This felt like the week my skiing came together. I had started my season in December with a terrifying tour to Kouyaike, struggling to turn on a thin cover of snow on bamboo and other summer shrubbery. Back then I fell more than I care to remember, struggling on moderate terrain and questioning why I shifted to skiing.
Four months and a lot of skiing later, and I was having fun. Eric was coaxed out of his spring ski hibernation for a chance to tour with the lads, and we set our sites on Japan's second highest volcano, Ontake. We parked at the just closed Ciao Ontake ski area, initially skinning up through the streaky spring cover in the resort. From the highest point of the resort, we continued through a forest, and up a small chute that steepened enough to make skinning slightly uncomfortable. Sagara-san and I scrambled through rocks on the left, while Eric booted up the patches of snow in the chute.
Ontake tragically erupted in September 2014, with 63 people bush walkers losing their lives as a result. Due to this large sections of the mountain remain off limits, and we kept to the other end of the range from the main peak. Despite this we were able to enjoy beautiful spring lines off the range of sub-peaks in the area. Ontake presents as more of a range than single mountain, and would reward further exploration. We enjoyed a fun line of consistent pitch back down to the left of the resort, before a challenging traverse back across through a forest that seemed intent and grabbing, scratching and assaulting me at every turn.
Inspired by that, I joined Jimmy and Jerry the next day for Harinoki. This trip starts at the beginning of the Tateyama-Kurobe Alpine Route, climbing a broad valley all the way up to the peak itself. I started later than the others but soon caught them. We skinned most of the way, switching to crampons as it steepened near the top. We enjoyed great spring snow back down, before playing the late spring game of dodge the avalanche debris on the way out.
After a days rest, Sagara-san and I decided to try for Jounen-dake, a beautiful pyramid mountain that stands over Matsumoto and Azumino. The approach is long, with several kilometres on a hiking trail beside a river before reaching snow. An earlier season attempt may be more rewarding. We eventually reached snow, and began skinning. Halfway up Sagara-san suggested we take a gully to the left, but I wanted to see the hut. This was a bad decision.
On reaching the hut we were met with vicious winds. I can't think of another time I've experienced such conditions, and it was clear that continuing up would result in not much good of anything. We rested in the hut, chatting with the lovely staff and hoping the wind would weaken. It unfortunately did not, and we couldn't reach the peak. In the conditions one definitely best left for another day.
The next day I still felt strong, and so I headed to Hiuchi by myself. It was a relatively uneventful day, aside from seeing a small bear on the slopes of Kaga-Hiuchi. I tried to ski across to get a closer look but it disappeared into the Northern slopes.
A wonderful weak of peak bagging and great skiing on consistent fun spring snow!
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