Noboru Yamada

Noboru Yamada was a Japanese mountaineer, born in Numata City in Gunma Prefecture in 1950 and known for his extensive Himalayan experience, including several first ascents and a proficiency for winter climbing. A contemporary of Reinhold Messner and Jerzy Kukuczka, he reached the summits of nine of the fourteen eight-thousanders, six of them without oxygen, and was part of the team that made the second successful winter ascent of Mount Everest. He began climbing as a student with the Numata Mountaineering Club and made 22 Himalayan expeditions over fifteen years. His first eight-thousander was Dhaulagiri I in 1978, and he died climbing Denali in 1989. The asteroid 4807 Noboru is named after him.