The Mountain’s Choice: Death on Huascarán

Story

Deep within the western Andes the tallest mountain in Peru, Huascarán, stands at 22,205 ft (or 6,768 metres) and has taken many lives. Its beautiful blue pools and ever-white peaks are wrapped in Incan legends of love and loss, but it’s most well known for the catastrophic avalanche in 1970 that left 30,000 dead in its wake. And on June 26, 2025 Huascarán claimed another life, that of an experienced climber, doctor, and mother who came all the way from Japan to summit its peak—Chiaki Inada. This is the story of her dedication to climbing, love for the outdoors, passion for mountain medicine, and the last mountain she ever summited.

---

Sources

Life & Legacy

• https://www.youtube.com/@chippe0910

• https://www.instagram.com/chippe0910/

• https://mountainmedicalsupport.com/?page_id=1742

Background Information

• https://www.mod.go.jp/en/about/index.html#sub01

• https://www.ndmc.ac.jp/about/university_summary/history/

• https://meddjapan.com/en/exm_01.html

News Reports (Warning: May Contain Graphic Imagery)

• https://www.infobae.com/peru/2025/06/26/chiaki-inada-la-alpinista-japonesa-que-murio-rumbo-al-huascaran-desde-la-tristeza-por-alejarse-de-su-hijo-hasta-el-entusiasmo-por-viajar-al-peru/

• https://www.bssnews.net/news/286784

• https://news.tv5.com.ph/foreign/read/rescuers-recover-body-of-japanese-climber-who-died-on-peruvian-mountain

• https://viralpress.com/167592/japanese-climber-dies-and-another-rescued-on-peru-s-highest-mountain

• https://bilyonaryo.com/2025/06/27/japanese-mountaineer-dies-on-perus-tallest-peak/travel/

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuicqxoMAxk

• https://www.alamy.com/eds-note-graphic-content-japanese-mountain-climber-saki-terada-left-sits-next-to-the-body-of-her-friend-chiaki-inada-who-died-while-climbing-huascaran-mountain-which-has-the-highest-peak-in-peru-during-their-rescue-descent-in-huaraz-peru-wednesday-june-25-2025-ap-photoeric-albino-image683829924.html

• https://www.newsflare.com/video/760359/japanese-climber-dies-and-another-rescued-on-perus-highest-mountain

• https://uk.news.yahoo.com/two-japanese-climbers-found-huascar-183547462.html

• https://www.nst.com.my/world/world/2025/06/1236636/japanese-mountaineer-dies-perus-tallest-peak

• https://www.facebook.com/News5Everywhere/posts/japanese-climber-dies-in-perurescuers-recovered-the-body-of-chiaki-inada-a-japan/1206404534851411/

• https://japantoday.com/category/national/japanese-climber-dies-another-rescued-on-peru-mountain

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMr2PpxWZD8

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXAEYsuAAIg

• https://www.newsbreak.com/explorers-web-321447504/4078447022179-huascaran-tragedy-one-climber-rescued

• https://apnews.com/video/two-japanese-climbers-found-on-huascaran-one-dead-f43666bac03e45c387c892f878d85088

• https://andina.pe/ingles/noticia-peru-one-of-the-japanese-mountaineers-missing-on-mount-huascaran-dies-1034997.aspx

• https://www.aa.com.tr/en/americas/japanese-climber-dies-in-peru/3614314

• https://deepnewz.com/japan/japanese-climber-chiaki-inada-dies-hypothermia-saki-terada-rescued-on-perus-on-ba6cbcc7

• https://news.tuoitre.vn/japanese-woman-rescued-alive-on-perus-highest-peak-103250627152754773.htm

• https://sp.m.jiji.com/english/show/41026

• https://www.facebook.com/GrupoAlpamayoTours/videos/580366738207866/

• https://explorersweb.com/huascaran-tragedy-terada-rescued/

• https://andina.pe/ingles/noticia-peru-one-of-the-japanese-mountaineers-missing-on-mount-huascaran-dies-1034997.aspx

• https://apnews.com/article/peru-nevado-huascaran-japonesas-montanistas-rescate-2734e688fe0a10bac1860fff9adeb7dc

• https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/japanese-mountaineer-dies-of-hypothermia-on-perus-tallest-mountain-peak-8775060

• https://gripped.com/news/climber-dies-on-perus-highest-mountain/

• https://explorersweb.com/drama-on-huascaran-one-dead-rescue-underway-for-2nd/

• https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/06/27/japan/japanese-climber-peru-mountain-death/

• https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/15869219

Huascarán

• https://www.peruvianmountains.com/

• https://peakweather.com/mountain/cerro-huascarn-6379725

• https://www.summitpost.org/huascaran-garganta/519253

• https://huaraztreks.com/climbs/huascaran-mountain-climb/

• https://peruvian-mountains.com/climbing-huascaran.php

• https://iantaylortrekking.com/cordillera-blanca/climbing-huascaran/

• https://www.summitpost.org/huascar-n-sur/150254

• https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/333

• https://gna.it.com/andes-mountains-still-growing

• https://www.emgs.org.uk/uploads/1/4/9/1/149143154/mg19_2_2017_106_holidaygeol_filmer_waltham_huascaran_np_peru_1.pdf

• https://lacgeo.com/huascaran-national-park-reserve

• https://nationalparksassociation.org/peru-national-parks/huascaran-national-park/

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YzVrIAZ6mCA

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iY2kn8DviP4

• https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-52839770

• https://www.usgs.gov/publications/geological-aspects-may-31-1970-peru-earthquake

• https://www.guidedpeaks.com/climbing/south-america/peru/huascaran-sur

• https://everything.explained.today/Huascar%c3%a1n_National_Park/

• https://national-parks.org/peru/huascaran/

• https://www.globalnationalparks.com/peru/huascaran/

• https://www.machupicchuterra.com/guide/popular-legends-myths-peru/#legend-huascaran-huandoy

• https://www.scribd.com/document/968762072/THE-LEGEND-OF-HUASCARAN-AND-HUANDOY

• https://peruvian-sunrise.com/blog/huascaran-national-park

Peru & Culture

• https://animalcompare.com/compare/guanaco-vs-vicuna/

• https://www.worlds-finest-wool.com/alpaca-fiber-and-its-cultural-significance-in-peru/

• https://www.machutravelperu.com/blog/peruvian-traditional-clothing

• https://armsofandes.com/blogs/news/alpaca-herding-in-peru-sacred-valley

Medical Descriptions

• https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/high-altitude-cerebral-edema-hace

• https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/23063-hypoxia

• https://www.turnermedical.com/Pulse-Oximeters-at-High-Altitude-s/138.htm

• https://milehightraining.com/altitude-to-oxygen-chart/

• https://biologyinsights.com/what-is-a-normal-oxygen-saturation-at-high-altitude/

• https://www.medicinenet.com/what_are_blood_oxygen_levels/article.htm

Yasuko Namba & Everest Disaster

• https://funfact.topnewsource.com/abandoned-twice-on-everestt-the-horrifying-final-hours-of-yasuko-namba-the-legendary-seven-summits-queen

• https://www.tranquilkilimanjaro.com/how-yasuko-namba-met-her-tragic-death-in-the-1996-everest-disaster/