Mt. Manzo Nagano overlooks Lake Owekino near the head of Rivers Inlet some 250 miles north of Vancouver. The peak, named for the first Japanese immigrant to Canada, was designated in 1977 by the federal government to commemorate the Japanese Canadian Centennial. This 6,600-ft. peak was conquered, for what is believed to be the first time, on July 25 by the Nagano clan.
The climbers—three great-grandsons, a brother-in-law, and a friend—first had to take a float plane from Port Hardy to Lake Owekino, cross canyons to the mountain base through heavy undergrowth, then make the arduous climb to Mt. Nagano’s peak, there to implant a flag of Canada and leave a plaque and family crest. The journey took five days to complete.
Lincoln Beppu of Seattle, who had fished the famed Rivers Inlet area, provided the environmental data. Members of the party were James and Stephen Nagano, sons of Dr. Rev. Paul M. Nagano of Seattle; David Nagano, son of Mr. & Mrs. Jack Nagano of Los Angeles, and their son-in-law Bob Drescher of Oxnard, Ca., and R.J. Secor of Pasadena, Ca.
The Bulletin, September 1979