Kita Alps 2006 part 1

For our summer holiday, we decided to return to the Kita Alps to walk along a part of the ridge that we hadn't covered previously - the section from Shiroumadake to Ogisawa that is outlined in the Lonely Planet guide. We had attempted this a few years previously, at the end of the season, and been beaten back by bad weather, so we were disappointed to see that a typhoon was approaching as we set off! However, we didn't want to delay the trip, as the following week was the Obon holiday period when everything was guaranteed to be hugely crowded. So we set off with fingers crossed on the 10am Super Asuza from Shinjuku to Hakuba. This train connects with a bus for the short ride to Sarukura, and then we followed the track an hour up the valley to the Hakuba Jiri-goya at the foot of the famous Daisekkei (big snowy valley), arriving just before some heavy thunderstorms. The hut appeared to be built in a somewhat different location to last time we were here! It seems to be dismantled every winter (to avoid snow damage) but we were surprised as to how different the scene was. There was also a sign warning of a landslide up the valley, but there were no actual "no entry" indications, and plenty of people around obviously intending to climb, so we assumed that there must still be a clear path.
After the storms, the morning broke bright and early, and we got a good start up the valley (just ahead of a huge gaggle of people. We bought some of the cheap instep crampons on sale at the hut, at ¥1000 per pair. They weren't really necessary, but did help us keep our footing and are much lighter than our full 12-point crampons (340g vs 1050g per pair). I was pleasantly surprised by how helpful they were and will certainly take them again on borderline "might be useful" trips where full winter gear is unnecessary. I was struggling slightly with a cold, and it is a big steep climb, so I made the most of some opportunities to take pictures on the way up. We still made it to the summit and back to the massive Hakuba sansou for coffee.
The LP guide suggests stopping here (and we had a comfortable night here on the previous trip), but with the approaching typhoon we thought it would be sensible to  make the most of the decent weather and push on to the next hut, Tengu sansou. This also got us clear of the large groups who had been following us. In the evening, the weather seemed to be closing in and the forecast was for heavy rain, so we worked out a few alternative plans and went to bed with our fingers crossed.
The next morning was cloudy and damp but not actually raining, so we set off along the ridge, startling a pair of ptarmigan (raichou) as we went. Soon the cloud lifted, giving us views along the ridge (and all the way to Yari-ga-take if you know where to look) and by the time we got to the top of Karamatsudake (below right) it was a full-blown hot sunny day. The two peaks behind me are Tateyama (left) and Tsurugidake (right), which we had fine views of throughout the trip.
Due to our efforts the previous day, we were at Karamatsudake sansou rather early, so decided over an early lunch to continue to the next hut. This next section of ridge was fairly gentle, with some scrubby forest of "haimatsu" or Japanese stone pine (or dwarf Siberian pine, pinus pumila). These lightly-forested areas at the top of the treeline are generally airy and bright, with lots of birds, flowers, butterflies, dragonflies and a wonderful pine aroma. I'm not a fan of the thick forests to be found on the lower slopes of Japanese mountains (there's no view) but the "haimatsutai" (tai = belt or region) is lovely. The Goryuu sansou looked well-prepared for the expected Obon influx. So this is how sardines are packed...but by being a week ahead of the main holiday period, we had this whole 16-person 7.5 tatami mat "room" entirely to ourselves (a tatami mat is about 180 by 90cm, or 6' x 3').

You can send us an email here