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 [...]
Archive for the ‘Kita Alps treks’ Category
Mt. Shirouma – misty autumn bliss part 1
Posted in Kita Alps treks, tagged hiking, Hyakumeizan, Japan, Kita Alps, Mt. Shirouma on November 13, 2009 | 2 Comments »
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 [...]
Shin-hotaka to Ogisawa traverse – Day 1
Posted in Kita Alps treks, tagged hiking, Hyakumeizan, Japan, Kita Alps, Mt. Kasa on September 23, 2009 | 2 Comments »
I roll out of my cozy sleeping bag a little before 6am on a cool September morning. Sandwiched between a row of coin lockers and a protective railing on a traffic island in the middle of Takayama bus terminal, I escape detection while rolling up my evidence. Tucking into the station to illegally recharge [...]
Mt. Tsurugi Chapter 2 – Sweet Revenge!
Posted in Kita Alps treks, tagged hiking, Japan, Kita Alps, Mt. Tsurugi on September 15, 2008 | 3 Comments »
Mt. Tsurugi was the ‘make or break’ mountain in my Hyakumeizan quest. Having failed in 2 previous attempts, I changed tack and decided on a technically easier, yet much longer approach from the west.
I hopped on the first JR Limited Express ‘Thunderbird’ train bound for Toyama on a cloudy Sunday in mid-September. Being [...]
Mt. Tsurugi Chapter 1 – lessons learned
Posted in Kita Alps treks, tagged Mt. Tsurugi on July 14, 2008 | 4 Comments »
Mt. Tsurugi is the only peak in Japan I’ve turned back on, so I was ready to get revenge on this monstrous peak…..or was I?
My friend Fumito lives in Nagano Pref. and is an avid hiker. We met at Shiojiri station on Friday night in mid July, and decided to drive to Ogisawa, where [...]
