Stay in Yunnan for 2 years, looking for the remains of 17 teammates

January 3, 1991.

This is Meili Snow Mountain, the highest mountain in Yunnan Province, with an altitude of 674 meters.

The Sino-Japanese joint mountaineering team gathered in the hinterland of Meili Snow Mountain to make the final sprint preparation for challenging this virgin peak. The snow keeps falling. Just after 22 o'clock, Camp No.3 and Base Camp at an altitude of 5,1 meters started the last communication of the day.

Camp No.3: "Now there is a lot of snow in Camp No.3, and the sight is not good. The snow is 1.2 meters thick. "

base camp: "snow removal is needed."

Camp No.3: "We do snow removal every 2 3 hours. If this situation continues, the snow may exceed 2 meters."

(At this time, there is a buzzing noise on the intercom. )

Base camp: "The battery is low, please replace the walkie-talkie."

Camp No.3: "The battery has been replaced. What now?"

base camp: "it's still the same. Is it because the humidity is too high due to heavy snow? "

Camp Three: "Stop communication, goodbye."

base camp: "goodbye."

at 22: 15, the communication was terminated.

This is the last contact with seventeen members of the mountaineering team.

//

Mountain climbers who walked down the steep slope in the heavy snow. At the foot is a slope of hundreds of meters.

On January 3rd, 1991, the second largest mountain disaster occurred in the history of human mountaineering in Meili Snow Mountain, Yunnan. Seventeen members of the Sino-Japanese Friendship Joint Mountaineering Team were killed in an avalanche. In the history of modern mountaineering for more than 1 years, Meili Snow Mountain has also become the only mountain that human beings can't climb to the top.

The climbers stayed in the snow-capped mountains forever, leaving only their grieving relatives and friends of the mountaineering troops who were unwilling to plan the unsuccessful mountaineering for many years. Kobayashi Shangli, a member of the Kyoto University mountaineering team, is one of them who is particularly unwilling.

At that time, Kobayashi Shangli didn't attend the summit of Meili Snow Mountain because he was going back to his hometown, so he escaped. At that time, he was a junior in college. Among the players who died, there were his predecessors and his friends in the same grade.

What makes Kobayashi feel sad is that with the passage of time, he found that the memories of being with his teammates Toshiichi Sakura and Yuksuke Yuki faded away. "How can I be like this? I want to keep the memories of living with them." Kobayashi Shangli had a bold idea in his mind: go to Meili Snow Mountain in person to find the bodies of the victims.

But it's hard to find the remains of the victims in the vast Meili Snow Mountain. Although both China and Japan have been actively searching for them for some time, nothing has been gained.

Meili Snow Mountain Disaster Monument

In July 1998, more than seven years after the accident, when everyone gradually gave up hope of finding the relics and the team members, exciting news came from Mingyong Village at the foot of Meili Snow Mountain: some villagers found the remains and relics of the climbers near Mingyong Glacier. China and Japan immediately organized a search team to go to Mingyong Village to recover the remains. The families of the victims also went together.

It was this body search that changed Kobayashi's life. In the following more than 2 years, I searched in Meili Snow Mountain again and again, and I have successfully found sixteen bodies.

In the search for the remains, Kobayashi made direct contact with Mingyong villagers under Mingyong Glacier for the first time, only then did he realize the local people's rejection and hatred of climbing Meili Snow Mountain. As the executor of a long-term search for remains and relics in Mingyong Village, he stayed at the home of village head Tashi and interacted with local people with trepidation. In the following years, he walked step by step through the snowfields and forests, rocks and deep valleys that he and his teammates had ignored, and deeply understood the life and beliefs of the villagers.

village head Tashi's family. From left, Yang Zong, Tashi, Gamasili, Zhuo Ma Ram, younger brother.

On the 3th anniversary of the Meili Snow Mountain disaster, the Chinese version of Meili Snow Mountain: Searching for Seventeen Friends written by Kobayashi Shangli came out. In plain and delicate words, this book records the heartbreaking horrible mountain disaster, the arduous search, the mysterious scenery of Meili Snow Mountain, the simple life of people at the foot of the mountain, three trips to the mountains and the changes of local life. Among them, the photos developed from the film of the relics of the mountain disaster are specially included, which is the first time that the photos of the relics of the mountain disaster have been made public.

The preface made by anthropologist Guo Jing and the chapter "Kawagebo in the moonlight in October" are authorized to be published below. The pictures in this article are all from Meili Snow Mountain: Looking for Seventeen Friends.

Meili Snow Mountain: Searching for Seventeen Friends, written by Kobayashi Shangli (Japan), translated by Wu Nier, Yuefu Culture Beijing Joint Publishing Company, January 221

Should human exploration be limited?

