KITA ALPS

Kamikochi 2000

by Paul Reay, pictures below by Leshek Zbroniec

All back safely from Kamikochi, but never again will I wish Laure a Happy Birthday on the summit of Okuhotaka-dake! Quite literally, seconds later, we (Neil, Les and myself) were in the middle of a thunderstorm on top of Japan's third highest mountain. As Neil pointed out, my fear of lightning is greater than my fear of going downhill! The following day we timed it much better, closing the door of the hut behind us as the heavens opened.

Now, you may be getting the impression that we had an unlucky weekend weatherwise. Not so! Other than thunderstorms in the afternoon, the weather was more than good to us. We had spectacular views during the climb on the first day, and, in particular, on the second day, we did the tricky bit between Karasawa-dake and Minami-dake in perfect conditions. Well! Unless, of course, you don't want to see the drop. That part of the ridge lives up to its reputation for sure. We did that section in five hours, and it was five hours of unrelenting would rather be elsewhere. Les wanted nothing more than to be at home with his wife, and a litre of beer.

There is a famous section in the col when you have to move along a narrow ledge, holding onto a chain with a shear drop beneath you, but it's actually technically quite easy and relatively safe. What immediately follows, however, is horrible! Down a little bit, round the corner, across, then up. You feel like a fly, shear drops all around you, with only a metal spike to put your foot on at one point. It comes as no surprise to me to learn that many a tired walker, carrying large rucsacs, fall to their deaths here.

Equally as dangerous as slipping, are falling rocks (or people!) from above. Earlier, we had a frightening moment coming down from Kitahotaka-dake. Someone above us dislodged rocks, one hitting Les's rucsac, and I was rather concerned about a particularly large one heading towards where I thought Neil was. Similarly, we heard another such story of suitcase-sized rocks from two walkers with whom we met up again the following morning.

You breathe a deep sigh of relief when you get to Minami-dake. When we arrived, as if by magic, we were suddenly enveloped in mist, and the three of us were soon off again along the now very pleasant ridge to Yari-ga-take to try and beat the inevitable thunderstorm, in our usual formation of that mountain goat Neil in front, then myself and then Les behind. Sadly, no one was walking from Nakabusa this year to meet us at Yari. I found it very hard to get to sleep that night. Everytime I closed my eyes, all I could see were steep rocks!

One thing surprised us about that second day! From the last two trips, I got the impression that it's a long strenuous day along that ridge, but not so. For mere mortals, it's certainly draining emotionally, but not so much physically. It still remains a 5 `*' walk, however, and won't be downgraded to 4 1/2 `*' as Neil suggests.

The skies cleared again after the thunderstorm on the second day, but, with a few beers inside us, we decided to leave the final 100 metres or so not so trivial climb up Yari until the following morning, and got great views once again. Well worth the wait in the queue to get there!

It was more than a nice sense of relief and personal achievement for me walking back to the hut after coming down from Yari. I had just climbed Japan's four highest mountains, and finally walked along the Hotaka-Yari ridge after organising it for the Club for the past two years, in three consecutive weekends. It more than makes up for all those nights in the gym to exercise my dodgey knees.

The descent from Yari on the final day was nowhere near as bad as I remembered from last year, not being even as half as bad as the descent from Kita-dake two weeks previously. For those with bad knees, I wouldn't be so concerned about it.

So, Kamikochi over for another year, and you certainly won't be seeing me do THAT ridge again! Many thanks to my fellow walkers Neil and Les for such enjoyable and pleasant company. Not quite the numbers I expected this year, but a more than worthwhile tour! The mountain scenery is wonderful in the Kamikochi area, and what is equally quite a sight, is the young and old which it attracts. During the course of this weekend, we saw all ages, from the very young to the retired, climbing quite dangerous mountains. Both worrying and inspiring at the same time!

Rock climbers on Kitahotaka-dake.
Sunset from Karasawa-dake looking West.
Paul and Neil traversing a particularly narrow bit in the col between Kitahotaka-dake and Minami-dake. The arrow pointing downwards is, it is said, the place where many a tired walker fall to their deaths.	Paul waiting in a queue on the way to Okuhotaka-dake.
The view towards Minami-dake and Yari-ga-take from the hut beneath Kitahotaka-dake.
More queues formed by people coming up the easy way to Kitahotaka-dake.
Neil during the ascent on the first day with the Nishihotaka-dake ridge in the background.
The mist starts coming in on the first day - there will be a thunder storm in a few hours!	More gentle scenery during the descent down the valley from Yari-ga-take to Kamikochi on the final day.
Paul and Neil.
Sunset from Karasawa-dake looking South. Okuhotaka-dake-sansou is in the bottom right of the photograph.
The Hotaka-Yari ridge is a little steep in places! Paul or Neil can just be made out on top.

Addendum:

The club was contacted for advice by a person coming to Japan for a conference. He wanted to go to Kamikochi, and he wrote this about his experience:

We were in Kamikochi for three days staying at the Gosenjaku Lodge. The staff were extremely good to us, the only problem being that they were utterly convinced that it was impossible for Europeans to climb Japanese mountains and tried to dissuade us from doing anything that left the valley floor. Nevertheless, despite their concern for our safety, we managed to go up Maehotakae Dake (in absolutely sweltering heat) and on our way back down as we stopped off for a beer at the hut, received a thunderous ovation from the Japanese climbers assembled there.

Other highlights of the Kamikochi trip were encountering a troupe of monkeys in the forest and visiting Myojin-Ike.

After the Tokyo business part we went to Nikko for the weekend, staying in the delightful Hotori-An hotel and having dinner in a fantastic little restaurant (just below the bridge on the left-hand side going up if you ever visit: has English and French endorsements in the window). The temples were crowded but we had a good walk up at Lake Yunoko and Yudaki Falls and the following day in the Kirifuri Highlands and on Mount Maruyama.

Once again, thanks for your all your help: the Northern Alps maps were absolutely essential.

Back to the Home Page