Kenro Nakajima

Takeo "Kenro" Nakajima (中島 健郎; October 19, 1984 – July 27, 2024) was a Japanese elite alpinist and cameraman who won three Piolet d'Or awards, considered to be the highest achievement in mountaineering.

[8] The next year, Nakajima was part of a Japanese expedition from his university that made the first ascent of the east face of Panbari Himal (6,905 m).

In 2019, while Nakajima and Hiraide were awaiting a climbing permit for Tirich Mir, they headed to Gilgit-Baltistan to look for other peaks to acclimatize.

[18] The next year, the pair climbed the north face of Tirich Mir (7,708 m), the highest peak of the Hindu Kush.

[21] In an interview in 2021, Nakajima, shared his climbing partner's enthusiasm, describing it as his immediate goal, and one that had a limited window due to his age.

[22] The 2024 summit season on K2 was limited due to poor weather, and Hiraide and Nakajima spent weeks at advanced base camp.

[23] On July 27, Hiraide contacted the expedition's sponsor to let them know that he and Nakajima were planning to move to the upper part of Camp 2.

On July 29, the expedition team's staff and crew left advanced base camp without reaching the climbers.

[30] On July 30 expedition sponsor Ishii Sports announced that they had called off further rescue attempts due to dangerous conditions on K2.

In September 2024, members of the Piolets d’Or technical committee named Hiraide and Nakajima's 2023 climb of The Secret Line as one of the year's most significant ascents.