Author | Guo Jing (researcher, Yunnan Academy of Social Sciences)

During the planning of a series of commemorative books for the 3th anniversary of the Meilishan disaster, Kobayashi Shang Li asked why China people still care so much about this incident, which has passed in Japan. I remember that my answer at that time was a little vague, which didn't satisfy him or myself. However, an epidemic broke out at the end of 219 and continues to this day, as if God had revealed the answer-

Western modern civilization has established a logic in sturm und drang for hundreds of years, that is, dividing the world into a spiritual "human" and an spiritualless "nature", and solidifying this difference in a pyramid-like classification system. The exploration movement, which originated in the 15th century, aims at the exploration and manipulation of wilderness and primitive by "civilization". It has also become the core value of adventure to show one's courage and wisdom through magnificent landscapes.

The watershed between Lancang River and Nujiang River-Dockwra Ya (448m). The mountaineers prayed devoutly for the Manidui at Zhuanyakou.

from 197s to 199s, mountaineering and scientific research activities aimed at Himalayan snow-capped mountains gradually broke away from the situation of single-handedness in the early days and entered an era of competitive competition. Meili mountain climbing is the most radical wave in this trend, but it suffered a fiasco under the condition of abundant materials and comprehensive preparation. The root of its frustration is the underestimation of the power of nature, which is not only manifested in sudden avalanches, but also in the form of local belief in sacred mountains.

The setback of Meili's mountain climbing seems to be difficult to compare with the current disaster spreading in Nanzhanbu, but both of them use death to highlight two core issues covered by science and technology and economic prosperity: how should human beings get along with nature, culture and culture.

This snowy peak, which is called "Meili" by climbers and tourists, means "white snow" in Tibetan. This name contains profound implications: it not only has the natural appearance of rocks and forests, but also has been endowed with the divinity of human awe. For thousands of years, the local people relied on the protection of Kawagebo, and thus delineated the insurmountable boundary between man and the sacred world.

the so-called "mountain god" is a symbol of the power that has great power and can bless and destroy many small lives. However, looking at the mountains, rivers, lakes and seas where we live, people who think they are at the top of the biological chain invade sacred forests, ice peaks, wetlands and beaches everywhere, "cleaning up" the species and landscapes they hate, and at the same time they are bound to be retaliated by the self-correction of the biosphere. The focus of this conflict is precisely the cross-examination that we always avoid in the face of disasters but can no longer avoid: is nature divine? Should there be limits to human exploration?

Looking at the top of Meili Snow Mountain from Camp No.2 (Photo: Mountaineers in distress)

Explorers were caught in such a fierce conflict and had to bear the unpredictable consequences first. As a climber with ideals, but trapped in the "Mosken Vortex", Kobayashi did not escape like others. Of course, his original intention was not to know what a mountain is. In fact, the Japanese also believe in mountain gods, 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, just like the water island in "Myanmar's Harp". After the Second World War, he stayed in Southeast Asia to collect the bones of the dead soldiers and let their souls have a home.

On August 5th, 1999, I went to the glacier with village head Da Tashi, villagers Dawa and Kobayashi Shangli to film their search for the relics of the victims. At that time, Kobayashi knew little about Tibetans and even had doubts. When I went to Da Tashi's home a month later, he had established a preliminary friendship with the family. Twelve-year-old Bai Mazimu and eleven-year-old Song Jipin chatted with him in Tibetan and Chinese at first, and Da Tashi took advantage of the drunkenness to popularize the basic knowledge of Kawagebo belief with him. A tradition that is older and deeper than exploration, like alcohol, seeps into the bodies and heads of Japanese guests. Like Gauguin and Locke, the renegade who escaped from the city but was trapped in Shan Ye, slowly shed their hard armor and became a photographer and explorer of mountain culture.

This example of identity and soul transformation is an exception in the history of exploration. I was fortunate enough to witness this legend on the ordinary road and witness the story of a climber being transformed by a snowy mountain. This story may predict a prospect: even with one's meager strength, a gap can be broken in the isolation wall between culture and culture, between human beings and ecological landscape, and a ray of hope can penetrate.

The mountain disaster brought despair, but it also brought a story of ordinary people turning their fortunes around. To be exact, Kobayashi did his best, but the destiny to promote this unmanned work came from the mountain god in the velvet land. He would mercilessly bury the climbers' bodies, but eventually saved their souls.

players who use sleds to transport supplies. The snow between camp 2 and camp 3 is soft and easy to sink, so using sledge is an effective method. (photo of relics)

Kawagebo in the moonlight

Author (Japan) Kobayashi Shangli

Translator | Unnier

In October, corn has begun to be plated with a layer of gold. At the beginning of October, it was the end of the rainy season. I set out with the villagers in Mingyong Village and started a trip to Meili Snow Mountain.

