SAWANOBORI: The Art of Scaling Mountain Streams | The North Face

A handful of TNF climbers travelled into the spectacular Japanese wilderness to dive into the realm of ‘Sawanobori’. This was unlike any adventure the team had done before. Discover more: bit.ly/TheNorthfaceYT
#NeverStopExploring

[@mauricedewaha691]

This is what ice climbing is going to look like by 2050

[@fernandog.aguirre2791]

soo saaddddd!

[@5600hp]

If the water is clean enough to touch by then 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️

[@yuteyang6811]

U got me

[@semmtexx]

Maurice de Waha wrong.

[@jevonlai8794]

so sad but so true :(((

[@azib958]

Geezus, that gap jump was crazy!

[@soostrange]

absolutely mental

[@dprfail]

he had a rope attached to him

[@weirdlywired7484]

@@dprfail rope doesn't give you balls of steel.

[@Mike-oz4cv]

Not shown in this video: The loud noise from all the water crashing down. It makes normal conversation almost impossible. Even the noise of small streams can make it surprisingly hard to communicate with your partner.

[@CallMeAGansterOfLove]

Can radio com. ever be used? I assume it'd be pretty advanced equipment but a properly ear-fit and water proof headphone?

[@nightoooo1860]

Preparation for this kind of climbing takes so much positive mind set and dedication!Shout out to all these climbers and filmers!

[@kwtnbe]

James-san: "You do it."

[@MaddyMatrix]

hahaha

[@That_one_guy27]

Amazing where the sport of climbing can take you and even more amazing the various souls you encounter along the way. Great video and stunning shots. Also, that jump was super gnarly!!!

[@jamespinderphotoman]

Never seen anything like it! Amazing stuff.

[@yeskiii]

Great video, loved the message/take away at the end!

[@CantThinkofaCoolOne]

Wow. A beautiful piece.

[@coleellsworth569]

they need more chalk

[@kartikt.s813]

Such high quality production. Incredible work!

[@TheNorthFace]

Thanks for watching 🙌

[@bluejuice7229]

Wow! You guys are amazing!!

[@johnd.3936]

"bad weather was coming in" they are fucking climbing in a waterfall lol

[@2WOKE-]

That was f--king insanely bad ass!!!! Thank's!

[@fire_n_ice1984]

Looks like typical climbing in SE AK. When it freezes, all that waterlogged moss can be climbed with ice tools (it's a lot of fun).

[@realgoodmind]

Amazing piece

[@jakeelo]

So sick, great job.

[@cocoatiramusic]

To look at a mountain a thousand times larger than you and to think, "I want to climb on top of it " in and of itself is a ridiculous urge that only our species will have. Add, wet, slippery moss, thick vegetation, slippery rocks, thousand of pounds of water gushing right next to you and rain pouring down in some unknown mountains in the forest of Japan. Incredible!

[@masonsorbara9027]

who is disliking this video? this is pure awesome.

[@pianomanbilly2041]

the jump was .... beyond describing.

[@spyrossofia6157]

Awesome 😍

[@danialazraai6765]

That jump is mind blowing

[@henning_jasper]

This was so awesome to watch!

[@junuhunuproductions]

Very interesting! Watching these climbs in the middle of the rain & waterfall really reminds me that climbing doesn't always have to happen on a perfectly dry rock! It is ok / natural to climb with some wet holds, that feels like a more natural way of climbing :D

[@CutDewiNinisArimila]

Wowww.. 🤩

[@sebgentile7497]

Sensational

[@cliffordwilliams9597]

This inspired me to on-site free solo the creek by my house

[@Jokl92]

Judging by the amount of greenery and water Pete Whitacker would probably call this a classic.

[@plsstopusingmyname]

who needs scary movies or suspense? these guys make me jump out my sit. oh my God? why I am so scared of such activities, even to watch?

[@MoooseBlood]

I totally shat when he jumped

[@mattbrown3603]

Nearly as damp as Caley after light rain ;)

[@mclovin5274]

すげー！

[@AnonymousOtters]

7:20 Woah, wtf! Alarms going off in my head as he threaded a sling direct to that wire. Yikes

[@Wheemp_Whomp]

I would really like a list of the gear used in this video. I'm surprised that The North Face doesn't take the opportunity to promote the gear for said expeditions. Seems like the perfect opportunity to me. Not too late to add one, eh?

