light suddenly turned into a burning flame-like pink, and gradually changed to orange-red. When the light of the first day was covered to the foot of the mountain, the light turned into a less dazzling golden yellow, like a surging passion returning to calm.
The process was actually only a dozen minutes, and I kept staring intently. This was my first mysterious meeting with Kawagebo in the four months since I was here.
Kawagbo in the moonlight. This sacred mountain has never been climbed to the top, and the place where there is a light at the bottom of the mountain is the village of Feilaiji.
At the end of October, I'm leaving the village. That day, I was packing my bags in the house when Tashi walked in with something in his hand. "Kobayashi, this is a little bit of my heart, take it back to Japan and drink it." He said this and handed me a jug of wine. The side reads: "Parting gift to a Japanese friend, the mayor of Mingyong Village, Tashi." "I liked this gift very much. Arnie and Adja gave a bag of walnuts and a bag of rice dumplings, and the huge bag made me feel a little embarrassed, but I understood that this was due to their sincere affection, and I gratefully accepted it.
Tashi said: "Although we may not be able to come again in the near future, we will definitely meet again when our hair is gray." ”
"Thank you! I will definitely come back again. ”
We shook hands tightly.
I have a real feeling in my heart about my acquaintance with him, and it was the first time I had trusted someone from another country so unreservedly. Because of my relationship with Tashi and the villagers, my thinking about mountains has changed. The Meri Snow Mountain is no longer the "climbing target" that it has always been, but has become a sacred mountain called "Kawagebo".
I asked Arnie, "What is your favorite season?" ”
"Of course, during the Spring Festival in winter, we will make as many delicious food as the mountains and dance all day."
When I heard this answer, I secretly decided in my heart that there would be a time to visit here again.
In the evening, friends from the village came to say goodbye, and someone brought me wine as a separate gift.
The car from Deqin arrived, and we loaded the body and relics into the car. When it was dark, I bid farewell to Mingyong Village under the eyes of the villagers. We all smiled and agreed to meet again. After the car drove out of the village, I looked up again. As I had come, Kawagebo was hidden in a deep cloud.
"Yalasso!" Morning prayer towards Kawagbo.
The author | Kobayashi Shori Guo Jing
Excerpt from | Li Yongbo
Editor| Xu Yuedong
Proofreader | Li Xiangling