Meili Snow Mountain is located in the transition zone from Qinghai-Tibet Plateau to plain with an average elevation of 4 meters. This mountain range is called "Hengduan Mountain Range" because there are three big rivers flowing north and south and steep mountains parallel to them that block the east-west traffic. These three rivers are Jinsha River (upper reaches of Yangtze River), Lancang River (upper reaches of Mekong River) and Nujiang River (upper reaches of salween).

The turning mountain road of Meili Snow Mountain is a long mountain road that flows from the trunk of Lancang River to Nujiang River at an altitude of about 5, meters, and then returns to Lancang River through the watershed. Starting from the dry-hot valley where cactus grows, through the forest with the fragrance of pine mushrooms, it has climbed to the cold pass where alpine plants are everywhere, and the richness of climate diversity along the way is staggering. It is unbelievable that all of them belong to the same area.

look at the main peak from camp 2. The black spot far away from Camp 2 may be an alternative location for Camp 3. (The picture shows the first-ever exposure of the photographic film of the relic of a mountain disaster.)

The twenty-day trip to the mountains has enabled me to observe this land with a broader vision. Seeing the people living around the mountains, and also seeing the believers who came to the mountains from distant places, I really felt the existence of Meili Snow Mountain as a lofty belief.

after my trip around the mountains, I realized my ignorance of Meili Snow Mountain, and I felt abandoned by the mountain. But it is precisely because of this feeling that I made up my mind to shoot Meili Snow Mountain seriously. I began to plan to experience every different season in this land.

when I came back from the mountain, I found that there was no snow on the glacier, so I decided to search again. At this time of the mountain has been completely is a pleasant autumn scenery.

This time, a new body was found. This is the last search on the glacier this year. During this year, the * * * meter conducted ten searches and confirmed the bodies of seven people. They are Tetsuo Sasaki, Junji Kudo, Toshiyuki Zongsen, Wang Jianhua, Lin Wensheng, Osamu Inoue Lang and Li Zhiyun. Together with the remains found last year, the remains of twelve players have been confirmed. At the same time as this work, there is another achievement. There has never been a formal measurement of the velocity of Mingyong Glacier in history. We have measured it while searching, and we know that the horizontal velocity of Mingyong Glacier is 32 meters per month. In addition, it can be calculated from the moving distance of the remains that the velocity of Mingyong Glacier is between 2 meters and 5 meters per year.

body search site. Village head Tashi, they are crossing the ice gap at the end of the glacier.

According to the research of glaciologists, the fastest speed of glaciers in the Himalayas is only tens of meters per year. The flow rate of Mingyong Glacier is about ten times this value. This glacier velocity shows the heavy snowfall in Meili Snow Mountain and the steep mountain terrain. When introducing Mingyong Glacier, geographical magazines and newspapers said: "(It) is probably the fastest flowing mountain glacier in the world."

Among the 17 people who died, there were experts in snow and ice and meteorological research. They paid the price of their lives and let us know the existence of such a glacier.

in late October, the rainy season ended completely. I seem to have never seen such a clear blue sky. I can see Meili Snow Mountain all day. Because of the snowfall in summer, there is more snow on the top of the mountain.

On the surrounding hills, you can clearly see the red leaves spreading from the high place on the hillside to the foot of the mountain. The corn in the field has been harvested, and the walnut leaves are slowly turning golden yellow.

the base camp of the remains reception team.

During the interval between returning from the mountain and returning to Japan, I began to have the opportunity to photograph Kawagebo at night. Although I have tried many times before, I have never succeeded once because of the bad weather in summer.

this night, the moon will be full. Bathed in the dissolved moonlight, the snowy mountains under the night sky are clear. I went to the roof of the house with the best shooting angle, set up a tripod, opened the shutter of the camera, put on a sleeping bag and lay down. Two hours later, the alarm clock rang. I opened my eyes in fear and thought, "I wonder what the weather is like?"

"great! It's still sunny! "

Meili 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 will enter the next exposure immediately. I repeated the shooting five times that night. Looking at the starry sky and falling asleep slowly, it's really at the peak of happiness.

at 6: 3 in the morning, the sky began to light up. It's a little cold, but it's sunny today, and the camera is still on. At 7: 3, the top of Meili Snow Mountain shows a ray of light, which is the moment of sunrise on the ground. The thin, peach-colored light gradually became stronger and soon covered it.