[@mattmakescovers]

You can see what they are using just by looking at their harnesses- looks like wildcountry friends for the bigger sizes and BD X4s for smaller sizes were on James' harness.

[@juupafilms8370]

What the hell did you use for film that? :)

[@roberto1238]

Where is the cabin and can it be rented?

[@paulmitchell5349]

I met someone in Japan who took his kids doing sawanobori.He died the following year,doing it.

[@alewisztann]

when the Japanese climber who risks his life to jump for his team can't even have his name spelled right (it's Toru Nakajima not Nakajma)

[@garethaustin3137]

So they left the "i" out.

[@buoyanProjects]

@@garethaustin3137 Yea wouldnt be annoying at all would it Garth?

[@garethaustin3137]

@@buoyanProjects 😃

[@Rarez2]

@@garethaustin3137 Is that you Grath?

[@ladispute8810]

I thought that was pretty selfish. It really bothered me to just ask him to jump. In his Japanese politeness he probably just said yes.

[@guillaumeberger8529]

MAgnfique arrachage de plante aquatique sauvage !! merveilleux ; il fallait y penser...après les conquérants de l'inutile, les ravageurs de l’inaccessible. Belle éthique pour un amateur d'escalade traditionnelle soit disant pour préserver le rocher....

[@moonti6820]

l'éthique est certes discutable, l'impact, lui, est heureusement nul à cette échelle de fréquentation.

[@Hh-lv6rq]

Creazy

[@Vicente480]

Does anyone know the name for the ambient music on the background? specially the one that starts at 8:40

[@RodgersTX]

charlie jefferson "smoky mountains"

[@albertgreen9]

that camera work though

[@Alex_Smit]

shot and edit?

[@OnceUponAClimb]

Hey Alex, the video was shot and edited by Pietro Porro from Sfelab in Italy. Matty Hong also helped with some of the shooting, and shot all the pics.

[@danieljay8009]

That's goin to be a nope from me dawg

[@StrangeAttractor]

you absolute nutters.

[@user-po7iv4ni3o]

I can't believe I've never even heard of this climbing niche. What I call choss, these dudes would anchor a house on... using the damn moss as holds 😂 Unbelievable grit.

[@joen7526]

Is there any concern that the stream might be moving a rock down the waterfall while climbing up it?

[@noise2see664]

Hence the helmets

[@KplusU]

what rope did they use?

[@OnceUponAClimb]

We used a mix of double and single ropes from Edelweiss, all with a "superdry" treatment.

[@KplusU]

@@OnceUponAClimb So awesome. This is going to be my new thing!!! Thank you much for enlightening me to the activity and the info on the rope!

[@BM-tk1cn]

3:00 you can see them searching peoples bags

[@inuhiko0223]

こんなところ登るとかすごい・・・ ずーっと昔に北アルプスの沢はいくつか登ったことあるけど最高に景色が綺麗ですね。 でも称名滝みたいな超高難度のところは危険すぎて無理。 ゴルジュ帯とか近づく気にもならないｗ 個人的には2級くらいまでが楽しめる範囲。

[@ameliayoung1133]

lmao my mans said the plan is simple

[@216690461]

I think this is cool but somehow just backwards canyoning...I think it's always interesting to keep exploring but hope this sport remains small scale because otherwise we'd have an ecological impact on nature just for the fun on having a different type of climbing... Cool vid though

[@taylorlayton4508]

Whether we develop more rock crags, leave trash on even remoter alpine climbs, or go Sawanobori, climbers will continue to have an ever-increasing ecological impact... Moreover, I'm not sure that this actually has that big of an impact - they are walking on the bottom of rivers that are major zones for natural erosion, decay, and regrowth. Even vegetation they garden would probably have gotten ripped out in a major flood and regrown at least a couple times a century with or without humans. Just my two cents. Edit: Other than pin scars and some vegetation, doesn't seem to be that high impact. A little more gardening than I would like, but that would A) either get cleaned up over time as routes gain popularity or B) never get cleaned up because it regrows so quickly, proving my point about how river basins are not high impact zones. Honestly, seems less impact than dry desert canyoneering, where it just takes a few bozos to erode something semi-permanent, pee under an overhand that never gets rain, or leave a footstep in some crypto that may last a century.

