16 April 08
I at last had a chance to ride Hakuba Yayigatake (2903m). Yari, meaning spear, is a beautiful looking pointy mountain and one of the ‘three peaks’ of Hakuba. I took this hazy picture from Hakuba Powder Lodging just before driving to the trail head. Yari is the pointed peak on the left.
Dan, myself and Lloyd my dog casually walked and then skinned the 6km to our base camp, an easy 500m higher than where we parked the car. Lloyd and Dan on the road. In his backpack Lloyd carried his own water, food and avalanche beacon.
We slept under the bright moon and stars in bivy bags. I had Lloyd for warmth and the associated cramped quarters that comes with sharing sleeping bag with a dog.
After sleeping through the alarm we packed up and set off a little late at 3.20am. Ahead of us was about 5km of travel to the main ridge of the Hakuba range, a traverse and a final ascent up the backside of Yari, a 1500m ascent from our bivy site. Its a long slog.
The sun started to appear around 5am, temps were mild, but the night clear and cool enough for the snow surface to radiate away a lot of warmth and re-freeze itself from the previous afternoon’s spring mush. As the sun rose over Hakuba, a cold katabatic wind began to blow down the valley.
Lloyd was generally unimpressed with the sunrise. Can't eat it, not interested.
Higher up on approach to the col we switched first to ski crampons and then to boot crampons and ice axe. Once on the ridge we made very good progress after having 99% decided that we would not make Yari in time, that the weather would turn against us and that we should head for plan B. In the end both Dan and I were happy that we pushed on for Yari. However our indecision and distraction resulted in Dan leaving his ski poles on the col as we set out with ice axe in hand. He ended up skiing with my hiking poles.
We reached the summit of Yari at 9am, an hour later than desired, but given the thin but protective cloud cover, we were not so worried as the snow remained cold relatively unaffected by solar radiation (I am talking avalanche stability and rock fall here).
Dan and Lloyd approach the summit of Hakuba Yari ga Take (2903m) 
The descent went well, no mishaps, no avalanche, just mild sluff and no rock fall. There had been quite a bit of avalanche activity the previous day and that left some loose rocks and deeply carved runnels in the line of descent. These were a bit of a hassle, but manageable.
Lets go down there.
Dan drops in.
Lloyd follows. His backpack came off just as I encouraged him over the edge of the entry. Somehow he managed to contort his way out of it at a very bad time. After restoring order I tossed his small pack into the couloir where it quickly spun down the line for quite a long way, later to be recovered as we rode by - at which stage I clipped it to my pack for the remainder of the descent.
Steep and crusty.
More steepness coming up, and getting dirty.
The descent of the mountain face itself takes you down 1000 vertical meters with an average angle of 40 degrees. On exiting the main couloir, the run out down the apron and into the open terrain on the lower flanks of the peak adds another 400m vertical descent. Its worth emphasising the 1400m vertical fall in one unbroken line of quality terrain. That’s something Hakuba backcountry has that should not be taken for granted.
Dan again - riding out the lower section of the peak below the couloir, with glide cracks.
Up there. Doesn't look like much.
After a relaxed lunch and taking on the incredibly good scenery at the base of Yari we skinned up the col behind Obinata Yama and again enjoyed another descent. This time in ok corn snow and through very good and relaxing gladded terrain from 1800m to 1100m. Another 700m descent, 2100m for the morning. It was almost 1pm and we were done, back at the snow-less (but yet unopened road) leading the 5km back to the car.
A pretty good overnight trip, vigorous exercise, a great descent and a very enjoyable experience with Dan and Lloyd. On the walk back down the road we meet a young Japanese couple who had been touring on ‘Junction Peak’ in the same area. It was fun to chat with them and as usual, Lloyd and his super-genki ways stole the show. I am wondering if it is a first descent by a dog down Hakuba's second highest peak.
Added later, pictures from Dan's camera:
Collecting water during the night. Its nice not having to melt our own.
Lloyd and I climbing to the top of daiseke, on the shoulder of Shakushi Dake.
Lloyd arrives before I do...
...and watches over my progress.
Dan and Lloyd set off on the undulating traverse to our objective in the background.
I drop in from the summit with Lloyd in my arms. Not my preferred technique, but in places like this its a big hassle if he doesn't follow me, so I give him no choice.
I release Lloyd and wait for him to get out of the way. He can see Dan and heads directly across the face to his position.
I ride the entry.
The dog follows me over to retrieve his backpack which was wedged nicely in some rocks.
Entering the pinch into the couloir.
Lloyd and I ride out the apron at the bottom of the face.
Great material here
for specialists in Lloyd photomanipulations. Now that he's got the backpack thing more or less down, how about training him to fetch ski poles?
