A short film released a few days ago by The North Face shows James Pearson and his wife Caroline Ciavaldini on their trip to Japan to face a new challenge in waterfall climbing, also known as "Sawanobori". The two were accompanied on their adventure by Japanese climbers Yuji Hirayama and Toru Nakajma.
Arriving in Japan, the athletes first practiced the very special waterfall climbing in small and simple spots before tackling the highest waterfall in Japan (Shomyo, 350 Meter). James and his wife were literally thrown into the cold water with the first climb. Sawanobori is a subspecies of climbing and extremely diverse ranges from boulder problems on mini routes to big-wall climbing.
“I was overwhelmed by these areas and the enormous amounts of water! It was then clear to me that there were unknown dangers lurking compared to normal climbing. "
Yuri Hirayama
Movie about James Pearson, Caroline Ciavaldini and Yuji Hirayama climbing the waterfall (Sawanobori)
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Credits: The North Face