[@semmtexx]

Taylor Layton IMO, they can muck up as much of this climbing as they want. If I had the opportunity to travel the world and climb, you wouldn’t catch me groveling up this kind of choss. Maybe they are just bored because they’ve been able to climb so much.

[@taylorlayton4508]

@@semmtexx LOL. Maybe it's like my buddy who goes mixed climbing in RMNP in bad conditions to harden himself. What's a loose pitch in a rainstorm when you climb crumbling walls under a waterfall!

[@henryjones1897]

3:14 Doug Tompkins is rolling over in his grave.

[@professorsogol5824]

I believe Doug has pounded a few pins. At 2:33 remember it was hypothermia that put Doug in his grave

[@schmetterling2169]

I didnt get this one, can you explain it?

[@Alphavicc]

I got 1000 times more anxiety watching this than when someone asks to use my phone and starts typing “p” in the search box

[@TendoTheDude]

Climbers: I'm bored of scaling a 2,000 mountain....let's try it under a fucking waterfall with hundreds of pounds of water barreling down on us.

[@thechilaxdog2466]

at 10mn 42 sec I can hear Joe Rogan saying "Fuck that""

[@crisgarcia4400]

Did anyone take a fall on the waterfall? I couldn't help but notice how shit the gear was!

[@OnceUponAClimb]

Hey Cris, Nobody fell on gear during the trip, as like you rightly noticed, it wasn't very reliable. There are few placements in general because the rock is so smooth from the flow of water, and the larger placements that do exist are often behind loose flakes and boulders just waiting to come off! We did fall off on some of the smaller, river boulders, and that was mostly pretty good... as long as you were cautious with hidden rocks under the water.

[@ignacioinder]

Yuri know bout LNT. Are these video productions consulting the scientific community for advice? its not about what we do...its about how we do it. 300 YA japanese folks where not destroying like the type of "climbing"

[@kevinheckeler]

Agree. Great sense of adventure, questionable methodology.

[@alex_ey]

Memez al canto

[@goldreserve]

'Revered art of scaling mountain streams' - go to a pristine canyon, rip out a load of foliage, knock out loose rocks. And as the sport grows, moss never grows back and damage increases. But we found another wilderness lol

[@ReaIJohnDoe]

This is insane, slime climbing? I had no idea there were people alive crazy enough to even make that a thing. I'm still not even sure watching it that it ix actually a thing.

[@CallMeAGansterOfLove]

Looked like a really cool wall to climb in some parts! But some of that moss coverage was crazy

[@luismolero650]

not cool the damage they are making to those walls and the disregard for the vegetation on those walls. The North Face has amazing ethical values, so I am a bit astonished they did not consider that bit. it is not about what we do, but how we do it and our interaction with nature.

[@RickyHarline]

Every hiking trail, every mountain bike path, every climbing route, every road is the same. We cannot go into nature and not damage it. The alternative is to never leave our cities. The idea that we can go into nature and not damage it is a naive one. It's pretty incredible how much erosion even just hiking causes.

[@peterweir6766]

you obviously have never been outside and know nothing about nature then... the amount of environmental "damage" caused by one landslide or volcano far outweighs any impact climbers have had on the natural world. we are nature, we are part of this world, just like every other animal, if the earth was so fragile that it would be disrupted by the scraping off moss off a rock it would have never been what it is today. think before you type dumbass

[@guambombO]

WHY...?

[@sakutaro58]

よじ登るためにはコケを剥がしても良いという考え方のクライミングですね。 沢登りって面白いけど日本ならではの遊びなんですかね？

[@Eureka7777]

海外のケイビングとかとまた違うから日本独自のスタイルだと思うよ。

[@user-ox8cp8tb1u]

日本発祥だったはず

[@leo_4649]

What's with all the vegetation destroying though

[@gmista]

Cool and all, ok. But am I the only one who got really pissed of seeing the MOSS DAMAGE?!? JFC!

