24 April 2008

Cherry Blossom (Sakura) started to bloom in Hakuba over the last day or so and are expected to quickly peak and wane by the first days of the Golden Week holidays in Japan.

Sakura marks the changing of seasons in an attractive manner and also correlates well with local weather patterns.  They had blossomed a full week ago 40km down the valley near Nagano City, but no sign of them locally in Hakuba.  After two weeks of on and off clear skies and rain, the last 3 days have been like summer; hardly a breeze and temperature peaking at 25C, with the warmest overnight low being 11C last night.  This is all at 860m, above Goryu.  It's been warmer lower down in the valley in Hakuba and Sakura arrived there a day earlier than my slightly higher altitudes in the valley.

This is the usual SDJ daily high and low temperature chart for 860m in Hakuba, with daily observations for the last 24 hours to 7am. Its been warm.

People like myself watch the weather and follow its rhythm all winter to assess avalanche hazard and the general appropriateness for alpine adventure on a given day in winter.  Come spring we continue to track the weather very closely for clear cold nights with sub zero temperatures above 2000m, followed hopefully by a cooler than normal day with thin cloud cover to weaken the sun.  Without being too intense, this softens the re-frozen spring snow (ice crystals) on the surface and leaves it frozen hard a few inches below.  Such conditions allows for higher alpine peaks and steep Hakuba terrain to be ridden.  Timing of overnight and early morning weather given the scale of terrain to be covered is very important.  Its all about timing in spring, hence the frequent need for very early starts or over night trips.  Over the last week  nights have been clear but nit quite freezing and the daytime temperatures have climbed quickly the moment the sun peaks above the horizon, producing a deep isothermal snowpack unsuitable for skiing, large wet snow avalanches and frequent rockfall.  Not good for spring peak bagging.  But good for Sakura. 

It is also the start of planting season for local farmers.  In somewhat classic Japanese fashion, this week is the week to plant in Hakuba, and everyone is warming up for it (excluding rice).  Indeed, Mio and I already have our small allotment of land in the valley tilled and almost ready for sowing.  Leading up to thi has been a rapid sprouting of some wild edible mountain plants.  One small yellow flower in particular is everywhere, and quite popular in tempura and miso soup.

Animal activity has increased as well with monkeys starting to roam the hill behind my house, raccoons and foxes appearing at night and a infestation of insects and beetles in my living room.  Black bass are being caught in the local lakes, trout in the valley steams.  All this on top of several sightings of protected ptarmigan in the alps.

I enjoy my life, the way it blends isolated and uncrowded mountain adventure and discovery, nature, weather and the tempo of local culture all at a very affordable cost of living.  Quite remarkable for a nation of 130 million people in an area the size of New Zealand.

Local mountain bike fanatics, river kayakers and canyoning lunatics in the valley have welcomed the change of season as well.

The police also let me off the hook two nights ago when I was pulled over and found to have an expired international drivers license (by 2 weeks).  I didn't realise it, but this week is also local law enforcement week and they were stopping all cars on Olympic Dori in Hakuba. Its a funny place.

Note:  I updated my Yari Trip Report with some pictures from Dan's camera, scroll to the end of the report to see them)