Masatoshi back up for a 5th try on Mt. Hunter

aired Thursday – Well-known climber Masatoshi Kuriaki is up on the Denali massif again this winter.

Masa, as he is known in climbing circles, is back for a fifth try at summitting Mount Hunter in winter.  If he makes it, he will become the first person in the world to successfully summit the three tallest mountains in the Alaska Range in winter by himself.

He successfully summitted Denali in the winter of 1998 and became the first person to successfully summit Mount Foraker, solo in winter, in March of 2007.

As is his signature style, he is expected to take his time on the mountain and may spend over 8 weeks in the Range while trying to summit.

Italian climber, Emmanuele Velatti, flew up with K2 Aviation this month and tried for a solo summit of Denali, but turned around after a short time. He is headed back to Italy, but expressed interest in returning again next winter for another solo summit attempt.

Meanwhile, the other famous Japanese, Norio Matsumoto , is continuing his annual winter photography expedition on the Ruth Glacier until March 4^th.  Matsumoto makes a trip to Talkeetna, and up to the Alaska Range, every winter to document the Northern Lights over Denali.