[@TheDutchPhysicist]

so... reverse canyoning?

[@BStephensonn]

Not stoked on how much moss they cleared off the rocks just to climb and make these routes...

[@brianbethea3069]

The video shows about 1 square foot of moss being removed. I'd imagine they removed 5 square feet or less of moss over the whole trip, considering the largest face had no moss on it. Five square feet of moss is what you're criticizing, sitting here on your computer, using electricity gathered from fossil fuels, mined from the ground using invasive and damaging methods, sitting in your house made of wood that was clear-cut from some forest, built on land that used to be home to thousands of animals living in that forest... But 5 square feet of moss, that's the place to take the battle. It's much better to stay inside all day and avoid ever going out in nature, you never know when you might damage a plant that'll grow back pretty quickly and would likely get torn off in a flood anyways.

[@Baztation]

SLEEPERY!

[@nathanpoirier3875]

how to destrou the nature ??????????

[@duganrocks100]

It'll grow back on a week lmao, relax. fuck nature

[@StickyPaw]

April fools?

[@camprocketsound2601]

"We try not to disturb the environment".....*hammers in piton*

[@kolleykibber7807]

This does not look like fun at all. Maybe once, but that is it.

[@OneEightNate]

Did you guys run out of budget to color grade your footage?

[@matthewsonger8228]

Flat log footage is the new color grade.

[@taoofpow]

This is what we called Zen color grading. Closer to black and white.

[@andimoraru5539]

yeah, OK....but why wear a waterproof jacket when JUMPING IN WATER. It's not like you're wearing a WETSUIT. It doesn't make any sense!!!

[@cmurillophoto]

Looks like a great adventure, but I hate how they are ripping the moss off of the rocks in order to find proper holds. At that point, the mission of man is not worth the destruction of the landscape. This is a bit more invasive than I would personally prefer

[@gabemirwin]

It will regrow. The waterfall/river basin areas can definitely stand up to a few chunks of moss being pulled out.

[@peterbenkoczky9869]

You must have climbed absolutely everything or be pretty bored to climb a choss like this 😂😂😂

[@tiffanymuncaster2492]

Why do we need to continue to go into beautiful living natural areas that have complex habitats for a multitude of species and trash them with no regard? Yes, I've seen the comments below, the lazy excuse that " it will grow back" is self centered and ignorant. This isn't worth it, but I guess that is the world we live in, people take everything we want just for a youtube video and a couple of likes.

[@brianbethea3069]

Why do you need to continue typing this on a device that uses energy produced via fossil fuels that produce greenhouse gases, which are gathered via invasive and incredibly damaging methods? Humans having fun is invariably damaging to the environment. Everything you do for entertainment has a cost for the environment. It's just usually invisible. But it's most likely just as damaging if not more damaging to the environment than what these climbers are doing. If we avoided doing anything for fun that would cause this much damage to the environment, we really wouldn't be doing anything at all. I really like what another guy said: "you obviously have never been outside and know nothing about nature then... the amount of environmental "damage" caused by one landslide or volcano far outweighs any impact climbers have had on the natural world. we are nature, we are part of this world, just like every other animal, if the earth was so fragile that it would be disrupted by the scraping off moss off a rock it would have never been what it is today." And as another guy said: "Every hiking trail, every mountain bike path, every climbing route, every road is the same. We cannot go into nature and not damage it. The alternative is to never leave our cities. The idea that we can go into nature and not damage it is a naive one. It's pretty incredible how much erosion even just hiking causes." There are battles that are so, so much more important to pick than this one. Expend this energy on something that actually matters. EDIT: accidentally copied in the part where the first guy called the person he was responding to a dumbass. I didn't mean to, if you saw that; sorry.

