Hiroshi Takano

The harder you climb, the higher you live. Despite the tragedy and notoriety that marked Mori’s introduction to climbing, he is still obsessed with the allure of the mountains and determined to keep up with his grueling training plan?even if his minuscule budget means he needs to get creative. All the creativity in the world doesn’t end up being enough to fund an actual expedition, though, so when a rich adventurer offers him a spot on his ambitious K2 climbing team, Mori reluctantly accepts. Suddenly he’s got more new gear than he knows what to do with and an invitation to an amazing training climb in the Japanese Alps. But Mori’s joy at being in the mountains again is tempered by his knowledge that humans are more treacherous than any peak.

The harder you climb, the higher you live. Buntaro Mori is a loner, but being alone in a crowd is almost as bad as being forced to fit in. When a dangerous bid for solitude introduces Mori to the rush of solo climbing, he becomes addicted to the brilliant sense of freedom he finds as he pits his body and soul against the heights. But how high does he have to climb to leave humanity behind? Transfer student Buntaro Mori starts his first day at his new school already on the administration’s radar. He’s withdrawn and sullen, and the teachers are just waiting for him to explode. When his annoying classmate Miyamoto promises to leave him alone forever if he climbs to the top of the school, Mori eagerly takes up the challenge and shocks everyone when he makes it all the way to the roof. Flushed with the victory of his first successful climb, Mori can’t resist the lure of the local peak, despite warnings from more experienced climbers about the risks of climbing alone. But Mori doesn’t care. A little danger is nothing in the face of his new obsession.