Tohoku had been on the to do list since my last Japan season two years back. It offers a range of nicely shaped mountains, a deep snow pack aided by slightly colder temperatures than Myoko, and still appears to be off the well trodden Japan ski tourism trail. The original aim had been a winter trip, using several resorts Eric and I had scouted as a base for powder play. Weather did not comply however, and it was not until Spring this year that the opportunity came up.
Jimmy and Jana were also keen to have some time out of Myoko, so plans were made for a car based trip. I had the relative luxury of a van to myself, whilst they coped impressively with sharing a small hatchback together. On our first day we drove north, making a brief stop in Niigata City for supplies. I picked up maps of a range of mountains, and from there decided to aim for the Iide range. I had previously visited this area in Autumn, and it still remains one of the most beautiful mountain areas I have visited in Japan. Unknown to us though, the access road does not open until late May, and so we only made it as far as the entry gate before deciding to call it a night. We woke to rain, and decided that Iide was not to be.
Instead we headed further North to Gassan, a mountain renowned for running its ski lifts until well into July. Weather was reasonable at the car park, but it was clear that the mountain itself was socked in. Nevertheless, we bought our lift tickets and decided to climb. The route itself is relatively straightforward, although the surrounding terrain has plenty of challenges. Poor route choice meant we found ourselves in some of these areas.
Out first mistake was to take an incorrect left trending ridge, that soon become very narrow and exposed. We turned back, followed the correct route, and were soon at the top. Throughout this period visibility was as low as 5-10m at times. Coming off the peak, we somehow managed to take a gully slightly right of where we wanted to be. A few turns in low visibility, and we found ourselves on firm 35-40 degree snow. Realising our mistake we gingerly worked our way further left, but were met with a small wall of snow that was probably beyond the equipment we had at hand (I had stupidly suggested leaving crampons and ice-axe in the car given the simplicity of the route). We managed to re-climb the 70m or so to where we had gone wrong, thankful to have gotten away with a pretty dangerous mistake.
From Gassan we continued North to Tazawako. We looked at Akita-Komagatake, a well featured mountain above Tazawako ski resort, but decided instead to continue up to Iwate. Iwate is a beautiful mountain near to Morioka, and from the right aspect it shares the same sweeping slopes as Fuji. We climbed an Easterly slope from Yakihashiri trailhead. Unfortunately the lower slopes were snow free, and so we had an hour and a half of walking before reaching snow. Skinning was challenging in the small trees and patchy snow, until we reached the tree line. From there we were presented with an impressive and slightly intimidating view up a steepening snow slope free of trees. We initially skinned but switched to boot crampons half way up given the firm snow.
We had started late after Jimmy slept in, and as we climbed higher he began to slow down, uncomfortable with the slightly tricky conditions (35+ degrees, rocky in places, hard snow). I was a little impatient, and in the end struck out on my own, quickly gaining the summit. Jimmy decided to call it a day slightly below the peak, and I soon hiked back down to him. Skiing was excellent down the 1000m of open slopes to the tree line. Jimmy rode with an axe, but I felt relatively comfortable given the good snow quality.
From Iwate, we made the short skip across to Hachimantai, and had an easy days touring in the pleasant terrain there. We came across many fresh bear tracks while skiing, suggesting caution is worthwhile in this area. From Hachimantai we continued North, stopping in small towns to enjoy local food, culture and the blossoming cherry trees.
Next on the list was Iwaki-san, another beautiful volcanic mountain that holds good snow late in the season. The mountain road and summit chairlift were not yet open, so we had a long, relatively straightforward skin to the bottom of the summit lift. This lift is built for summer hiking, but does get used by skiers for access in late Spring. We cramponed up the lift line, and then made our way up through a rocky path to the summit. By this stage clear weather had shifted to clouds, making the initial drop in more nervous than it should have been. Eventually though we worked to below the clouds, finding ourselves on lovely open slopes above one of the local ski resorts.
After Iwaki we headed North East to Hakkoda. This area is a very famous backcountry destination in Japan. Although the weather can be harsh in Winter, the layout of the mountains is very nice. Small peaks linked by undulating terrain, with a road sweeping around the peaks. We toured from above Sukayu-onsen, climbing Oodake and skiing nice snow back down again. The very old onsen at Sukayu was a wonderful end to the day.
The final peak on our Tohoku list was Chokaizan. Chokaizan is a massive volcano on the Yamagata and Akita borders, and sits right on the West Coast of Japan. We arrived for the opening of Haraigawa Hut, a facility that is free to use when unmanned, and relatively cheap otherwise (~1000yen pp). We made full use of the gas, small library and clean, guest house like rooms. A few older Japanese mountain climber types were also staying, and the initial entertainment they provided soon subsided as they got progressively more liquored up and ate increasing portions of our cheese.
We woke at 3am with plans for a sunrise hike to the peak. The winds had strengthened overnight, and Jimmy decided to stay behind on account of this. I felt lonely and small climbing in the dark, but did have the boucing headlights of two other skiers in front for some comfort. The snow was very hard, and strong winds did make the going challenging. Still, I made the top on skins. The sunrise and soft light as I neared the top was one of the most exquisite sights I have ever seen. It was probably sweetened by the challenging feeling of the climb, but it felt like a just reward for the effort I expended. The ski down was rather poor, and I arrived back at the hut in time for a 7am second breakfast.
The combination of co-operative weather, improved skiing ability and fitness made this an amazingly productive tour. Iide-san remains a target, and perhaps on trips like this it's good to leave something on the list to provide motivation for the next time?