[@leventekirjak8309]

Isn’t this canyoneering

[@treyboone]

No

[@5600hp]

In Canyoneering you only rappel down the canyon and waterfall, you almost never climb up unless something went terribly wrong.... rope stuck for example

[@ilpee]

It is not canyoning. In canyoning you are rappelling, but also you respect the environment where you are moving. In canyoning, we do not destroy the vegetation. In climbing, we also should not do it (and fortunately we are in majority).

[@maineoutdoorsman677]

I think he’s trying to sell us a tv .a turd that’s all shinny polishes up an doesn’t smell but in the end it’s still turd 💩

[@markschuette3770]

i don't think we should be promoting peton use.

[@freshseeker]

April fools joke gone too far?

[@Eureka7777]

苔をむしるのは仕方ないけど、土ごとはダメだよね。 土がないと苔は再生しない。 木の伐採と同じで根となる土さえあれば多少の苔むしりは古い苔がなくなって新しい苔が生えたり、違う植物が自生したりするから良いんだけど、むしりすぎは良くない。土ができるまでどれほどの時間がかかるのかをまず理解すべき。 その辺のところを考えながら登って欲しい。 海外から登りに来るのは日本のクライミング界が刺激されて良いと思うけど、それならちゃんと沢ヤの暗黙の了解を理解して登ってください。日本は「察し」の文化があって難しいけど、そこは地元の沢ヤとかに聞くなりなんなりして欲しいと思う。 違う畑に踏み込むならそれが常識でしょ。 いくらクライミングが上手くても自然を敬愛する気持ちがない人に山に入る資格はない。

[@robertjohnson4323]

The overwrought game unusually exercise because steven exceptionally shade regarding a nifty fine. striped, cheerful airmail

[@Isaac-uk3lm]

Honestly I don't get it. Why do this? when canyoning/ canyoneering is way easier, better for the environment, and more popular. I can't believe they are tearing off so much moss from these waterfalls just to climb them when they could be rappelling them instead

[@isidoramorel206]

stop tearing apart the vegetation!!!!!!!!

[@brianbethea3069]

Lol. That square foot of moss that'll take a month to regrow? Definitely find something else to expend your energy on, there are much more worthy environmental issues to be worried about.

[@RedundantComments]

It really hurts to see them just pull plants and vegetation off the cliffs without a care in the world.

[@matthewsonger8228]

It'll grow back in no time. It's not that they don't care, it's that they care more about surviving than a little moss. Shouldn't hurt you to bad.

[@brianbethea3069]

It really hurts to see you typing this on a device that uses energy produced via fossil fuels that produce greenhouse gases, which are gathered via invasive and incredibly damaging methods. Humans having fun is inevitably damaging to the environment. Everything you do for entertainment has a cost for the environment. It's just usually invisible. But it's most likely just as damaging if not more damaging to the environment than what these climbers are doing. If we avoided doing anything for fun that would cause this much damage to the environment, we really wouldn't be doing anything at all.

[@RedundantComments]

@@brianbethea3069 This laptop is organically grown, thank you very much. I even went to the farm to pick it out my self.

[@pierocus3261]

It looks fucking scary. Trad climbing on shit rock and wet lol how can climbing get worse than this?

[@Maxiclimbing1977]

It si sad to see this kind of activities that are not friendly with the environment, cause the need of taking off the moss of the walls, evermore if you think that the moss is protected in many countries. I love traditional climbing and alpinism but we have to control our impact in the nature.

[@sudhirmummaneni4695]

What a shame seeing them damage an ecosystem just to feel good. The climbers, young and strong, could have used their energy to restore an ecosystem not destroy it. I hope North Face sponsors eco friendly expeditions and includes programs to restore pristine ecosystems.

[@co1urzz]

needs more ecological destruction to really bear the heart of climbers

[@VJ-xc7bx]

苔剥して捨てた時点で無価値になった

[@ilpee]

Climbing, canyoning are two wonderful sports that I love to do. I even respect these guys and The North Face. However, this is the most ridiculous stupidity to climb on such a beautiful, wet, loose wall, that is covered with magnificent flora and dedicated for the Gods. Tearing that vegetation from these sacred places just to climb that loose sh*ty rockface is selfish, and unrespectful destruction. These walls could be enjoyed also by rappeling without the destruction. These climber guys, sponsored by such respected brands should present something more valuable and less criticizable. It is a shame that Yuji guided such a pointless trip. I am really sad to see this and to be forced to write these critics. You managed to desecrate and defile this "spectacular Japanese wilderness". And why? Just because you could. This film is a good presentation of why some say that climbers are "conquistadors of the useless". It is a pity that mother nature did not win even though it did "all she can to push them back". Message to the climbers: If this is "exploration" for you, please STOP EXPLORING. I really hope that nobody will follow this pointless and disrespectful path.

