gerard
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Posts posted by gerard
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Woah. This is not a funny thread. IE I didn't laugh. That sucks!
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Didn't they see the news this morning? An octopus from SHIKOKU, that can kill people, has been found in a Kanagawa for the first time
lol yeah, those keep us on edge down here!
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Roughly speaking, boarders, people on full length skis and people on mini-skis were evenly split. Mini skis, actually, didn't seem like such a bad option. Never thought I'd say that!
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Here's a pic of the true south side, taken last Saturday afternoon.
Here's the parking lot at 2400 meters. There will be snow for a while yet.
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Maybe you were looking at the wrong mountain, Snowdude. Let me just upload a couple more pics....
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Based on what you saw, would it be possible to ski around Mt Fuji. ie start at one point on the top and descend like a cork screw around the mountain.
Hmm.... If you really want a challenge, try scouting out a gnarly line down the west face. Try it mid-winter. Naked.
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nice one Ger
Was the snow really icy at the top or did it give somewhat?It gave a little but it was really variable. It was basically chalky up top and in mid-mountain sections it was starting to re-freeze a bit. I expected a nice zone of perfect spring conditions but it was unpredictable. The bottom was probably the best.
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Well, I climbed up Mt. Fuji and skied down on April 27th and thought I’d share in case others wanted to do the same. First off, it is a doable spring hike. A fair number of people head up around the golden week period. It’s not particularly dangerous, although I’m sure it could be if the weather was bad. We did the Fujinomia route on the south side and that definitely seems like the best route off-season. The road had been cleared and was open to the fifth-station parking lot at 2400 meters. There was a number of groups camping in their cars or tents and others arrived through the night (waking me up periodically in my tent). This year there was deep snow well below the fifth station so the entire hike was on snow but in other years, the snowline can be higher.
The hike up was very straight forward. Since it was a little cold, the snow was hard and not practical for skinning. Walking it with crampons was the best way to go. Doing it in boots alone would have been technically possible but I think I would have wasted too much energy slipping and sliding to make it to the top. An ice ax is not necessary but definitely makes you look cool. In my case, my ski poles gave me something to lean on.
Spending a night at 2400 meters as we did is probably a good idea, but still, coming from sea level, you can expect the altitude to be a significant factor. At first, I plowed up the hill, stopping for a short break around 3000 meters before arriving at the 8th station, feeling great at 3250. Approaching the 9th station, however, short distances suddenly started to seem very long. At 3410 meters (the 9th station), I realized that I was getting pretty tired and in need of a longer break. The push from there up to the summit was a long, slow, pain-session. We arrived at the rim of the crater over 6 hours after starting and then I walked around to the true summit at 3776 meters. I was slightly light-headed and generally very tired and short of breath. I had no headache, but felt pretty sick to my stomach and couldn’t eat or even drink. As impressive as the scenery was, I was eager to get down.
For the descent, most people walked down, while others skied or boarded or even slid on their butts. Skiing seemed like the best option to me despite having to lug up the extra weight. Since there was mention of one or two serious accidents in other threads, I guess it shouldn’t be recommended for inexperienced skiers. The pitch is not steep but it’s very consistent, and the scale is pretty huge, of course. Riding down with a heavier pack, at altitude, and on very hard snow is tricky. You wouldn’t want to get going a little too fast and then suddenly loose it and slide into sharp volcanic rock. On this particular day, it was a little cold, so the snow didn’t really soften until the bottom half. The skiing was less than spectacular but it definitely got us down quickly. Upon arriving at the parking lot, I lay in the fetal position in the snow for 15 minutes, thinking to myself, “…yeah, I’m done with mountains!” Of course, that was just a high-altitude delusion. I recovered pretty quickly, driving down the mountain. Next time I’d like to do it a little slower, maybe spending two nights at 2400 meters to acclimatize. I still think doing it off-season, on snow is the best option, much better than dealing with crowds of people and having to walk on that volcanic rock and dust the whole way, up and then down.
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.....it was the worst thing I've ever done
Ha ha. Well, I walked up yesterday. Going up in the spring on snow on a sunny day is a pretty good option for anyone stupid enough to climb Fuji. All in all, the altitude almost made me puke and the skiing was far from great but it was an impressive climb. Maybe I'll do it again sometime.
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Well, I'll be tenting Saturday night at the fifth station (or as close as we can get) on the true south side and climbing it Sunday. Say 'hi' if you happen to be on the same mountain. I'll be in yellow steeze.
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I jus got me a windows 8. It's OK but I keep asking myself "why?"
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Pft. I've done more gnarly climbs than that.
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Good reading. There are many ways to get into trouble.
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OK. I might do this around golden week.
Required skill level?
Others know more than me but I'm looking into it and as far as I can tell...
Skiing: Able to keep it together on ice in very adverse conditions like wind, flat light, etc until you get down to the corn (I'm talking about snow).
Mountaineering: Doable. Crampons a good idea. Sounds like a real long slog. Important to choose the right time, weather and route, unless you're prepared for anything.
The worse kind of punter is the guy with ass-kicking skiing ability but relatively less mountaineering ability and knowledge (me).
I guess the kawaguchiko route makes the most sense. Maybe I'll ask black mountain...
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is this the latest beta on skiing MTV. fuji? I might give it a go this year. the idea is just a seed at the moment though
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On an icy day I'd much rather there were lots of boarders around, they tend to scrape the top layer of ice off and leave a little bit of loose ice behind.
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Well, I'm heading out now and my money is on Noz. Wanted to check out Madarao too but we got shorted out one day so probably spend the whole time at the Nozzle.
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Surely, Mt Granview is skied out by ten AM, no?
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Sugihohara
Akakan
Madarao
Nozawa
Tenjindaira
Cortina
Kagura
Niseko
Which trees take longer to get skied out?
(and by "trees", lets say good lift-served slackcountry, short hike or traverse OK but no skins needed.)
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Famous Door, actually:
http://www.best-of-sapporo-japan.com/bars-and-food-joints.html
Cool place with cajun food.
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The Secret Door after seeing it on the net. Tiny place. Cool, with decent beer. Actually I was there for work but I had skiing in the back of my mind obviously. Winter hadn't quite kicked in yet though....
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Cold rain down here. Seems like everything is moving in from the west (??). I might have to hit Hakuba this year...
Hey, Tubby, I had posted something on your profile feed while I was in Sapporo. I don't have PM so not sure of the best way to reach you. Anyway, too bad you didn't come out -- it was a Wild Freakin' Party. Chicks dancing on the bar. Jumping off rooftops. etc. etc.
(Actually, just me and a pint and some pulp fiction about Mexican drug dealers.)
xmas trip w/kids
in Snow talk, trip reports, Japan avalanche & backcountry
Posted
I have kids, so I feel your pain, but I haven't been up that way in a while. Maybe Thursday can help... I think he's been up there with his boy.