Yuta Kashiki

Yuta is a Japanese rock climber and climbing instructor. Born in Hiroshima in 1991 he began climbing at a local climbing gym while he was a high school student. A late start by today’s standards but he has been hooked ever since, quickly developing a wide range of rock climbing skills on limestone and granite crags.

Fortunately, he lived in an area of Japan with relatively accessible boulders and crags, so starting with bouldering, he then broadened his interest out to include sport, trad and multi-pitch climbing.

Following his desire to climb, he began to turn his attention to overseas from an early stage, and has travelled to many countries, including the United States, Canada, Thailand, China, South Africa, and Spain.

During these trips, he climbed sport and trad routes, including Aitzol 5.14a/b (8b+/c) in Margalef, The Phoenix (5.13a/7c+) and Cosmic Debris (5.13b/8a) in Yosemite. He has climbed up to 5.14b/c (8c/c+).

When travelling abroad, the culture and community of a country is irreplaceably as much a part of the climbing experience as the rock itself.

He likes all genres of rock climbing but is now more focused on freeing big wall routes. In 2022 he succeeded on Freerider (5.13a/7c+) and in November 2024 did a free ascent of Salathé Wall (5.13b/8a) on El Capitan in Yosemite with Yohei Nomiyama.

But he doesn’t intend stopping there and has plenty of ambitious plans. He envisages continuing climbing for the rest of his life.

In his work as a climbing instructor Yuta says: “I want to share with as many people as possible the beauty and richness that can be found in the simple act of climbing rocks.”