it doesn’t get any better. 7 days of bluebird, no wind, 30cm fresh, beautiful new lodge, a strong crew, big lines, and the willing and able guides of VSHG. it’s everything you want when you think about alaska…
tracks down the ice tongue
workman - east peak
east peak
jimmy brownell
william finoff
jimmy
pyramid + white for weeks
snow cones
the cleave from diamond peak
rob klaskin - west face of diamond
west face of diamond
sluff city
dylan freed
william
steve hinman - mini spines
i’m off to Alaska on friday and will accidentally forget phones and computers. talk in a few weeks!!
yatsugatake seems to be the most popular area for winter mountaineering in Japan. A lodge with a jet heater that keeps it pretty toasty, proximity to tokyo, easy enough access, a man-made ice candy wall, and enough natural waterfalls, gullys, and peaks to keep you busy all winter long brings the crowds. There’s not very many alpine huts in Japan open in winter. Maybe just a couple.
you'd never guess who was camped out back there
the smile is hiding cold, cold fingers
it’s not really ski country so it was my first time up there. Tracy wasn’t able to make it due to becoming a grandpa but Sayaka managed to get up and get into the ice. We got her ice climbing for the first time and we managed to struggle our way up to the Akadake, the highest peak in the area, on Sunday.
Akadake means Red Peak. That's a creek. Still red though.
it's pretty
things start steepening
cooold. and eerie viz on the way up.
a few tears, very cold fingers, and a little ropework got us there eventually
oh man i was pessimistic on this one before we left Tokyo. and i’m an optimist by nature.
“sorry but i’ve got a few things i’ve gotta take care of tomorrow,” Watanabe-san said, likely pretty uninspired by out chances of climbing his mountain. ”But i’m sure you’ll do well,” he added, “you look like you know what you’re doing.” Watanabe-san runs the Maruzen pension and was born on this mountain-island.
Rishiri is just a mountain floating in the ocean. It is 1720m tall with a circumference of about 50km. It’s 20km west of the northernmost point in Japan. My pessimism stemmed from the fact that the forecast was crappy and there was a bunch of sea ice blocking the port we needed to sail from. Long story short, after buses, cancelled ferries, cancelled flights, and a tiny bit of seasickness later we got there.
We started climbing at 8am the next day, waiting as long as we could for the weather window. Watanabe-san was nice enough to drop us off at 500m on his snowmobile. Skins were useless after 700m and we climbed the rest with our spikes and ice axe.
Other than a few frozen figures the climbing was pretty non-eventful. Cold at -20deg but not unbearable.
Then comes the sad part. We stashed our skis at 1250m or so because the summit cone looked like an icy mess. Once we summited and looked down the northeast face it was perfect Alaska powder – boot deep and just the right density. To pour salt on my wounds i did a quick little hand shear and could hardly get a reaction. It was prrrrrrfect, but i missed it.
guess i gotta go back.
We got back to the lodge around 4pm for the best vending machine beer i’ve had in months.
i reaaaallly hate propellers.
this ain't cuba, you have to PAY for crabs in Wakkanai
harbor full of drift ice
en route. my shoulders aren't that big. the back hair adds an inch.
rishiri is cold
climb on!!
me, lookin' good, as always
summit! candlestick rock behind
i had some serious summit snot
who's up for the smallest beer ever?? everybody has to start somewhere.
Mt Rishiri
done. sorta. 2 of 3 days anyway. Dave and Bill over at Evergreen are great teachers. Can’t say enough good things about that operation.
With so many high profile accidents this year it’s good to sharpen up the skills. I think i’ve dug more pits this year than in the previous 6 or 7 years of backcountry snowboarding combined.
Sounkyo is a gorge in the Daisetsuzan NP in Hokkaido. It’s famous for waterfalls and ice sculptures and i guess it’s the most accessible ice in Japan. In fact, climbing Yatsugatake this weekend, i was thinking that you could get your tools into Sounkyo ice faster than Yatsugatake ice starting from Tokyo.
Anyway, thanks to Tracy talking me into heading up there – finally. First time on vertical ice.
my first ever waterfall
superpump set in fast
Belaying in the dark in a softshell in -10deg. HUUUGE type III potential here.
Pitch 3, First lead
When you look at the topo maps, Norikura-dake stands out as the easiest 3000m peak to climb and ski. Really gentle contour lines suggest any easy day skinning and minimal avalanche risk. So with the avalanche forecast hitting extreme this weekend in Hakuba, the gentle rolling slopes of Norikura was back on – but the forecast suggested our weather window was limited.
Anyway, the forecast was right! I have never seen weather move in so hard and fast. We were 200m below the summit taking a break out of the wind when unlimited viz and bluebird skies went to zero viz whiteout and dumping snow in about 20mins. To add injury to insult, the snow was some kind of miserable patchwork of ice and sastrugi.
It’s definitely been a tough winter to climb big mountains. I hate to say it, but bring on the spring!!!
Beautiful hike in with Mt Norikura in full view
Those clouds were the signal of worse weather. Peak just above her, with the nice descent couloir lookers right of the rock band
The highest road in Japan comes up to this point. At 2900m we are skinning on top of a parking lot
Disappointment Personified
Rishiri is a tiny little island that’s 20km west of the northernmost point in Japan. The island itself is just a volcano popping out of the water.
We’re heading there in a few days, or we’re supposed to, but Wakkanai Port is full of drift ice and ferries have been stationary for a week.
Wish us luck!!
it hasn’t been going as simple as it’s supposed to be. keep on top of the forecast, look for something to climb, climb it, ride it, have fun, drink beer. you can blame the forecast but the the problem is with the “looking”. looking for objectives that might go instead of those that will fer sure. whether it’s wind, stability, darkness, bears, or viz, there’s been a lot of backing off so far this season. so it was time to do the simple thing and go have fun shreddin’.
Hakkoda is simple. one tram. no runs. no ropes. no patrol. no resort. no line ups. it was good to cut the excess, be happy, and climb a mountain for the first time in many months.
"simplify, simplify"
monsters
gettin ready fer business
tail guide syndrome
you assed fer it
starting the skin to Ootake - the high point
skinning into whiteness - old habits die hard
hacking away at the summit post with the adze
yeeeee haaaaw
