26 April 2010
Matsumoto-san called me at 7pm to see if I wanted to join him and his friend the next morning for a ski tour from Hakuba Otari Onsen to Myoko Kogen. The timing was perfect and what I had been planning as a two day tour for 2011 was going to happen the next day.
Otari Onsen is a famous access point for a lot of very good backcountry near to Hakuba (a 20km drive from town). Myoko Kogen is a ski resort area in another state – Niigata. You can see the volcanic Myoko range from Hakuba.
Time: It took 11 hours 40 minutes to complete the ski tour (with a long relaxed lunch break).
Distance: 30km by ski
Vertical climbed: 2700m
Vertical skied: 3400m
Summits Skied: Kana Yama, Hiuchi Yama, Myoko Dake.
Return Journey: local bus, train to Nagano City, bus to Hakuba. 2.5 hours in total.
The sun rises. Our home range above Hakuba in the distance. The first early morning ascent started with a lot of rock-solid frozen spring snow and some hairy traverses. We started at the foot of that long dirty slide path near the cliffs.
Off the steep icy overnight re-freeze and on the main ridge heading for Kana Yama (2245m)
On the summit of Kana Yama getting ready to ski our first of three major descents. In the background is Hiuchi Yama, which we climbed next
We started at 5am, three of us: Matsumoto-san, who owns Rapies, our local backcountry gear shop. Myself, the owner of 9 chickens. And Iwase-san, master Sake brewer who produces some of the best Sake in the region, a vocation that requires him to work every day over the peak winter season. Work completed, he only just started his season recently (and ran the Nagano Marathon last week). Three local backcountry skiers.
Matsumoto-san part way down Kana Yama
Iwase-san skis Kana Yama
After a solid 1100m descent we were ready to climb famous Hiuchi Yama (2462m), which stood 1100m above us. We made it there by midday.
Hiuchi Yama viewed from the south (photo taken back in in mid winter). We approached from the left in the valley.
Seldom, if ever, the subject of a photograph, it doesn’t come naturally to me. But I was very happy to be on the summit of Hiuchi, a stunning white comb visible from Hakuba. Since focusing on skiing rather than snowboarding last season it has progressed well, making long tours like this far easier and just as much fun. Credit should be given to the Dynafit Manaslu ski, the best thing I have bought – light, high performance and fast.
On the way to Hiuchi we passed by the flanks of [the almost active] volcano, Yake Yama (2400m). Yake Yama and it’s steam vent
Yake Yama viewed from the south (in mid winter). We didn’t have the time to ski it. Saved for another day.
Looking back to our morning descent line on Kana Yama. Fantastic terrain, almost no one ever skis there
The first half of our tour in the middle ground with the Hakuba mountain range in the distance
Our descent from Hiuchi, only 500m vertical cut short in the interest of time
And on to our final summit of the day, Myoko Dake, an old volcano. Perfect tree skiing on its flanks, better than anything in Hakuba for moderate pitch and endless consistent fall line
Via the Takayaike Hut which opened last week (it has an emergency room accessible all winter)
From Myoko Dake, one final look back to our morning descent on Kana Yama, getting hot in the afternoon sun. I’ll be back there without doubt
No photos of the skiing down Myoko Dake, but the trees are good! We finished the day with a traverse into the side of some ski resort that had been long shut down for the season. Still snow all the way out, though patchy toward the bottom of the idle lift system. It was quite odd to be skiing in such a wide open ski resort area yet with no people or operating facilities. The ski out was super fast and fun with big GS turns on the empty slope, legs holding out to the very end.
For me it was the best day of the season. Thank you to my fit and motivated tour partners, Matsumoto-san and Iwase-san (waiting for the next bus, drinking good beer)
I had been poking around in behind Otari Onsen a bit and knew it would be good. In one day my world just became a lot bigger.
Footnote: Having passed almost 12 hours and 30km through a world of snow, we re-entered the warm snowless spring valleys and cities of the normal world. We caught the 5pm local bus to the Myoko train station, then a 35 minute train to Nagano City (still in our ski gear, looking out of place), then a 45 minute bus to Hakuba. I kept my boots on the whole time and my feet were burning to get out by the end. I swear my toes get longer after lunch.
epic
thanks for the sprig stoke...unreal man, you guys are machines! that was 1 day?
my gotamas are lonely...I need a car...what was that bus thing you told me about?
(your captcha is impossible!)
Hi Danz, thanks for the
Hi Danz, thanks for the comment, and yes, where you are, you need a car.
The Captcha settings can't be too bad as I still bet one or two spam posts per week. Danz < Spambot ;)
Nice TR
Hi Damian,
Thanks for a good TR, I am now very jealous.
It's amazing how you done that in a one day or you are workhorses.
Nice looking places to ski down
Harri
Hi Harri, nice to hear from
Hi Harri, nice to hear from you in Finland. Powder skiing steals the headlines, but this is Hakuba's best time of year for weather, snow quantity and terrain access.
I was able to do that tour in one day and still enjoy great skiing because I was with matsumoto-san, who has completed the route a few times before. I was just along for the ride. If I went alone with my own planning, I doubt I would have finished in a day and still enjoyed great skiing along the way, so credit for a success goes to Matsumoto-san.
It is a large area and studying a map does not tell nearly enough about the terrain you will cover. Before you can make good route planning choices you need to see and know the terrain, vegetation, river crossings, ridges that make poor travel but look appealing on the map, micro terrain obstacles etc etc. Going is knowing, there is no substitute. And now I know, I’ll be going back :)
Damian, Great TR. My
Damian,
Great TR. My thoughts turned to snow and mountains when I ran into icing today while flying around Okinawa. Motivated me to check out PN.com and saw your post. Thanks for sharing the stoke. That was a long tour! Ending point across the valley from Nozawa Onsen?
Hi Dave, thanks for dropping
Hi Dave, thanks for dropping by and your comment - hope you can make it back to Hakuba next season. The end point was square in the middle of the Myoko ski area.
Solid tour! You should put
Solid tour!
You should put some Dynafit adapters on your splitter. Same uphill advantages and if you can live with a slightly wider stance, you might even be able to mount the heels too - then you can still ski if needed for traverses, but get the fun of the snowboard for the regular descents.
Poultrician
I want to see that on your business card: Owner of Nine Chickens
Wade - sadly splitboarding
Wade - sadly splitboarding on the up and snowboarding on the down will always fall well short of skis for function unless you stick to pure fall-line, and that gets hard on long tours. Snowboards are fun only when its fun. Then it is groan, like being crippled in the mountains. I hate to say it, but it is my conclusion. Lucky for me that I find skiing just as much fun as snowboarding. But please don't now ignore me (like other religious splitter fanatics have!).
Goemon - egg production has slowed and heads will soon roll. It would be preemptive to print cards now.
revised
correction: Owner of Nine Nervous Chickens