The rain came down in a steady rhythm not long after dusk. Fortunately I had already finished cooking and brushed my teeth in the washroom of Sugoroku hut. My face rested just a few inches from the canvas on the tiny tent as condensation covered the rain fly. Below my body lay small pebbles protruding [...]
Archive for the ‘Kita Alps treks’ Category
Kamikochi to Tateyama traverse – Day 4
Posted in Kita Alps treks, tagged hiking, Japan, Kita Alps, Kurobegoro, Mt. Sugoroku on May 22, 2012 | 1 Comment »
Kamikochi to Tateyama traverse – Day 3
Posted in Kita Alps treks, tagged hiking, Japan, Kamikochi, Kita Alps, Mt. Yari on May 15, 2012 | 4 Comments »
I broke down camp sometime in the early morning of my 3rd day in the backcountry. It’s amazing how quickly you can disassemble everything after a couple of days of practice. The high pressure system once again held up, as I followed the stream through Yarisawa until the waters petered out into the alpine. The [...]
Kamikochi to Tateyama traverse – Day 2
Posted in Kita Alps treks, tagged hiking, Japan, Karasawa, Kita Alps, Mt. Yari on May 6, 2012 | 1 Comment »
Day 2 dawned clear, but my late start meant I had the first climb completely to myself. You see, the sun rises shortly after 4am in summer, but my body screamed for extra rest after the epic climb from Kamikochi the previous day. I opted for the leisurely alarm time of 7am, and awoke to [...]
Kamikochi to Tateyama traverse – Day 1
Posted in Kita Alps treks, tagged hiking, Japan, Kita Alps, Mt. Oku-hotaka, trekking on April 24, 2012 | 5 Comments »
I crossed Kappabashi bridge under perfect skies on the morning of August 6th, 2002, heading up the narrowing valley towards the hut at Dake-sawa. The first couple of hours to the hut weren’t bad, considering the size and weight of my pack, which contained over a week’s worth of food, a 3-season tent, and a [...]
Kamikochi to Tateyama traverse – Prologue
Posted in Kita Alps treks, tagged hiking, Japan, Kamikochi, Kita Alps, Tateyama on March 29, 2012 | 2 Comments »
Back in the summer of 2002, I attempted one of the longest traverses of my life on the so-called Roof of Japan, from Kamikochi to Tateyama in the Kita Alps. What follows is a breakdown of that long, treacherous journey. I learned not only a lot about mountaineering in that 10-day stretch, but also a lot [...]
Mt. Shirouma – misty autumn bliss part 3
Posted in Kita Alps treks, tagged Hakuba, hiking, Hyakumeizan, Japan, Kita Alps, Mt. Shirouma on January 20, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
When I was a child, I used to stare up at the sky from the windows of our 4-door station wagon and imagine myself hopping gracefully from cloud to cloud like a hare foraging through the lush greenery of a freshly pruned golf course. On family trips to visit distant relatives, I vividly recall the [...]
Mt. Shirouma – misty autumn bliss part 2
Posted in Kita Alps treks, tagged Hakuba, Hyakumeizan. hiking, Japan, Mt. Shirouma, Yari onsen on December 31, 2009 | 3 Comments »
I woke at the crack of dawn, anxious to inspect the weather and trail conditions for day 2 of my frigid traverse. The snow that fell the previous night was, thankfully, too wet to settle and I was facing the exact same conditions as day 1: a light drizzle and strong winds. Eating a light [...]
Mt. Shirouma – misty autumn bliss part 1
Posted in Kita Alps treks, tagged hiking, Hyakumeizan, Japan, Kita Alps, Mt. Shirouma on November 13, 2009 | 6 Comments »
The forecast wasn’t looking good. Rain and cloud marks on the horizon for the next several days, but some unseen force seemed to propel me onto that overnight train bound for Hakuba in early October. The assignment? A 3-day traverse up to Mt. Shirouma and along the ridge to Mt. Karamatsu before descending via Happo-One [...]
Shin-hotaka to Ogisawa traverse – The Finale
Posted in Kita Alps treks, tagged Harinoki, hiking, Hyakumeizan, Japan, Kita Alps, Kurobe, Mt. Eboshi on November 1, 2009 | 1 Comment »
Peaks in Japan are frequently named after the shapes they resemble. I’d started my trek by scaling a massive mountain in the shape of a conical straw hat (kasa) and now, entering the final leg of the long journey to Ogisawa, stand at the base of a peak that resembles the traditional headgear of court [...]
Shin-hotaka to Ogisawa traverse – Day 2
Posted in Kita Alps treks, tagged hiking, Hyakumeizan, Japan, Kita Alps, Mt. Suisho. Mt. Kuro, Mt. Washiba on October 12, 2009 | 2 Comments »
“Itatata”. Somehow the words flowed out much easier in Japanese in the early morning darkness of my first full day in the alpine back country. Stiff as a board from the record-breaking mileage of the previous 19 hours, I slowly rose from my cozy futon on the 2nd floor of Sugoroku hut and made my [...]
