Tateyama - Adventure in the Alps Part 2 DISCUSS THIS FEATURE HERE

Continued from Part 1....

It’s been a long time since winter, but where does time go? Winter turns to spring, snow turns to cherry blossoms and winter equipment gets forgotten as bikes and beach gear get dusted off in anticipation of warmer weather. It’s only now on these hot and humid days that the memory recalls the cool days of winter and the last of the great days riding in the mountains. Spring found me busy preparing for summer adventures and so the second part of this story comes a little later than planned by some measures of time.... but as others will tell you, this is right on par with "Dave Time". So let’s go back to the end of winter: to the Raicho Daira camp in the mountains of Tateyama...to a day that my fading memory will not forget any time soon.
   

Monday, April 28th 2003

It was a very chilly, clear morning that found me waking to frost on my face and not wanting to leave my down bag that had kept me so snug as I slept out under the winter stars. Everyone started to stir around 6am to do their morning deeds while the water boiled for hot tea and coffee to warm our chilled bodies. Everything that you take for granted in your home is much more of an effort in low temperatures, and your body moves at only half the normal pace. It was only the strength of the sun hitting the camp that truly started warming our stiff bodies as we finished breakfast and started to pack up camp.

After a lazy early morning, it was 9:30 before we were packed and ready to start lugging our very heavy (yet lighter than when we arrived) packs back up to the Murodo Terminal. We decided that we might as well take the makeshift rope tow T-bar that gets installed every season.  It was it’s first day of operation for the season. We prepared for the pull up the steep slope with 20kg+ packs on our backs. The skiers had no problems and Sano-san kept his Craig Kelly signature split board in tour mode for the ride. This left Tani-san and I, side stance and one foot out, to fend for ourselves up this crazy tow to the top. I fell on my first attempt and Tani-san made it half way and then decided to hike the second half, rather than go through the ordeal a second time. I still am not sure what would have been easier, but the tow was definitely the more adventurous.
  

We arrived at Murodo at 11:00 and decided to have a lunch break as we reorganized our bags to exclude the gear that would not be needed for the descent to Kurobe dam.  Steve had searched out the Takubin (courier) counter, and it turned out that we were able to send the bulk of our packs from the terminal direct to our homes for only 2,500 yen.  That was a big help, and left us with much lighter day packs. I still had to shoulder a 15kg guide's day pack, but this was over 10 kg less than my overnight pack, and my back was very grateful for this relief.

We finished lunch in a relaxed tone and then began our two hour hike to Ichinokoshi Pass. As we climbed, we watched others who had reached the pass prior to us slide back down towards Raicho Daira by ski, telemark and board - and even a group of University students who chose the seat of their pants as their means of decent. We were very pleased to reach the saddle and receive a great view down to Korobe lake over 1300 meters below us. As a treat, and to toast a great few days, we shared a couple of tall cans that I had bought at inflated prices from the Ichinokoshi hut.  It was definitely worth the price! After our break and grand view out over the surrounding mountains of the Tateyama range - south to the Kamikochi-Hotaka range and north to the Hakuba-North Alps range - we started our descent. There were some great turns down Oyamatani before traversing to East Ichinokosi Pass. The traverse was a mix of walking on the summer trail and across remaining snow patches on this southern exposure. We all vowed that we would return the next season to ski the amazing north chutes across the valley of Dragon King and Devil’s Peak - very fitting names for these amazing mountains with steep lines to the Oyama Valley and Kurobe lake below.
  

When we reached the East Pass we met up with an amazing duo who where doing the same route as us to the Kurobe Ropeway. The thing that made this duo amazing was not the immense charisma or their ability to bring laughter and smiles to our faces, but the fact that she was in her 60’s and he was 73 years old - and if that wasn’t enough, he had started skiing only 10 years prior, at the age of 62. Amazing! We talked with the duo as we ate a snack and had tea. We decided that we would take the steep right-hand slope which had a great fall line direct to Tanbo Daira and the Ropeway.  Meanwhile the Dynamic Duo pondered on their ability and the line they should take. I advised that they traverse the slope all the way around the bowl to the softer snow of the southern exposure under the Ropeway, and before I could say "ki o tsukete" he was on is way with his partner in tow on their long traverse around the bowl.
  

We all arched out big super G turns down the upper slopes down into the Tanbo Daira bowl 400 meters below us. I think I counted about 4 or 5 turns on Sano’s descent compared to Laurent savoring his 15 or so giant slalom turns. We all laid down our own individual lines but as a group we all shared our excitement over the great snow and the thrill of the bowl. We then made more turns towards an old size 3 avalanche and crossed the bumpy debris without major problems. From here the slope angle became considerably less than that at the top of the bowl, but it allowed us to have some fun on the interesting terrain under the Ropeway.

By the time we reached the Tanbo Daira station our legs were spent but our spirits were invigorated by the three fabulous days in the mountains. It was as if we had entered a new dimension returning to the station as everyone was in street gear.  We looked as out of place as a snowman in August in our winter Gore-Tex and carrying our boards and skis. After Mountain Grape ice cream and Sake testers, we were ready to head back down to Korobe Dam on the cable car, and another trip through the mountain to arrive at the largest dam in Japan.  
   

    
Once across the dam it was back inside to line up for the bus. The 20 minute ride was just enough to put us to sleep but not long enough to receive the much needed and deserved rest. Once at the bottom we returned to the Evergreen Van and unloaded our gear before heading to the Omachi Onsen Kyou for a soak in the healing waters while sharing stories of the weekend and planning our adventures for next year.

Dave