I have to wonder when I see these 'steep and crusty' pics how often you bing on these trips, if at all. Wiping out on snow like that must be a bit of a hair raising experience. Does it happen much?
Luckily
Hi.
It doesn't happen that often, almost never. Sometime you stuff up and end on your bum momentarily, but not actually crashing hard. I tend to have more bings in softer snow. Hard smooth icy/crusty snow is usually pretty predictable and doesn't throw many surprises. If you have the technique down, all you have to do is repeat it, turn after turn until your legs get tired and you start losing the technique as a result. Then you slow down a bit, remind yourself of technique, re-centre your balance over the board and keep going. An even smooth surface helps a lot. Its a little odd how infrequently I crash when its difficult. I think I ride not to crash.
Nicely done. Doesn't look
Nicely done.
Doesn't look like the shit-show we had on our 24 hour Yari trip a couple years ago. Stong wind, route finding problems and huge flying boulders.
Thats not the first time Dan has left his poles behind. You'll have to get him to guide you around in the Karasawa.
Shit show
Dan mentioned you guys had some strong wind back in May '06 (?). But FT said snow conditions were fantastic, hard to beat. I think what made our descent trying was the lower half had been heavily scoured and carved out by the previous day's avalanches due to reasonably heavy snowfall (which we knew would be gutted the day before due to really hot weather). It keeps snowing higher up around here which delays the onset of stable and clean high alpine corn season. It probably snowed another 30-340cm up there in the last 24hours.
I read your TR from back then recently. I am guessing that via Tsugaike lifts to Korengesan etc is easier but probably just as demanding on time due to the long wide approach just to reach the top of Daiseke. However, I am planning a Shirouma descent next week and think I will overnight from the Tsugaike sector in that case. The muscle required for up climbing is significantly less that way, just much more ridge traverse.
A classic route would be Tsugaike lifts to the nature reserve (top tram station), across the plain and up the Korenge ridge (cutting out all of Norikura Dake and the lake). Bivy just below the ridge. Onto Korengesan the next morning and down the Y-couloir. Ascend Daiseke to a nice protected col and bivy again to allow the snow to re-freeze. Next morning take your pick of Shiroma, Shakushi or Yari. They would all be within 60 minutes of your bivy.
Matt - I enjoy reading you old TR's from Japan, they sound like good old days. In places like Chamonix there are crowds of people that live there all spring (or all season) just for these types of trips - except better. Many of them either don't work or structure work around touring opportunities. They kick back in known cafes and bars in the afternoon and congregate at tram stations just to talk this type of route planning and itineraries. It probably exists to a degree here in Hakuba within the Japanese community, but not the gaijin crowd. I wish it did. Most just come here for easy resort powder then piss-off or shut down the second its gone. Where's the spirit? I think it will develop in coming seasons. My take: too many gaijins come to these very solid mountains to make money from the ski season and not enough come simply to ski backcountry for its own wonderful sake. Those people are still going to Europe, the US or Canada for the northern winter and spring. I can hardly blame them, but still think Hakuba and Kamikochi area's in the Japanese Alps have a lot to offer.
I found your site at Sri Lanka!
Nice to hear that you came back hakuba, and Dog desent Yari shoot is very good news Ive never heard before.
Im in Sri Lanca now for surfin, its already slow season here, but waves are still Ok, warm water, a lot of empty waves. I skied Indian powder snow around Rotang pass 4380m a part of Himalaya range few days before, then came down south here. wonderful planet.
Im looking forward to hear your trip, and talking my trip. See you on next week
Himalaya powder then Sri Lanka surf!
Hi Matsumoto-san, thanks for the visit and comment. I appreciate it. Your telemark and surf trip sounds incredible. I will drop by your shop next week to hear all about it. See you then.
Holy schnookers
That choke point is steep and tight as a sphincter. I think I'd only be happy doing that on a belay...
It is deceiving
It's not as bad as it looks, although you can see on the route marked on the peak (first pic) that everything that goes wrong with the mass of snow in the bowl from the summit will funnel down through the entry to the couloir. I wouldn't want another group above me as I approached, as you say, the sphincter.
possibly the second dog decent from the peak
Decent made by Tuwa, 2 year old Siberian Husky circa 2001. Not down the same prominent eastern chute but down the west face to odepara and Yari Onsen. She was caught in and escaped 2 size 2 sluffs that day; 1 doggy accidental and 1 SBer accidental.
Would say that it was probably a doggy first decent down Yari East chute though. Way to go Lloyd.
Cat Fish
Sweet. Some good dog ski
Sweet. Some good dog ski mountaineering history in Hakuba.