![Mt. Mizugaki, Japan. [Photo] E64, Wikimedia](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/a48-namesake-1.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
In this Namesake story from Alpinist 48 (2014), Katsutaka “Jumbo” Yokoyama–an original member of Japan’s famous Giri-Giri Boys, who have become known for their bold and visionary ascents–writes about the first ascent of a route he named Izumi (“The Spring”) on Mt. Mizugaki.
![Ichimura and Yokoyama at the end of Day 6 on the upper pitches of the Slovak Direct. [Photo] Yusuke Sato](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/giri-giri-boys-8.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
Ten years ago, in May 2008, an unassuming group of five Japanese climbers who jokingly dubbed themselves the Giri-Giri Boys caught the world’s attention for their bold and visionary enchainments in the Alaska Range. This story by Katsutaka Yokoyama about that expedition originally appeared in Alpinist 26 (Spring 2009), simply titled “The Giri-Giri Boys.”
