Yasushi Yamanoi is one of Japan's most famous rock climbers. In 1994 he made it to the top of a Himalayan peak that stands 8,201 meters above sea level. He did it alone and without oxygen.
In 2002, Yamanoi, who is now 42, and his wife Taeko, who is 51, climbed a different Himalayan mountain, and on their way down were buried under a powerful avalanche. By some sort of miracle they survived, but Yamanoi lost portions of 10 fingers and toes to frostbite while his wife lost 18.
This remarkable pair is profiled on "Fufu ga Idonda Byakuya no Daiganpeki (The Couple Who Took On the Big Rock Wall in the White Night)" (NHK-G, Monday, 10 p.m.), a documentary that follows their rehabilitation and training regimen five years after that almost fatal accident.
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