Happy New Year! I successfully climbed Mt. Tengu in Nagano with my hiking partner, Sachi, on January 3rd. It was a cloudy day, but not bothersome.
The mountain trail from the Shibu Onsen trailhead to Kuroyuri Hut had less snow cover compared to last year, and the craggy rocks on the trail were exposed. It’s advisable to wear crampons and be careful not to catch the crampon spikes on the rocks. It took us about 90 minutes to reach Kuroyuri Hut.
After taking a short break at the hut, we headed towards the summit of Mount Tengu. The first 30 minutes involved navigating through moderate terrain in the forest until we reached the treeline. From this point onward to the top, the trail became steep and narrow with craggy features. The wind picked up significantly, especially as we approached the summit, but we successfully made it. The entire hike took 4.5 hours to complete.
sachi
My third time climbing Mt. Tengu, I was able to climb it quite easily. However, there were a lot of rocks and I had a hard time using crampons. Winter mountains are the best