3 March 08
Spring is coming. Yesterday Shakushi Dake (2812m): one long wide permanent snow field in a gentle gully, one perfect NE couloir from the summit, one real peak. It reminds me of Chamonix. This is why Hakuba is the premier big mountain location in Japan and why we chose to live here. Spring is the best season and its coming soon.
Some reasonable windchill on heavily scoured and icy Norikura Dake (2400m) yesterday. Ski alpinists are starting to send some of the longer lines from alpine ridges in the area, especially heading towards Korenge San (2769m)
Looks nice. How was the
Looks nice. How was the riding?
If I'm not wrong that looks like a new (brand?) jacket and BD gloves too ...
Yes, new gloves for my
Yes, new gloves for my Greenland expedition style trip. And a 50% off incredibly light outer shell. I have decided that big tough triple layer gortex shells are an unnecessary weight, bulk and expense unless you are in a serious blizzard on a mountain face. Paclite shells or similar are the way to go.
The riding was very good. A nice long big open bowl descent followed by a steep tree face followed by a mellow gully800m vertical in all. The large open bowl section of the descent is a big slide area, so it was good to get it in form, safe and rideable. It was this one.