Still Traveling in Search of Surprises

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I’ve heard you say that, rather than capture the entirety of a landscape, you photograph it in the same way a catcher catches a ball flying right at him.

Ishikawa

Yes.

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That must be because you’re photographing vast seas, deep forests, and mountains over 8,000 meters (26,000 feet) high.

Ishikawa

I suppose that’s true.

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I thought the photo you took of a Sherpa was rather different.

Ishikawa

How so?

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Your photos of Sherpas, natives that accompany you and other mountain climbers on the trek up the Himalayas, made me think you’re taking a step into their heart, instead of simply capturing what they are.

Ishikawa

Oh, you think so?

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In other words, you see them as something more like “war buddies.” The feel I get from your photos of Sherpas is even more than just that of having spent every waking moment together. It’s people you’ve faced death with for many weeks.

Ishikawa

I wasn’t really making a conscious decision to portray it that way, but I did feel like I wanted to know more about them; perhaps that aspect showed through.

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Ah, so it’s that you want to know more about them.

Ishikawa

Yes. There’s a great deal about the Sherpas that I don’t know, that I can’t even begin to speculate about.

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Like what, for example?

Ishikawa

I know the yak is a very important animal to them, but I don’t know what kind of role it plays in their everyday lives.

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And that’s what you’d like to know about.

Ishikawa

I would. I’d like to understand things like that so I can connect with Sherpas on a deeper level. If I want more than a surface understanding, It’s not enough to simply spend time with them.

—

I see.

Ishikawa

Because I come from a different culture with a different language, I need to take the initiative myself if I want them to open up. That may be a subconscious reason why my photos look the way they do.

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The Sherpa you featured in your work—what was he like?

Ishikawa

You mean Phurba?

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Yes, Mr. Phurba.

Ishikawa

That was Phurba Tashi, one of the best climbers in the world. Mount Everest 21 times, and something like 40 extreme climbs—places like Lhotse (4th highest), Cho Oyu (6th highest), Manaslu (8th highest), and Shishapangma (14th highest). He’s climbed the “eight-thousander” mountains more than anyone else.

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What an amazing person.

Ishikawa

In the same way the diver Jacques Mayol pushed the limits of man’s abilities underwater, Phurba has pushed the limits of man’s abilities in the skies. He’s like the ultimate evolutionary result of the human body’s adaptation to mountain-climbing.

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Were you always together with Phurba?

Ishikawa

Yes, we climbed together the entire way.

—

I assumed that “Sherpa” was just the name of the guides that accompanied groups during mountain climbs, but it’s actually the name of the ethnic group the guides belong to, isn’t it?

Ishikawa

Right. We distinguish the guides by calling them Climbing Sherpas.

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And what makes Phurba stand out from that group, which is already incredibly talented?

Ishikawa

All the guides are unbelievably strong and limber. What distinguishes Phurba is his sharp mind, formidable discretion, and especially vast knowledge of the mountains. He’s also incredibly kind.

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So he’s like a superhero.

Ishikawa

Yes, that’s true. He has all the makings of a true hero, which is why he is revered as a leader even among the Sherpa. He’s an amazing man; I don’t think there are many like him in the world.

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The Sherpa people are acclimated to living in areas with less oxygen, right?

Ishikawa

They’re born at altitudes of 3-4,000 meters (10-13,000 feet) and live their entire lives in those conditions, so their red blood cell counts are higher than ours, since red blood cells deliver oxygen.

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Do the Sherpas guide groups over the mountains?

Ishikawa

Hmm. It’s more like they pave the way.

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Does someone else carry the gear?

Ishikawa

Yes, the people who carry the gear are called porters. It’s an incredibly difficult job, but the Climbing Sherpas are in command of the porters, who carry the gear to the base camps. From there, the Sherpas pave the way to the summit.

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By pave the way, do you mean the route to the top of the mountain changes every time?

Ishikawa

Yes, of course. There are no roads up the mountains, and a route taken up one year often disappears the next year from an avalanche.

—

I see . . . so it really is a job on the line between life and death.

Ishikawa

Yes.

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Do people actually die from it?

Ishikawa

They certainly do. Just last spring, seven or eight Sherpas died in an avalanche. They’re always in a very dangerous situation, but because of that, they make good money. They also get a “summit bonus” which pays out if they reach the summit.

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Two years ago, you went on an exhibition along the northern ridge of Ama Dablam and had to bow out halfway through. So I see there are times that it’s not possible to reach the summit.

Ishikawa

Yeah, that’s actually quite common. It’s also really important to have a Sherpa working in the kitchen.

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Someone making you meals?

Ishikawa

Yeah. The cook I always travel with is named Rachu. There are 14 “eight-thousanders” (mountains over 8,000 meters high) in the world, and he has run base camp kitchens on 13 of them.

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The famous 8,000-meter chef.

Ishikawa

He bought two months’ worth of food in Kathmandu and managed the rations in a way that allowed us to eat his delicious food every day and never tire of it. Rachu is one of the best cooks out there, and he’s a great man.

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I’m sure it’s a given how skilled he is, but it’s also important to be a good person, if you’re spending two months together.

Ishikawa

For sure.

Climbing expert Phurba’s wife and two children.

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In your opinion, what are the Himalayan Mountains?

Ishikawa

A school.

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In that you learn all kinds of things?

Ishikawa

Yeah. It’s like you can learn five or ten years’ worth of knowledge in a span of two to three months. For me, it’s just a very special place.

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What kind of things do you learn?

Ishikawa

You get to know your strong points and weak ones, think about what it means to be human, contemplate mountains . . . things like that.

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Is that what you think when you’re on a snowy mountaintop?

Ishikawa

That and, “What am I doing here?”

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So you do think that?

Ishikawa

I do! After all, viewed from space, Everest is just a tiny bump on the earth. And there I am, risking my life to get to the top for some reason. Maybe I’m just an idiot.

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. . . So why are you doing it?

Ishikawa

Hmm . . . well, if I had to give an answer, I’m sure I’d have many explanations. Climbing the Himalayas is like traveling vertically, and it uses every last inch of your body in a way that a horizontal journey never could.

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Interesting!

Ishikawa

That vertical journey makes me feel like I’ve been reborn, down to every last cell in my body. And maybe that’s why I go every year . . . but that’s only if I make myself come up with an explanation.

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I’m sure it’s different in a lot of ways from Tokyo, where we’re almost exactly at sea level.

Ishikawa

At such a high altitude, the small things you do subconsciously at home become conscious experiences. Up there you’ve got to pay attention to every breath in and out. Eating and drinking are always conscious efforts there because they’re what connect you to the next thing you’ll do.

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You do what you must to reach the next moment, and the next moment after that.

Ishikawa

You don’t eat lunch just because it’s noon or dinner because it’s 6 PM. You decide to eat something today because you’re climbing tomorrow. Because you’re going to make the final push to the summit over the coming week.

There are times when you have no appetite, but you need to chew up a piece of chocolate and swallow it. Every move you make is a conscious decision.

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It’s the Himalayan School.

Ishikawa

Yes, and I’ve been attending it for over ten years.

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You walk to school.

Ishikawa

Yes, I walk there. [Laughs]

2016-12-06-Tue

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