[@brianbethea3069]

To quote a guy further up: "I'm not sure that this actually has that big of an impact - they are walking on the bottom of rivers that are major zones for natural erosion, decay, and regrowth. Even vegetation they garden would probably have gotten ripped out in a major flood and regrown at least a couple times a century with or without humans. Just my two cents. Edit: Other than pin scars and some vegetation, doesn't seem to be that high impact. A little more gardening than I would like, but that would A) either get cleaned up over time as routes gain popularity or B) never get cleaned up because it regrows so quickly, proving my point about how river basins are not high impact zones. Honestly, seems less impact than dry desert canyoneering, where it just takes a few bozos to erode something semi-permanent, pee under an overhand that never gets rain, or leave a footstep in some crypto that may last a century." There are so many more damaging ways that humans have fun. This is so comparatively miniscule in its impact compared to so many common things that everybody does for fun that it's absolutely hypocritical to criticize this. You're using electricity most likely created through the use of harmful fossil fuels, mined by invasive and damaging gathering methods just to watch KZbin and type out this comment. That's just as bad, really. There are better and more important battles to pick than this.

[@ilpee]

@@brianbethea3069 I take your points and you are right with the ecological footprint of even watching youtube or pissing in a dry canyon. However, in my eyes, it does not eliminate or justify other less or equally pointless and damaging behaviours, such as ripping of thick mosses from a rock wall, just because "it is in my way and it will grow back in 5 years anyway, so who cares". You are right that there are much more important fights to fight, but this came in my face and also as a former TNF sponsored, I did not get its message well.

[@DiedLiu]

Yea, told Japanese take risk life to open road, then Westerner take the honor, great job TNF...

[@bloctribe]

The ugliest climbing ever!

[@youtubeyoutube2800]

Wtf ... people spend their lifes on such useless thungs..

[@ferdinandsteinvorth7313]

Couldn't get past the guy ripping out chunks of moss and vegetation in order to get a hand hold. Sorry- not my cup of tea!

[@jon_frog]

Good job destroying these fragile ecosystems that take years to form in a few seconds ...

[@mikehamilton7668]

My thought exactly. I stopped watching it at that point.

[@hehersfdgf]

Yeah fuckin idiots, better to just rappel than rip endangered species off a cliff. 🤦🏽‍♂️

[@brianbethea3069]

@@hehersfdgf Endangered species of moss? This is moss we're talking about here. The stuff that's growing over the entire cliff-side and will grow back very quickly. And to better quote a guy further up: "I'm not sure that this actually has that big of an impact - they are walking on the bottom of rivers that are major zones for natural erosion, decay, and regrowth. Even vegetation they garden would probably have gotten ripped out in a major flood and regrown at least a couple times a century with or without humans. Just my two cents. Edit: Other than pin scars and some vegetation, doesn't seem to be that high impact. A little more gardening than I would like, but that would A) either get cleaned up over time as routes gain popularity or B) never get cleaned up because it regrows so quickly, proving my point about how river basins are not high impact zones. Honestly, seems less impact than dry desert canyoneering, where it just takes a few bozos to erode something semi-permanent, pee under an overhand that never gets rain, or leave a footstep in some crypto that may last a century."

[@tcbrown0808]

Great job with your sentence structure your parents must be so proud of their little green scholar!

[@robertjohnson4323]

The solid february trivially flower because sofa corroboratively curve amongst a bumpy scarecrow. macho, profuse surgeon

[@joaomcteixeira]

Why you go climbing destroying such nice places? what is the nonsense of this?? You are going insane and destroying the true spirit of climbing.